Has social media ruined the web?
During his time in prison, the rise of smartphones and apps had changed the online world. Blogging and independent websites had been overtaken by social media networks, with the likes* of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram dominating the market.
The article accentuates the the liberation and power social media has given us, it metaphorically describes as being living in a prison without it.
Iran's blogfather: Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are killing the web
as we take social media for granted people in the world, are being imprisoned for displaying thier views on a global network.
Blogs were gold and bloggers were rock stars back in 2008 when I was arrested. At that point, and despite the fact the state was blocking access to my blogfrom inside Iran, I had an audience of around 20,000 people every day. People used to carefully read my posts and leave lots of relevant comments, even those who hated my guts. I could empower or embarrass anyone I wanted. I felt like a monarch.
At the same time, these social networks tend to treat native text and pictures – things that are directly posted to them – with a lot more respect. One photographer friend explained to me how the images he uploads directly to Facebook receive many more likes than when he uploads them elsewhere and shares the link on Facebook.
I miss when people took time to be exposed to opinions other than their own, and bothered to read more than a paragraph or 140 characters. I miss the days when I could write something on my own blog, publish on my own domain, without taking an equal time to promote it on numerous social networks; when nobody cared about likes and reshares, and best time to post.
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