Mountain/Molehill: Media consumption, aggregation and social networks

Today, I decided to put an end to the annoying messages that were starting to trickle in from my Flixster account. I have been using the movie-review application on Facebook for well over a year now, and in doing so, I had an account on the website itself. The problem is, along with the features I had no interest in like movie-taste compatibility tests and quizzes, the site came with it's own team of fake members who like to email random dudes and ask for their email address for more spam messages and maybe a virus.

We've all been there - assuming we've all had a Myspace at one point in our lives. Which reminds me, I should check it and maybe even close it. A salacious looking profile picture with an equally salacious handle will randomly leave a comment or message about how our tastes are so similar and that we'd make a great couple. Give me you email and I'll send a picture and more email about me.

Well I said no thanks to that and, acting on a momentary impulse, closed my account. Of course my facebook application would not be affected I thought. Whoops-a-daisy. Now my collection of short movie reviews is gone. 

Part of me feels upset because as an amateur critic, I took those kind of websites pretty seriously, if only for allowing me to consider a kind of rating or soundbite of thought instead of just letting whatever I saw wash over me, never to be considered again. Also, having a timeline of when I saw particular movies or read particular books helped tell a little story of what I was interested in for the fleeting moment, and subtly nagged me to keep consuming. 

But there's the rub. Now I think if I can just quit all those websites, I will be unburdened by certain reminders to keep consuming. It could make watching movies and reading books the joyful experience they can be, without the added chore of making sure I logged in some kind of opinion somewhere in the vast ocean of the internet. Aside from some good friends, how many people really consider what is written? I don't read other people's reviews on those websites. Why would they read mine? (I'm aware that the same could be said for this blog...)

I had a similar epiphany years ago when I made an effort to listen to every relevant new music release that came out. Of course I fell behind and I acquired music that STILL hasn't been listened to. And it became a chore trying to get through it all. When something you absolutely love to do becomes a chore, then it might be time to rethink how you approach it.