Hey everyone. Sorry it’s been like 3 months since I posted anything new here. It’s not for lack of trying. I’ve had two posts lined up, but then rambled away from the point and ended up trashing them. Let’s hope the third time’s the charm. I’m probably going to delve into some controversial takes here, and maybe it’s more Blog Therapy for me, but here we go anyway.
First off, I don’t like social media. Maybe closer to the point would be I don’t like what social media has become in the last few years. They used to be places for people to share pictures and updates about their lives; it felt like a community. Sure, the Internet has always had trolls, but it was generally pretty easy to manage. Then 2016 happened. Then MLMs happened. Then COVID happened. Social media became a place to argue with people in massive flame wars, or to rope your friends into pyramid schemes and sell, sell, sell. Without the in-person social interaction during COVID lockdowns, social media became the only place to vent, but it grew more toxic as the pandemic stretched on. Leading up to the election in 2020, I deleted my accounts on all of them. I couldn’t deal with it anymore. After the initial withdrawal, I started to feel like a happier person.
Then, I became a published author with a product to sell, and as an independent, social media is THE marketing tool. I reluctantly got back on Facebook and Twitter and started rebuilding my network. Twitter fell off after about three weeks because there was simply no point for me. I also got on Instagram for the first time. Now, I’ve added TikTok to the stable. The experience of the majors has changed since I left in 2020, but I still find social media to be ironically isolating. It constantly reminds me how hard it is to stand out, and that’s not just as an author. Whatever it is you’re into, there are thousands upon thousands of other people doing the same thing, screaming to be heard, and some people are more naturally gifted at it than others.
Ultimately, the point of this post is to talk about my experiences on the various platforms, so let’s dive in.
- Facebook: Realistically, Facebook is only useful to me for talking to my family, friends from back home, and some of my hockey teammates. Despite Meta’s claims, I find it absolutely useless as a marketing platform. I’ve recently expanded my network a bit and have managed to amass 40 whole followers in the year+ that I’ve been back on it. I think FB burned a lot of people, and now it’s a very tentative platform.
- Twitter: I know some people have found some success here, but I can’t begin to imagine how. It’s all disjointed and fractious. I spent most of my time there angry, so I deleted my account rather quickly and I’ll never go back. The only worthwhile account on that accursed platform is @NashSevereWx, so shout out to those folks.
- Instagram: So far, IG has been my bread and butter. It forces me to think through what I’m posting and put some creativity into it (Canva has been a blessing for a number of reasons). I feel like this is where I get the most traction and engagement. The fact that I can’t do just a text post is annoying at times, but that’s what I have this for.
- TikTok: I’ve only been on TT since May, dipping my toes into the water, but already I have serious problems with it. First of all, bots. So many bots. And you can’t cull the bots, because they put so much emphasis on follower count. You can’t do TT Live until you have over 1,000 followers, so you have to deal with them. From an author’s perspective, my early take is that if you don’t write smut or something with fairies or dragons, you might as well not be there. Since I do neither of those things, I have not found any kind of niche to settle into. BookTok is a powerful force, though, so I’ll try to soldier on. I think TT probably has an expiration date for me, and I don’t think it’s far off.
Of course, everyone’s experiences with the platforms are different, and maybe the perspective of a crotchety old man doesn’t mean a ton in the grand scheme. I’ll stick with Instagram as my primary, and I’ll stay on Facebook so my family can see what I’m up to. But I’m definitely tiring of screaming into that void, when all I ever wanted anybody to do was read my book and maybe enjoy it. Anyway, off to Instagram to do my #onelinewednesday. Cheers!