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MichaelVassar comments on Things You Can't Countersignal - Less Wrong
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So is one implication that people who interact with non-representative populations systematically reduce their effectiveness in dealing with outsiders via inappropriate counter-signaling? Seems plausible.
My example is the possibility that advertising has become less effective with time because the advertising specialists have to signal their cleverness to other advertisers (who have seen a lot of advertising and who are very sensitive to it) to get the job. They show this cleverness by making advertisements which are too subtle for the consumer audience to 'get'.
Agnostic complains about the trend toward "ironic" advertisements here. They also annoy me.
As far as the Advertising example goes, I think I disagree. Advertising has become less effective because there is so much more of it. There are advertisements in more places than ever and and consumers are so used to seeing it that it's hard to break through that clutter and grab their attention, especially in terms of the interruptive-based advertising model that is used on TV and in banner advertising online.
What might actually illustrate this point is the reason why advertising can be really horrible. It's not that ad specialist have to signal their cleverness in a way that sabotages the end product by making it too clever, but more that people in the industry are constantly having to justify it's quality to clients and colleagues--so they end up justifying things and approving things that are actually really bad.
I would be surprised if that wasn't something that was wired in from many generations of dealing with other tribes.
I've noticed a change in my own behavior when around new groups of people. It's weird when it happens, because I'm so used to countersignaling and disliking those that regular signal it bothers me when I catch myself doing it.