I’ve been taking a break from writing. I got a little overwhelmed with the absolute nonsense that’s been driving social media platforms lately. I also had a challenging client for a few months that commanded an inordinate amount of my time and psyche, and that experience drained the life out of me. So, now that’s done and here I am…back to shake things up.
If you’re a social media user, I think we can all agree that social media has become very difficult to manage as just an entrepreneur or a salesperson. All the tenets around expressing yourself are still applicable and I’m here to tell you that it’s still a very viable place to build a community and network around yourself or your brand. But the platforms have given up on any semblance of thoughtful moderation, and as such, it’s getting dicier and dicier to spend time there.
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Is social media is still worth your time?
I always like to look at data before I decide which way I’m going to go. In the 2023 Social Media Marketing Industry Report:
- 86% of marketers said that their social media marketing gave more exposure to their businesses.
- 76% found it increased traffic to their website.
- 64% said it generated leads.
- 56% revealed that it developed loyal fans.
- 55% said that it had improved sales.
Those are the latest general numbers, and they’re compelling. So the argument would seem settled, right?
Well, not so fast. I must warn you that if you choose to be on social media, either as yourself/personal brand or as a business, it’s going to take an extra level of awareness and determination.
The tech billionaires who own the social media sites (and the flying monkeys who enable them) have decided to forego anymore discussion of content moderation. Which means social media can and will be a less safer place for most of us. The disinformation will become rampant (worse than it is already) and that sadly, makes it difficult for the average user to feel comfortable on each site.
I follow Kara Swisher, the leading tech journalist who’s been reporting on tech and business for a very long time. She has interviewed everyone of the top tech CEOs, in some cases several times. She has a great podcast with Scott Galloway (someone else who I have admired for a long time), called Pivot. Check it out if you can.
Here’s what Kara had to say yesterday in a tweet referring to these social platform CEOs:
Their proclivity is to get what they want by throwing around their vast sums of money, gotten largely at our expense, is classically childish, a gang of deeply insecure men who can only express themselves via dunking and dollars who have no interest in making this world a better place. Only their place. Their persistent desperation would be laughable if it were not so dangerous.
When the captain of the ship no longer cares about his passengers and crew, one must be very deliberate about their actions on social media. My advice in general is to be yourself, stay vigilant and be kind as much as you can (you will never regret being kind).
We don’t have to agree on anything to be kind to one another.
I’ve always looked at social media as a way to connect with people who I’d like to know, who might help me grow my business and who I could help grow theirs.
Resist the urge to give into the outrage machine.
Outrage only feeds social media platforms and rarely has a net positive for you and your personal brand.
Most people are not even aware of this manipulation and I admit, it feels good to participate. My recommendation is to temper your actions by taking a beat, and think before you post.
It’s going to get worse before it gets better.
All of this greed and hubris makes me sad. I don’t like to feel manipulated by rich people who just want to get richer. I also don’t like to be served disinformation or see my friends and connections be drawn into it. All of it makes me uncomfortable. But I’m going to weather the storm because there are new, exciting platforms like Post, Artifact and Meta is creating a text-based social network designed to compete with Twitter
I’m sticking it out on Twitter, even though the Twitter we all knew and loved is gone and has been replaced by a cesspool of hate, misogyny, homophobia and, if you can believe it, worse. This past weekend’s online attack by a toxic podcaster, anti-vaxx grifter and the owner of Twitter, against a wonderful public servant, Dr Peter Hotez, was just too much and it escalated to someone confronting him at his house…on Father’s Day!
Someone is going to get hurt and it’s disturbing.
Facebook/Meta is removing many of the disinformation guardrails. They’ve sued researchers who caught them with egg on their face. Companies that are opaque can cut corners at the public expense and there are no consequences.
Just last month the Surgeon General warned that social media may harm children and adolescents. The report by Dr. Vivek Murthy cited a “profound risk of harm” to adolescent mental health and urged families to set limits and governments to set tougher standards for use.
So much needs to be done, and first and foremost is regulation. But judging by the sad state of congressional leadership, that isn’t going to happen anytime soon.
So it’s up to us to take social media content moderation into our own hands.
It’s disturbing to say but it’s true that social media users are under attack. What these billionaire CEOs don’t seem to understand is their most prized company asset is the COMMUNITY. It takes years to build and days to dismantle. Once it’s gone, you don’t have a business anymore.
Musk is destroying Twitter, formally the most useful platform for news discovery. Now: All users are force fed Musk tweets, replies are a bunch of right-wing trolls, half of the time basic functions don’t work, and all the useful third party apps are broken. -Judd Legum, Popular Information
This is just one example of how platform owners don’t care about their users. They have different interests, none of which are our interests. But I believe social media is still worth your time. Like all things worthwhile, it will take paying close attention to your own actions and providing incredible value that will bring people to you for all the right reasons.
Get my latest business tips, exclusive content, and a bit of fun straight to your inbox with the Kruse Control Newsletter. Boost your profits with our proven advice. Sign up now – it’s free!