(And yes. I know it's my fault. I fucked all of this up.)

All of this may sound like doom and gloom. And maybe it is a little.

Not sure how we get out of this corner we painted ourselves into (with a LOT of help from greedy platforms).

Really hope that those who understand how to organize others can help us escape. Just seem to be so few of those left.

Can be really challenging when the only place you can find community is online for that reason. For some people the real world isn't an option.

Wish I had a better answer for how we change how we build those communities. But these sites are all built around making sure you never leave them.

Some community building is blood, sweat, and tears. Hard work paying off. But in such an over saturated attention based system with infinite 'content'...there is a huge degree of luck.

It's a lottery. Playing more costs more. Increases your odds. But does not guarantee success. >

So what happens to the people who don't have the energy, bandwidth, or resources to climb to the top of the crab bucket?

You end up feeling alone in a crowded room. Straining to be heard and posting into the 'void.'

Some people build small communities and get out of the noise. But not many. >

Social media becomes an game of escalation for eyes. Everyone in a room talking is loud. So someone starts shouting. Then everyone is shouting so someone holds up a sign. Then everyone is holding up a sign. Then someone installs a billboard that blocks a huge area. >

Believe a lot of people scroll but don't have the energy to engage. At least true for me.

Also just a volume problem. Unless you make scrolling/ interacting your full time job there is just too much to see every day. As an individual you may post twice a day. But multiply that by 1000's. So much.