It’s not my cat.

I’ve never owned more than about 20% of a cat, growing up in a family of 5 and being a regular traveller of the pacific rim area for most of my young adulthood since leaving home. While cat-sitting for a friend on holiday, though, I was presented with a small dainty by one of the house-gremlins: about 60% of a mouse. There’s not much to do in that situation: I simply said ‘thank you’ and threw it into a blackberry bush outside, after lifting it with a piece of paper and a bit of finesse; I gave no treat. The cat was, I’d assume, rather psyched with how things had gone regardless, and went back outside… probably to eat some moths, or find another offering tailored to my looming presence. The trouble is that the cat’s understanding of my snack-sorting algorithm is fundamentally flawed: I want 0% of a mouse.

Social media platforms are rather more ‘with it’ than Toast (that’s the cat’s name, which won’t come up again) when it comes to divining what I’d like to consume. Long ago they were able to divine my preferences around sporting teams, places I like to travel, and any number of other similar things. Technology has sussed out that I’m not a religious person, but that I love a cheeky gothic church. That’s markedly more granular than not even offering me a full mouse, before wondering if I wanted to share one.

I’m also never buffeted with soccer highlights, despite it being the world’s most popular game. Thus I never find myself given opportunities to debate the feasibility of ‘total football’ in the mega-club era, which in theory leaves me poorer: soccer is hidden from me. This isn’t sinister per se, but what else is concealed by technology and algorithms? When engagement is the guiding principle, echo chambers can result in any social media environment. It’s also true in a cat-based environment, oddly: I imagine the cat’s PLN is rather carnivore-forward/catosphere-dominated.

If we aren’t intentional in finding new and -crucially – diverse opinions, our PLN’s run the definite risk of becoming stagnant … or at least less productive and edifying than they might be. Barring intentional choice, we are simply consuming what is presented by technology for engagement. I did not click on the fractional mouse, nor reward its serving; I require no mice whatsoever, to say nothing of one that was between 40-100% Toast (I lied earlier, you see).

(I also thinking walking cats on a leash is weird – it’s not my cat, I’m telling you. Cat tax paid, though.)