I'd be really interested in how the authors (and researchers in general) measure semantic richness. The paper mentions that semantic richness seems to influence visual working memory (familiar but otherwise random geometric shapes are harder than celebrity faces). However, how do you know when an image is semantically rich for a given subject? Similarly, how did the researchers know when the experimental images were morphed enough to be semantically unrecognizable?
Big fan of reveal, thanks so much for your work. Useful for so many more things than just presentations. I normally use it for static marketing-ish sites, but been thinking recently about how to use it for more interactive applications...
Is there an evidence that limited viewpoint diversity (as a substack "community" tends to have) in any way financial harmful? It seems like only the opposite is true. The less viewpoint diversity a channel has the more the participants seem to enjoy and be willing to pay for it. But I might be missing a good example of the opposite.
It’s about the second order effects of what it takes to keep an ecosystem healthy over a longer period. We might pay attention to individual “winners”, but it takes a healthy “scene” incorporating variety and scope for evolution & innovation, to keep the fun going. Otherwise it quickly gets stale/boring. If about as interesting as being isolated in your own sandbox (or soapbox, as it may be).
From a personal perspective, I agree. You and I seek new information when we read online. Subtack siloes don't serve our needs very well.
However another pretty important "job to be done" when people read articles is moral affirmation. I need moral affirmation as much as the next person, but I solve this problem with different products (personal conversations, etc). If you use digital media as a reminder that you you're right, substack seems like a good deal.
It seems like that's the majority of digital media consumers, but I might be wrong about that.
Persuasion is often a side effect of engagement. Well written facts, even without persuasive language, can still give the impression that the listed facts are more important than other ones.
Two facts from March 2020:
We have a shortage of masks.
Masks keep you from spreading disease.
If you read an engaging article about fact 2, you'll likely ignore fact 1.
