Social Media & Influencer Marketing

Is There Any Better Time to Launch a New Social Network?

I’m spending a lot less time on social media. Between the flawed algorithms and disrespectful disagreement, the less time I spend on social media, the happier I am.

Some people with whom I shared my dissatisfaction told me it was my fault. They said my open discussion of politics over the last few years opened the door. I truly believed in transparency – even political transparency – so I was proud of my beliefs and defended them over the years. It didn’t work out well. So, over the last year, I’ve made a concerted effort to avoid discussing politics online. The fascinating thing is that my detractors are still as vocal as ever. I think they honestly just wanted me to be quiet.

Full disclosure: I’m a political weirdo. I love politics because I love marketing. And my leanings are unique. I hold myself accountable to help make the world a better place. Regionally, I’m pretty liberal and appreciate taxation to assist others in need. Nationally, though, I believe we’re far overdue for change.

I’m no victim, but the result of my independence opens me up to getting attacked by everyone. My friends who lean left nationally believe I’m a backwoods, right-wing nut job. My friends who lean right locally wonder why the heck I’m hanging out with so many liberals. I don’t particularly appreciate being labeled in any direction. I don’t think it’s necessary to hate everything about a person or a political ideology if you disagree with one person or aspect of that ideology. In other words, I can appreciate some policy changes today without respecting the politicians who enacted them.

Back to social networks.

I believe the amazing promise of social media is that we can be honest, inform one another, understand one another, and become closer. But the opposite is the reality. The anonymity of social media combined with the impersonal ability to lash out at people you might otherwise care about is terrible.

Social networks are broken, and the powers that be are making it worse (in my opinion).

  • On Twitter, rumor has it that if you’re blocked by @williamlegate, you’ve been identified as a right-wing nut and are shadowbanned – meaning your updates are not displayed in the public stream. I don’t know if it’s true, but I have noticed that my growth has stagnated. The terrible part of this is that I enjoy Twitter. I meet new people, discover incredible stories, and love sharing my content there.

I’ve asked but received no response:

  • On Facebook, they’re admitting to filtering the feed to more personal conversations. This is after years of pushing corporations to build communities, be more transparent in their interaction with consumers and businesses, and invest millions into building integrations, automation, and reporting. Facebook just pulled the plug instead.

In my honest opinion, the surreptitious omission of political leanings is more dangerous than the leanings themselves. I have no problem with the government spying on social accounts where the accounts have promoted illegal activity. I have a massive problem with corporations quietly adjusting the debate in favor they would like. Facebook is even leaving news sources up to a general vote. In other words, the bubble will be more solidified. If a minority disagrees, it doesn’t matter – they’ll be fed the majority’s message anyway.

There Has to Be a Better Social Network

Some people believe that Facebook and Twitter are what we’re stuck with. Plenty of networks have tried to compete, and all have failed. Well, we said the same thing about Nokia and Blackberry regarding mobile phones. I do not doubt that a new network can and will dominate the market when it espouses the same freedom that enabled Twitter and Facebook’s success.

The issue isn’t bad ideology; it’s bad manners. We’re no longer expected to respectfully disagree. Today’s expectation is to shame, ridicule, bully, and silence the detractor. Our news stations reflect this behavior. Even our politicians have adopted this behavior.

I’m a big fan of having a diversity of thought. I can disagree with you and still respect your beliefs. Unfortunately, with two parties, we seem to club one another over the head rather than coming up with a solution in the middle that respects all.

This Has Everything To Do With Marketing?

When the mediums (news, search, and social media) are found to be meddling in politics, it impacts every business. It impacts me. I do not doubt that my beliefs have affected my business. I no longer work for leaders in my industry whom I truly looked up to and learned from because they read my opinions on political issues and turned their backs.

And now we watch social justice warriors on each side of the spectrum hold brands accountable for where they place their advertisements and what their employees say online. They encourage boycotts, which impact the leaders of businesses and every employee within and surrounding communities. One tweet can deflate a stock price, hurt a business, or destroy a career. I would never want those who disagree with my ideology to be financially punished for theirs. This is too much.

This isn’t working.

The result of all of this is that businesses are retracting from social media, not embracing it. Companies are becoming less transparent, not more transparent. Business leaders are hiding their support of political ideologies, not promoting them.

We need a better social network.

We need a system that rewards politeness, redemption, and respect. We need a system that promotes opposing views instead of developing angry echo chambers. We need to educate one another and expose one another to alternative viewpoints. We need to be tolerant of other ideologies.

There’s no better time to develop a social networking platform like this.

Douglas Karr

Douglas Karr is CMO of OpenINSIGHTS and the founder of the Martech Zone. Douglas has helped dozens of successful MarTech startups, has assisted in the due diligence of over $5 bil in Martech acquisitions and investments, and continues to assist companies in implementing and automating their sales and marketing strategies. Douglas is an internationally recognized digital transformation and MarTech expert and speaker. Douglas is also a published author of a Dummie's guide and a business leadership book.

Related Articles

Back to top button
Close

Adblock Detected

Martech Zone is able to provide you this content at no cost because we monetize our site through ad revenue, affiliate links, and sponsorships. We would appreciate if you would remove your ad blocker as you view our site.