Networks need more than a rebranding. They need Repurposing

We even try. But just a few hours after the start of the day, I had already been exposed to videos of war crimes, heated arguments over reality shows, reports of femicides, and every kind of bullshit that humanity has ever created. And it wasn't even lunch time yet.

In my youth (a few decades ago), there was a curse that no one wanted for themselves: alienated. This shame was reserved for that good-natured guy, who didn't get involved in controversy, who wasn't paying any attention for anything that would take him out of his debauchery. At the time, with Brazil having just come out of 30 years of dictatorship, the accusation we made against the alienated was that they did not contribute to the public debate. They washed their hands of all the abuses that politicians had always committed.

Well, I've been missing the alienated ones.

Today everyone has an opinion, blunt, radical, unique, angry, based on generally nothing, and makes a point of expressing it in bold and caps lock every day on their social media profiles.

It wasn't always like this.

Older people will remember that, when the digital networks first appeared, the trend was simply to post photos and videos of their travels, gastronomic life and their cats and dogs. And yet, we complained.

Things have changed a lot and there is a specific point for this: the widespread adoption of algorithms on networks. At this point in the story it seems redundant to say, but an algorithm is a handful of codes that filter all posts on networks, and choose which ones they want to give greater organic reach. The criteria that guide these choices have always been a bit dark, but it seems clear that, by giving preference to what engages most, they naturally gave impetus to any and all types of bullshit, something that is ingrained in our own genetic code.

Time passes, and today the networks have become true scenes of pitched battles, complete with faces painted in the colors of each tribe, banners with clan flags and catapults with flaming balls. Politics ends up being the biggest attractor of beatings, but not that it is essential. It is treated equally, and with the same level of virulence because of the latest Big Brother edition, food deliveries or Zack Snyder's filmography. Everything is a reason.

Amidst the angry hordes, roaming the cyber fields with sharp scythes and rakes, looking for the next victim, many are making the decision I made at the end of last year: to reduce, and in some cases stop, their social media activities, in order to gain quality of life, sleep and reduce the chance of having a heart attack because of a controversy said by some shady standup comedian on Twitter (or, you know, X).

In fact, it is increasingly common to find famous people announcing that they will take a break from the networks to dedicate themselves to other matters. Read: it's getting boring.

It is true that letting go of the nets seems like something that is beyond the capacity and willpower of a human being. It's stronger than us. But remember that, not long ago, we thought Orkut was irreplaceable.

Behind the scenes, Big Techs spend outrageous amounts of money to prevent network regulation legislation from being implemented. Should not. In fact, I feel that if they embraced the cause, in the medium and long term they would have more to gain. Because not even regulation will solve the problems that platforms have been presenting. It may decrease, and it may make the debate a little more responsible, but that's it.

If they want to regain the shine they once had, networks should embrace something more drastic than a rebranding. It should be something more like a repurposing (if that term even exists).

In a rebranding, a brand can choose a new identity, make visual changes, adjust the discourse with its target audience (new or not) and try to adapt to future times. If they do this, they will end up selling themselves even more to radicals.

A repurposing process should make them really rethink the reason for their existence. Full of money, they could understand their role in the world, even because there was no way of knowing what it would be when they went public. Try to rescue the dissenting user by creating a healthy, safe, fun environment. If your vocation is really to be the new public squares, let them present their rules. After all, there is no place in the world where you can debate without pants, or by hitting all your interlocutors.

Stefan Sagmeister, legendary designer, has just released a book (which I can't wait to get my hands on) called Now is Better. The book seeks to show, through texts and infographics, that on most subjects, the world has improved, and not the other way around. For those who use the networks, it seems difficult to believe. Big Techs, if they don't have the power to improve the world, can at least choose where they place their giant lenses, made up of intelligent codes, to focus.

It would improve life around the world.