Calibrating feedback expectations in social media

[packbat]

When we make a post on the fediverse, or when we made a post on Tumblr or Twitter during our time using those platforms, it was extremely easy for people to give us an indication that they were glad we posted it. All three of those broadcast-based social networks have at least one button that lets the originator of the post know that their post was seen, with no further steps required.

That's not true here. As far as I can tell, the only way that anyone here gets direct, in-their-inbox feedback is if someone hits that third button from those other networks and types a reply.

Typing is work. You gotta have something to say, and you gotta get past the inherent anxiety involved in any attempt to put your ideas out there for other people to see and judge. We Packbats don't expect comments or replies - those things are rare.

...and that means this platform is very quiet. Yes, there are only fourteen accounts signed up to get our posts on their reading pages, but this platform is also just quiet - it doesn't generate a stream of acknowledgements the way other platforms do.

(And the fediverse is quieter than Twitter or Tumblr - you don't get notifications for people clicking buttons on posts you didn't originate. Only one account's page sees the viral post blow up.)

Quiet is not a bad thing. But it's something we have to calibrate our expectations to.

- 🐲 🦊

Comments

[cosmolinguist]

Yeah I was thinking the other day that I've been reading and enjoying your posts but I didn't have anything to say about them so you had no way of knowing this!

And I know it's possible to leave a comment just to say "in general I am reading these and I'm glad you're writing!" but it's not really The Done Thing so that's another hurdle to clear.

[packbat]

*nods!*

I don't think we have any ideas on how to "fix" that lack of feedback - but we're pretty glad to hear that you're appreciating our posts, given your posts here and on the fediverse are what prompted us to start posting regularly. For now, posting here and sharing with folx elsewhere to get what instant validation we need to stave off the rejection-sensitive dysphoria seems like a workable strategy for us, but we'll see how things go.

And we got used to fedi being quieter than Tumblr, so.

- 🦊