No more common reality?

Niche-zation of the internet

What niches are you in?

What niches are you in?

living off homegrown food challenge, hiker couples + solo backpackers, moms packing their kids lunch, reddit stories overlaid baking videos, day in the life of…(any job you can think of), powerwash cleaning, cooking tutorial videos, asmr cooking, people that cook but narrate life stories or tell jokes

What niches are you in?

living off homegrown food challenge, hiker couples + solo backpackers, moms packing their kids lunch, reddit stories overlaid baking videos, day in the life of…(any job you can think of), powerwash cleaning, cooking tutorial videos, asmr cooking, people that cook but narrate life stories or tell jokes

What niches are you in?

slido.com: #2370650

What sparked it all (for me)

My initial thoughts:

• Losing a shared reality → that’s kinda scary
• Is it a bad thing for everyone to have their own reality?
• I still don’t really care about the Grammy’s or Superbowl at the end of the day
• Maybe I’m a little more interested in them, but not more than what I already like
• “People spend less time interacting with others different than them than before. We live in silos.” → is this true?
• I feel like people have lived like this for most of history
• Maybe internet + globalization in general is the culprit, not niche-zation?
• Niches provide more good than harm (polarization/separation) overall

Recommendation algorithms

• Thought to intensify political polarization
• Or at least be correlated to it
• Algorithms are often based on similarity
• Provides similar content
• Provides content other similar users liked

Oversaturation of internet

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=random+tiktok+niches

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oversaturation according to this subway take

oversaturation according to this subway take

oversaturation according to this subway take

Do you want to hear songs outside your usual genres?

Super specific niches

Pros

• Everyone has a community
• More accessible communities
• Every topic has a space to be discussed & “built” on

Cons

• Polarization due to rec. algorithms
• Less interactions across separate/distinct groups or demographics
• …losing a common sense of reality?
• Oversaturation of content (do you think “over”saturation possible?)
• this youtube video
• Maybe i’m just tired of the internet?

Super specific niches

…any i missed?

Pros

• Everyone has a community
• More accessible communities
• Every topic has a space to be discussed & “built” on

Cons

• Polarization due to rec. algorithms
• Less interactions across separate/distinct groups or demographics
• …losing a common sense of reality?
• Oversaturation of content (do you think “over”saturation possible?)
• this youtube video
• Maybe i’m just tired of the internet?

More food for thought

• Was there ever a shared reality to begin with?
• Do we need a shared reality? Is it a bad thing for everyone to have their own reality?
• “We live in silos” → is this true?
• Do you think “shared,” “universal” events/pop culture moments have become more important in creating a more united society?
• How important are Grammys, Oscars, Met Gala really? Do they represent universal moments of community + society?
• Maybe more global events like World Cup, Olympics?
• If so, maybe the internet helps make these moments more accessible → viral clips, edits, memes of big events
• So internet is both cause + solution to our problems?
• How could we reimagine social media/content algorithms to address some of the current standing issues?
• “People spend less time interacting with others different than them than before” → is this true?