28 November 2014

Serendipitous targeting

In social media can we consider that a desired effect may be hard in this sense: that to make an effect then that which creates it needs to be far removed from it. That is, we consider that a new media creation, has a set of possible effects that can attract it. We can consider that these effects will tend to attract it. But the desired effect will come from that attraction taking place. But we consider that after this, the effect may then move towards the desired effect.

So we look for an effect that maintains the desired effect as it has a predictable or even unpredictable effect. That is, the new media creation needs to be such that it can still make an effect whilst having an effect that may be far removed from it. But does it need to be far removed from the desired effect. Yes, in the sense that to maintain its effect, this reduces the absorption of its capacity to have an effect, when it does have the initial effect.

Why not simply go for the initial effect. Because such a targeting will sink in a vast sea of items having such an effect. Indeed to have such an effect, it may be necessary not to target the item. So we have a kind of targeting making use of that serendipitous nature of new media, that may come from that way desired effects actually have other effects. But the question in this article, is, can that be made use of to find some kind of targeting, rather than relying on random effects. However it suggest that time is an important factor in this sense: the actual desired effect, if it happens, may take considerably longer than might be expected.

This differentiates new media creations from traditional media, as their effect is carefully specified and anticipated and immediate and limited in time by replacement. Is that part of the attraction of traditional media ? That is, one want that clarity and speed of content. Yet, does it not also point towards the power of new media, that is, it has a life of its own and a length of life that is undefined. That is, it gives new life to (new) forms of expression. Also if one tries to force new media into traditional forms, then it may be like forcing an immediate and possibly undesired effect to a new media creation and restraining the complex functional effects of new media.