Playing the Facebook game demands a huge amount of energy, and the
corporate monster is not a level playing field. With complex advertising
deals and algorithms determining what you do or don't see, maintaining
an impact on social media requires hours and hours per week of social
networking. For us, that hasn't been feasible.
The pattern we observe is not people reporting from the front, but an
increasing reliance on mainstream sources for actual news, padded out
with a series of personal reflections. Rather than having a media that
can reach out, we are confined to an internet echo chamber.
The very speed of real-time news has meant that it is only salaried commentators who can keep up. The demand for news this instant leaves activists fighting for social change playing catch-up, while their actions are reported and analysed by corporate media. By the time you’re out of the cop shop and in front of a computer, the twitterati have beaten you to it.
Thankfully the collective go on to say that they are taking time out but are planning to come back in a new form. Looking forward to it!
