Social media has become an inherent part of our life. It is a a means to stay informed and it is convenient. With a click you can find out what the whole world has been up to while you were asleep or otherwise occupied. At the same time, it’s a new order. The order of elite and its followers.
The concept of followers is by no means a new one. In ancient Greece most public figures had followers. All religious dogmas speak of disciples. In Europe, Theodoric and Alexander the Great started a real royal court culture that extended further to local noble courts. The Islamic world had Caliphates, the Chinese empire had one of the largest courts in the Forbidden City. Later on, these entourages evolved into political groups, parties as we now know them. Throughout the history, anybody who was somebody had a group of followers around them who would enrich their presence at any place, listen to their words of wisdom, spread their opinions and enhance their fame. Granted, those followers were as prone to leave their “master” at a drop of a hat as they are today. Loyalty was as much of a fickle thing back then as it is now, mostly because the act of following was not based upon any soul deep connection or conceptual compatibility, but on social favors and power.
Being “très à la mode” granted you special privileges, invitations to fashionable events, the ohs and ahs of the general public, gave your words the value of an axiom and made you suitable for becoming a model to be followed. The followers, especially those to which loyalty was anathema, were there for sharing part of that fame. Was it trendy to follow the thoughts and fashion of a certain Madame de Pompadour? Then, by all means, let the whole Europe dress and talk like mini copies of her. Was it rumored that she might have fallen from the king’s grace? You would hear her being dissed at every corner by the same mini copies that were now dressed like the present protegée. People felt the need then, as they do now, to be part of the trend. If they couldn’t be the ones to set a new path, they could at least say that they belonged to the group that followed that path. “I follow the trends, therefore I am” is the motto of the practiced follower.The whys and hows do not exist. If asked for an explanation, they would only repeat the words of their mentors. The world would lose yet another opportunity to evolve and gain one more mindless – though sometimes prettily adorned – sheep.
Alexander Chase said “People, like sheep, tend to follow a leader – occasionally in the right direction.” While this statement might seem outrageous, it holds an undeniable truth: most people need leadership. Not necessarily because they are natively incapable of thinking for themselves, but because they need guidance. We are all searching for our path. In this search, before we define ourselves as freestanding, we need models to look up to, to follow. Leaders of any kind, be they kings, governments or clergy, always knew this fact and exploited it to obtain utmost obedience. Nowadays politicians and marketers are milking the same, well, sheep. Social media, while not inherently created for that, it serves the same purpose. The model of elite and followers works exceptionally well, mainly because shallowness is an integral part of our life. Too busy with our day to day existence, we pick ideas from here and there, not always having or taking the time to delve deeper into the subjects in question.
The principle is rather simple: as we absorb information, we will always look up to those who are considered to be experts or authorities in that field and we will start carving our own opinions based on that. And while staying informed and being up to date with people’s opinions is vital these days, mindless idea adoption can be disastrous. Ignorance, lack of depth or “la forme sans le fond” may and will get us in trouble. One must never forget that trend-setters, at the end of the day, are just people and people are subjective. One cannot read someone’s opinion and expect a BBC report. Said trend-setters, unthinkable as it may sound, do not hold the absolute truth – only the public’s attention. By adopting and promoting their ideas, you are responsible for more followers who, in turn, thought that you knew what you were talking about. A vicious circle, I would say. And, in the mean time, we forget to use our own brain.
So what is one to do? Read. Read the basics on a subject, then the details, know the norms or standards by heart and, by all means, invest the time to learn what others have to say about it. But as you do that, don’t forget to think for yourself. With all the knowledge you acquired, experiment. And, if you are bold and knowledgeable enough, break the rules in case you think they stand in the way of your goal. In regards to the web, there is no web police that will give you a fine for breaking design and development norms – only your visitors can do that. As long as your code or designs provide a good, attractive experience for the user, the rest is more or less irrelevant. Yes, you might be dissed and accused. The elite and its crew might hold you in contempt. But playing inside the norms never gave us any groundbreaking masterpiece or discovery. Lose the herd for a while and wander a bit. And who knows, in the process of finding greener pastures, maybe you’ll happen to set your own path.