ANTI-SOCIAL MEDIA ?
SLAVE TO THE 'RITHM
"Whether we like it or not, everybody is living in an attention economy now..."
Dan Quill / Zeitwarp - Interview 2022
NEVER STOP THE ACTION | KEEP IT UP, KEEP IT UP
WORK TO THE 'RITHM
"It is the consumer who is consumed...
You are the end product."
'Television Delivers People'
RICHARD SERA - 1973
The Richard Sera quote has evolved to become (another) Mandela-effect paraphrase/misquote along the lines of "If the product is free, then you are the product".
Irrespective of the provenance the sentiment remains consistent, Sera was originally talking about the more passive dynamic of television advertising. By comparison, in Web2 social media the 'opportunity' exists to broadcast yourself and share in the rewards.
However, with the algorithms rewarding engagement and "time on platform", and in an economy where attention is an almost fundamental requirement, it's easy to become committed to chasing the dopamine dragon in a hamster wheel existence.
Is it the new minimum wage /maximum hours gig economy for the 21st Century...or maybe just the New American Dream...?
LET'S DANCE
DOPAMINE DISCO
How did it come to this?
Here we are a quarter of the way through the 21st Century with vast swathes of the 8 billion people on this planet engaged in a never ending hunger games tournament in a D-2 Dopamine soaked social landscape overpopulated by a post-GPT API-driven universe of almost infinite digital culture slurry, where the attention trade is the last game in town.
You having fun yet?
CHOOSE YOUR FUTURE
CHOOSE LIFE
"Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing sprit-crushing game shows"
Trainspotting
If you've ever seen or heard one of my talks or interviews on the human implications of disruptive technology then you may well be aware of the concept of leaning into human uniqueness.
This can take many forms - one of which is social media. That's obviously your choice and I wish you well.
However, I have decided to choose a different route, and while I'm not abandoning social media entirely I will only use it going forward for sporadic 'broadcasting'.
LET'S NOT PLAY
ZUCKERWANG
Which is a long way of saying "I'm not playing any more" - or more specifically...I'm not prioritising Mark or Elon's game any more.
Social media has long felt like an accelerating game of diminishing returns however with the API floodgates open to generative AI the anti-network effect has gone interstellar.
The problem of course is that the vanity metrics of 'social proof' are the often the key to external perception and - in the case of artists, bands, businesses, whatever - the literal difference between success and failure.
Well - if you've got this far - then my hope is that you will not judge this book by the quantity of its algorithmic footprint but instead by the quality of the 'content'.
BLUE PILL | RED PILL
TRY IMMEDIATISM?
We used to be active - and have a following - on pre-X twitter but that has now been abandoned. (There is also a graveyard out there on Facebook somewhere - and if anyone can fight their way through the AI slop forest on Pinterest, then there is a dead Zeitwarp page there to reward your persistence.)
Instagram will remain active but this is really only to keep track of the bands, grassroots venues and music artists that we support through The Caymana.
Our focus will be both on IRL networking and our own platform going forward. If you would like to keep up with what we are doing then the best thing to do is to subscribe to The Outer Limits below.
Being a subscriber is also the only way to buy Zeitwarp art, merch etc on the internet
NEVER STOP THE ACTION | KEEP IT UP, KEEP IT UP
WORK TO THE 'RITHM
The Richard Sera quote has evolved to become (another) Mandela-effect paraphrase/misquote along the lines of "If the product is free, then you are the product".
Irrespective of the provenance the sentiment remains consistent, Sera was originally talking about the more passive dynamic of television advertising. By comparison, in Web2 social media the 'opportunity' exists to broadcast yourself and share in the rewards.
However, with the algorithms rewarding engagement and "time on platform", and in an economy where attention is an almost fundamental requirement, it's easy to become committed to chasing the dopamine dragon in a hamster wheel existence.
Is it the new minimum wage /maximum hours gig economy for the 21st Century...or maybe just the new American Dream...?
LET'S DANCE
DOPAMINE DISCO
How did it come to this?
Here we are a quarter of the way through the 21st Century with vast swathes of the 8 billion people on this planet engaged in a never ending hunger games tournament in a D-2 Dopamine soaked social landscape overpopulated by a post-GPT API-driven universe of almost infinite digital culture slurry, where the attention trade is the last game in town.
You having fun yet?
CHOOSE YOUR FUTURE
CHOOSE LIFE
"Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing sprit-crushing game shows" - Trainspotting
If you've ever seen or heard one of my talks or interviews on the human implications of disruptive technology then you may well be aware of the concept of leaning into human uniqueness. This can take many forms - one of which is social media. That's obviously your choice and I wish you well.
However, I have decided to choose a different route, and while I'm not abandoning social media entirely I will only use it for sporadic 'broadcasting'.
LET'S NOT PLAY
ZUCKERWANG
Which is a long way of saying "I'm not playing any more" - or more specifically...I'm not prioritising Mark or Elon's game any more.
Social media has long felt like an accelerating game of diminishing returns however with the API floodgates open to generative AI the anti-network effect has gone interstellar.
The problem of course is that the vanity metrics of 'social proof' are the often the key to external perception and - in the case of artists, bands, businesses, whatever - the literal difference between success and failure.
Well - if you've got this far - then my hope is that you will not judge this book by the quantity of its algorithmic footprint but instead by the quality of the 'content'.
BLUE PILL OR RED PILL
IMMEDIATISM
We used to be active - and have a following - on pre-X twitter but that has now been abandoned. (There is also a graveyard out there on Facebook somewhere - and if anyone can fight their way through the AI slop forest on Pinterest, then there is a dead Zeitwarp page there somewhere.)
Instagram will remain active but this is really only to keep track of the bands, grassroots venues and music artists that we support through The Caymana.
Our focus will be both on IRL networking and our own platform going forward. If you would like to keep up with what we are doing then the best thing to do is to subscribe to The Outer Limits below. Being a subscriber is also the only way to buy Zeitwarp art, merch etc on the internet
THE OUTER LIMITS
The Outer Limits is a monthly email broadcast from Zeitwarp Studios featuring exclusive art drops, upcoming exhibitions & installations, and news on everything we are doing to support and promote grassroots culture via The Caymana.
(Please remember to confirm your email address, thanks.)
SLEEVE NOTES
All original images and text are the exclusive copyright of Zeitwarp Studios.
Please do not copy or reproduce any of our original images and text without permission.
© Zeitwarp Studios