On TikTok, There Is No Time
there&#x27;s content creation - which seems to be reducing in length of time. (tiktok is just a vine reboot).<p>and content curation - which is about maximizing viewer-curator interaction (websites like twitch where an intimate experience can be created between one streamer and an audience numbering in the tens of thousands) through chat-streamer and chat-chat feedback loops and the democratic curation of of content on other platforms being re-broadcast and experienced in that shared environment. the most successful streamers are on for 6 to 12 hours a day, every day, and they essentially play the role of friend-babysitter-curator-community leader. often the &#x27;content&#x27; being curated is pseudo-creator content, broadcasting walking through a city, videogames being played or scripted podcast&#x2F;talent shows, but the niche of shared watching is growing. both re-watching of other short content created on the same platform, and long-form shared watching of sponsored documentaries, viewer donated video clips and even loops of watching others watching others. a  type of &#x27;best of the internet today&#x27; interactive and in real time.<p>this tracks the emergence of reality internet, where it becomes impossible to distinguish between an online and offline person, as online time increases. very similar to what andy kaufman was doing, tangentially related to the society of the spectacle and neil postman&#x27;s critique of modern technology becoming a prison; fatalistic soliloquy on the doomed nature of mankind, trapped in self-reflection about nothing.<p>the outside becomes another experience on the inside of a screen. the internet is an extremely potent example of an old type of addiction, the &#x27;information drug&#x27;. i often find myself listening to things online between 3x and 4x speed, the spread of information has greatly reduced the depth and quality, i might spend 20 minutes researching an the editorial board and journalist of a news piece after a brief 10-20 second glance over the actual piece. heavy users might be the first to see the fraying edges of the future to come. confusion, apathy, opportunistic tyranny to fill the void.