As I sit here typing this post, I'm enthralled by the sudden disappearance of my Google+ profile. Perhaps many of you were unaware as well or as so I suspect... but I will get to that later. You see, I didn't get the memo that Google+ shut the network down on April 2, 2019. The reason given as stated on Wikipedia reads as follows:
"Due to low user engagement and disclosed software design flaws that potentially allowed outside developers access to personal information of its users, the Google+ developer API was discontinued."
In the wake of this, I'm left to anguish over the many hours I put into networking and building my audience on that platform. Much like the stock market, not every social media investment will bare the engagement fruit we so yearn for. However, I personally felt that Google+ was somewhat useful as I found that putting some time in to message your following did increase the overall engagement of your posts. All of this begs the question.. Are we wasting our time? Is it futile to push your social media agenda on platforms outside the established industry titans of Facebook, Youtube, and Instagram? Will one of these titans fall for another to rise?
I often find myself lost in the idea that perhaps the obligation of the public trust must be made to weigh heavier on companies that rise to such power over societies' means of communication and culture. Should users be provided with account insurance based on time invested? Sure it is to user's choice to take on the risk of investing time on a social media platform but have you ever wondered if that time is actually worth its weight on you life cycle. On average, we spend roughly 2 hours a day on social media. With extra time given on the weekends and during breaks, that could be easily estimated out to nearly 30+ hours a week. That's 90+ hours a month and some 1,500 to 2,000 hours a year. Imagine all that documentation and journalism being gone in a single stroke. That hurts. My question... Is it worth that risk? Should that time be insured?
-DKN