Why I Stopped Posting on Social Media

I spent a decade thinking about social media for clients, then I stopped. What happened? What important work filled the void?

Sep 30, 2023

For someone who spent a lot of his life running a team that wrote Tweets and made Instagram posts, I don’t care much for social media these days.

Last time I posted to Instagram was Christmas 2021.

Kids and Their Agency

The initial reason I stopped posting was that my kids finally deserved some agency over what I posted about them. Felt wrong to post their photos without their consent. So I stopped.

But what did I have left to post about? Everything I posted online was about them. Their achievements and their cuteness.

Certainly, I couldn’t post about MY FEELINGS or even WORSE, a daily stream of HUMBLEBRAGS?

Once I was no longer steeped in social media all day erry day, my expertise dried up quickly (What’s the best hack? What dimensions for a paid post? What is the algorithm rewarding today?). The world moves on quickly.

Detox > Clarity

But the detox was a gift. I never really cared about sharable campaign beats, memorable one-liners, and “thumb-stopping design.”

I mean, I DID care about those things, but only because they solved a problem.

And the deeper truth is that I love solving problems alongside other people.

Seth Godin writes in THIS IS MARKETING,

“Marketing is the generous act of helping someone solve a problem. Their problem.”

Some people hear “marketing,” and they think logos, taglines, TV spots, and billboards.

But I think “creative expression and shared understanding.”

One of our best copywriting > social > billboard collabs ever. (It was the only one)

Best of Work, Worst of Times

I’ve recently admitted some private unhappiness during my last few years at Fullscreen and Otter Media, but I also did some great work during that time.

Surprising to me, as I reflect, was that one of my most rewarding contributions happened during the worst times — layoffs.

My creativity, sensitivity, and care for others (I hope) shone through and made a difference to people during one of the worst times in their careers— both those affected and those who “survived.”

I'm glad that my writing could help make a terrible situation less terrible.

The meaning of, and in, culture

So my thoughts these days aren’t about posts or TikToks or algorithms, they’re about gathering people together in common understanding.

You know, culture.

Back to Seth Godin:

"If you want to make change, begin by making culture. Begin by organizing a tightly knit group. Begin by getting people in sync. Culture beats strategy—so much that culture is strategy."

Culture is the strategy. And we all know what culture eats for breakfast. A Rooty-Tooty Fresh and Fruity? No, dummy. Strategy. It eats strategy. (Peter Drucker)

(The heartfelt conclusion)

So, how’s your culture? Everyone using the same words? The same stories? Metaphors, values, and mantras?

Are those things creative enough to remember? To spread? Are they compelling enough for people to internalize them?

Or is a lack of cohesion affecting the soul of your organization, which in turn, affects everything else?

This is the work that strikes me as more compelling than “just another post.”

If this strikes a chord with you, I'd love to chat. 👋