The Information You’re Exposed to Shapes Who You Are: From Users to (Sense)Makers

The Information You’re Exposed to Shapes Who You Are: From Users to (Sense)Makers

In today's digital age, the information we consume plays a pivotal role in shaping our identities. Every piece of content we consume, whether it's an article, video, or social media post, leaves an imprint on our minds. It carves a little home into our brains and nests itself there, influencing our values and beliefs.

Consumption and identity are closely related. The more content we consume, the more we feed our values and beliefs. However, there is a downside to constantly being drawn into the noise of the internet. Not only does it decrease our productivity, but it also limits our access to reliable information.

In a platform-centric ecology, user annotations such as likes, retweets, and comments are locked within data silos, serving only to optimize platform growth. This centralized control over our attention limits our ability to engage in collective sensemaking, the process of making sense of information as a group.

To combat this issue, a socio-technical framework called Open Source Attention (OSA) has been proposed. Inspired by the decentralization and open source software movements, OSA aims to "free" human attention from platform control. It does this by creating a decentralized ecosystem for creating, storing, and querying stigmergic markers, which are the digital traces of human attention.

Stigmergic communication operates on the principle that modifications made by others in the environment provide feedback and drive the emergence of novel system-level behavior. There are two types of modifications - sematectonic stigmergy, which directly alters the environment state, and stigmergic markers, which serve as signaling cues. Stigmergic markers, such as likes, annotations, and hyperlinking of text, are indicators of epistemic value and are valuable resources for both extractive (e.g., ad-tech) and constructive (e.g., collective sensemaking) purposes.

OSA aims to "free" stigmergic markers by introducing basic hypertext primitives such as emotional valence, bi-directional links, span highlighting, semantic categorization, and textual annotation. By doing so, it seeks to empower maker-centric ecologies and support intentions rather than exploit attention.

One of the key questions regarding OSA is its scalability. In a world dominated by massive, well-established platforms, any proposal must compete with them. However, OSA is congruent with the "protocols, not platforms" approach, which emphasizes interoperability and collaboration. Instead of competing head-to-head with existing platforms, OSA can bootstrap existing personal knowledge management (PKM) apps by introducing interoperable protocols and storage for stigmergic primitives. This would allow data from diverse PKM apps to be shared and contribute to collective sensemaking efforts.

To leverage the power of the information we consume and shape our identities in a positive way, here are three actionable pieces of advice:

1. Be mindful of the content you consume: Take a moment to reflect on the information you consume regularly. Is it diverse? Does it provide different perspectives? Seek out reliable sources and be open to challenging your own beliefs.

2. Engage in collective sensemaking: Participate in online communities or platforms that promote collective sensemaking. Contribute your insights, ask questions, and engage in discussions that help make sense of complex issues.

3. Support open-source initiatives: Look for and support initiatives like OSA that aim to "free" attention and promote decentralized ecosystems. By supporting open-source software and protocols, you contribute to creating a healthier and more diverse information landscape.

In conclusion, the information we consume plays a significant role in shaping who we are. It influences our values, beliefs, and decision-making processes. However, in today's platform-centric ecology, our attention is often controlled and exploited by centralized platforms. To reclaim control over our attention and engage in collective sensemaking, initiatives like Open Source Attention offer a promising solution. By being mindful of our consumption, engaging in collective sensemaking, and supporting open-source initiatives, we can shape our identities in a positive and meaningful way.