I’ve been online since 1996, and have seen so many websites come and go.
Remember Geocities and chat rooms? Those were the places to be, until they weren’t. A few years later and they were shut down. Your online friends were deleted.
After those there was MySpace. People flocked to this new platform where you could decorate and share “your space” as you saw fit. Everyone posted their photos and music but a short time after that MySpace became stagnant. No one was using it anymore favoring Facebook. There was no way to communicate with your “friends” because no one had each other’s contact information, just the Myspace inbox.
Just like the platforms before it, users have been flocking towards FB, supplying all their information both directly and indirectly. People are still uploading all of their photos, videos and more there and there will come a time when this platform will be obsolete for the next big thing.
My point is do not depend on any one social media company or web service. They will come and go and you won’t have a thing to show for it because they now own your content and will delete it when their servers go cold. It’s time again to think about the long-term use of the web. Have a dedicated home for yourself so you can create, share and contact those who you choose and not an algorithm.
Build your website instead. Rather than inviting your friends and fans to a social media platform, invite them to your personal site. Encourage them to comment on your work, encourage them to provide their contact information so you don’t have to go through a social media inbox to reach them.
Your website should be the place to showcase everything you create. If you do insist on utilizing social media instead of the social web, have those free account be your backup. Have those social media accounts point back to your home on the web. You may choose to use them but you will not be depending on them.
I strongly suggest using the reliable open standards that are not owned by any company such as the internet, email and text messaging.
When using your email, make sure your default mail has a signature, one you can customize to give out your name, contact info and your website address. People want to know how to get a hold of you. Help them out.
Example:
Chris Denbow
Tulsa, OK.
hello@chrisdenbow.website
ChrisDenbow.com + PhotoDenbow.com
I know this is basic, and maybe it isn’t basic. If you’ve been spending your time on social media instead of the social web, it is possible this is something new. You’d be surprised how many people do not know these skills. It is time to retake the internet away from Big Tech and make it for personal use instead.