Ask HN: Does everything have to be social?
The big buzzword these days is "social". Every major company seems to be working on technologies that allow people to do more and more things together. Social networking, social gaming, social browsing, social TV, social music libraries. I will not deny the benefits these services provide, but to me, "social" is just another way of saying "public".
Perhaps I'm more introverted than the average consumer, but when I get home after a long day of work or perhaps a weekend night spent with friends, I like to unplug from society.
What are your thoughts about this? Are we heading toward a society where no one is ever truly alone?
3 comments
[ 4.3 ms ] story [ 19.7 ms ] threadnews is great, but news that has contributions from my friends is better. same with tv, food, workout habits, events, etc.
For example, many people wish to form their own opinions about the news they read, before being told what everyone else thinks about it.
The problem with so many online services is that they ASSUME by default that the value is only in the social elements, and fundamentally that people only have valuable interactions when they are social creatures. That is certainly majorly faulted.