A very interesting article by @eugenewei about social capital and how social networks tap into our need to compete and feel somewhat better than the rest.

We are now in late-stage performative Twitter, where nearly every tweet is hungry as hell for favorites and retweets, and everyone is a trained pundit or comedian. It's hot takes and cool proverbs all the way down. The harmless status update Twitter was a less thirsty scene but also not much of a business (…)
a social network should continue to prioritize distribution for the best content, whatever the definition of quality, regardless of the vintage of user producing it.
Otherwise a form of social capital inequality sets in, and in the virtual world, where exit costs are much lower than in the real world, new users can easily leave for a new network where their work is more properly rewarded and where status mobility is higher.