TechCat
How technology shapes our communication
Meowza hoomans,
No need to be scared, this newsletter has not gone all technology — just a bit in this month’s issue. The simple reason is that, with our mobile phones, PCs, tablets, laptops, and whatnots, we all use technology to talk about our cats and to share cat images with people from around the world. And it is our gadgets that make that possible . At the same time, our gadgets together with the platforms we are on with our cats shape the way we communicate. How that is done is the focus of this month’s newsletter — with the help of Technology Cat🐈⬛, or TechCat for short .
So hop into your cardboard box 📦 and get your catnip 🌿 out. TechCat🐈⬛ is ready for you.
When you read this, you are either in your email inbox or on Substack, via which this newsletter is shared. You have this newsletter on your screen — either in mobile, tablet, or desktop modes, not just in a bigger or smaller size but also in the way my newsletter is presented to you. This is done automatically for you and me, so I normally don’t think about this change in size. What I do think about, though, is how long my newsletter should be and how I should break up my text best with subheadings and the likes. After all, reading on a smallish device like your phone is no mean feat and I want to make reading easy on the eyes for you. So there, that is already one decision technology affects. TechCat🐈⬛ alert.
Did you know that the platform my newsletter is on also acts like a social media platform? Well, yes it does. With little symbols like hearts and arrows, it invites you to like, share, and comment any newsletter that you read. You could like mine (hint, hint) and engage with it. Like it, leave a comment, share it!! You can. Leave a picture of your cat under my newsletter? You can. The platform makes it possible for you. It’s your decision — encouraged by technology. Another TechCat🐈⬛ alert.
Related to that, we have the prompt, which also invites us to share our thoughts on mundane everyday things. Substack asks us like a good friend “What is on your mind?” and promises us authenticity and small slices of everyday life. How cozy is that then? It is probably not altogether our decision as to what we write and how we write it. Yep, TechCat🐈⬛ alert
A platform where you can write and post audio and video is called multi-modal social media platform because you can use more than one mode of communication. Now this is also where algorithms come into play. You want your newsletter to be read, to be liked, to be shared, to be commented on. Engagement rules. The better you algorithm likes your post or newsletter, the better it performs, and you get more likes, more shares, more comments. So you try to second guess the algorithm and write the way you think it wants you to write. That’s not really your decision. It’s a TechCat 🐈⬛ alert.
And the hashtag #. #TechCat in its #TechCatAlert has found out that hashtag functionality is being curtailed because the powers that be are not happy with people using hashtags. Of course, there is also such a thing as hashtag spam, that is if you use too many and/or irrelevant hashtags. But what if you like hashtags because they look pretty and technology doesn’t allow you? Threads allows only one hashtag, Substack has no hashtags, Twitter (X) bans hashtags from advertising. TechCat🐈⬛ points out that it’s the platforms that allow or disallow the use of hashtags, so it’s not up to us if and how many hashtags we can use. Time for a TechCat🐈⬛ alert.
So there are actually quite a few decisions we make consciously or not that are shaped by technology. TechCat🐈⬛ is alert. Are you?
Catspeak Selection
purranormal
Tutancatmun
mewtations
May the furrr-ce be with you
Miaunachtsmann (German) (Santa Claus)
Paws Angeles, California
purrks
expurrience
Catsmopolitan
pawlice
phurrrmacy
meowtastic
Meownopoly
vampurrrrrrrrrrr