This comic by
The Joy of Tech is painful to read because it's so damned true. As technology moguls and social media platform nabobs keep stealing each other's best ideas in a rush of "me too", we're left with a choice between vanilla and vanilla.
Convergence isn't always a good thing. I especially hate it when people post the same update on Twitter, Linkedin and Facebook. Every time I see a hashtag on my Facebook wall, I feel broadcast at. And Amazon, a place where I occasionally buy CDs and books, keeps trying to be Wall-Mart. (Or even worse, to be my friend.)
I like my brands specialized, focussed on doing one or two things better than everyone else. When they all have similar offerings, I don't know who I'm supposed to connect with where. The whole thing loses intimacy in the noise of too many channels and offerings. But perhaps I'm part of a dying breed.
Hashtags on Facebook really bother me, I am glad you brought it up! This is so true, everyone just wants to be like eachother...no real differentiation, just amalgamation.
ReplyDeleteEventually everything will become one, it's true!
Agreed.. to use a physical-retail example, it's like when Canadian Tire started selling housewares, pots and pans and dishes and stuff like you'd find at Zellers or Wal-Mart.. meanwhile grocery stores like Zehrs and FoodBasics are trying to sell clothing, and Shoppers drug mart has a grocery aisle.. Everybody is trying to be a one-stop-shop these days. It's all jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none.
ReplyDeleteI'm guilty of hashtagging on facebook but it's more out of habit, I don't synchronize my facebook and twitter posts.