Following Irma, We Are All Influencers
The abdication of responsible journalism by news agencies was not a new phenomenon but observing how the void was filled caught me by surprise.
For the first half of September Hurricane Irma paralyzed the 20 million residents of Florida with fear and anxiety for one week and then left them with either real damage or real emotional fatigue the following. This week many took their first calm breaths and welcomed the most mundane of Mondays with enthusiasm. The last major scare for Tampa Bay I personally experienced was the near miss by Hurricane Charley in August 2004 –six months after the launch of Facebook and six months prior to the launch of YouTube.
To say society has changed would be a understatement. To say the field of economics is failing society is an even bigger understatement. While I have observed natural and man-made disasters through the lens of social media, I had not yet experienced one. Today’s media marketplace is directed by alchemistic economic fantasy, more concerned with converting humans to GDP gold than of measuring the innate value of humans as the fabric of a global society within which many markets function.
The field of economics is so entrenched in bad theory focused on reaching full employment and growing GDP that the emergent profession is shamefully arrogant and woefully incompetent. The medieval practice of alchemy sought to create gold from common matter and contemporary economics is causing us to do the same with human beings.
This misalignment was illustrated perfectly with local new reporters showcasing and encouraging unsafe behavior while the community circulated unsubstantiated reports of violent home invasions. Local media agencies could have done some quick investigative reporting to ease community tensions around what was later proven to be a hoax. They choose instead to continue the practice of placing reporters in danger and inspiring people to produce copycat video reports via Facebook Live.
The abdication of responsible journalism by news agencies was not a new phenomenon but observing how the void was filled caught me by surprise. While the traditional corporate media “influencers” were exploiting tensions to capture audience attention it was our community of individuals that provided comfort to those around them through social media.
Facebook Live, Instagram, and Snapchat streams were full of preparation updates and tips along with ideas for finding comfort if the worst were to occur. WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger allowed far-flung friends and family in group chats to lighten moods and help parents remain strong for their children. Downloads of Zello Walkie Talkie spiked, bringing the intimacy of familiar voices to darkened homes shuttered to keep out the storm.
At the age of 27 I weathered Charlie with a group of friends for a hurricane party where we were eventually cut off together from the world. In sharp contrast at 40, I weathered Irma alone in my apartment while simultaneously connected to all those I cared about, even after their power went out.
The peer-to-peer connectivity allowed people to be people and each of us to be an influencer. Each of us counted to someone. Each of us provided comfort to others and nobody was a transaction.
Contemporary economics dictates that social media practitioners hustle, grind, and work 24/7 to influence enough people to eventually monetize their social capital and register as a minuscule GDP blip. While there is a valid market for monetizing social capital, we must hold economists accountable. Accountable to a society that operates on social capital. Accountable by measuring all social capital value regardless of conversion to GDP. The value is there, currently stored as big data, we just need Modern Metrics for the Digital Age.
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