The Truth About Social Media

Software and communication networks were becoming an extension of our creative and intellectual life. Our neurons today are not alone and had an amplifier.

Twitter was also part of this puzzle and offered a different experience. Instant, simple and a tad confounding.

The new social networks also provided public validation of our creations. That simple tweet, like or share showed acceptance and popularity.

The other thing to love about these shiny new social toys was that they were free and devoid of ads. So we all played. It was like the Wild West. Land claims, some unsavoury characters and a sense of adventure were all part of the landscape.

These platforms are more than friend networks….it is much, much more.

Reversal

Marketers, publishers and bloggers started to discover the power of a tweet and a Facebook update. The broad global adoption of these online communities reached critical mass. Hundreds of millions started to pile on. This mass community made content move, drove traffic and brand awareness. It gave the invisible attention. Made videos go viral. No permission was needed to publish except the access to a computer and the Internet.

Small creative mind were discovered and businesses started to flourish online. The social networks didn’t make us creative they just allowed us all to be noticed. You just had to learn how to use it.

Then Facebook decided to reversal.

The Facebook profile had a new sibling. The Facebook page. Social media was now touted as the marketing nirvana for business and brands. Advertising banners appeared and the masses got a bit annoyed but the marketers were chuffed. Google Adwords had a serious competitor.

But then something happened.

The bad truth

An Intellectual data scientist was sitting in a smart bar in Silicon Valley and idea was born. Let’s jumble the newsfeed on Facebook. We will tell you what is important to view and……we will serve up ads on your timeline.

They have retired to the Bahamas and are now drinking Pina Coladas on the bonuses from that one idea!

Reaching your fans and friends was now dictated by the network’s computer algorithm. Organic traffic from fans almost disappeared overnight.

But the advertising revenue soared. It must to. It was past time to make payroll and keep the lights on without begging for more money from the venture capitalists. With old social you had built a tribe, they had found your visible content and shared it with passion. Now it was buried and often never to be seen again.

Twitter has followed and Instagram is on the verge.

So the social media I knew had died. It is now just becoming another media channel that is pay to play. The financial reality is turning social into a freemium business model. The hard truth is that the free and organic social media marketing doesn’t work like it used to. And that’s a bit annoying.