good intentions with bad outcomes
Engagement is Value-Neutral / Quantity over Quality
Engagement is just the mechanism for delivering something of value, it’s not the value itself. Knowing how much engagement you have doesn’t tell you how much value you’re getting. Engagement that makes a difference is often what can't be seen, and consequently (easily) measured. It’s not even a good proxy measurement or leading indicator. You could deliver less value with more engagement, or more value with less engagement. At best it’s a vanity metric. At worst it’s ticking time bomb.
We should measure what we value, not value what we measure. Unfortunately for us, human psychology makes the latter inevitable. So our only hope is in the former, measuring what we value.
Rosieland: Stop Measuring Community Engagement.