It’s around March of 2017 and Donald Trump is President and a company I never heard about, Cambridge Analytics, is in the news. If you don’t know the story, here’s and article, and movie Brexit starting Benedict Cumberbatch showing its influence in the UK. What I remember about that time was being pissed, irrational and not in the frame of mind to make good decisions, but somehow I made one. I decided to take a break from Facebook. I went cold turkey, vowing to take a month off. Not only did it prove possible and easy go away for thirty days, but to stay off for a few years. Now, as you follow me on the journey to publish my trilogy, a creative and a business enterprise, I must admit that, with great reluctance, I went back to the F-book this year and it’s bringing up…issues. I’m not happy about this, but pragmatic me has decided to live with the discomfort as part of this ride, for a while at least.
As you saw, I set firm dates for releasing my books, ones coming up fast. Meaning I need to start marketing, like yesterday, and not using a free option is, well, not smart. That said, when I went on again knowing the pitfalls and so I made a plan. First, I have a page, but my publishing business does not. I recognize that this might cost me, but I wanted to ensure no time-suck scrolls (you know what I mean) along with the feeling that putting too much into any social media platform is problematic, You don’t own it, and those that do can change the rules at any time, not to mention manipulate them in ways that benefit no one. I decided on two: LinkedIn, that I don’t own, but tends to have a limited focus and my own website, which I do. Second, I only post on private pages, not on the general timeline. I’m there for a specific purpose, to build connections I can take into the real world. I refuse to deal with the dopamine chase that Facebook, and all social media sites, induce. Finally, I recognize this ‘relationship’ has a shelf-life and part of my goal is to withdraw from it gracefully, and as soon as possible.
Is this wise? In business terms, bit question mark. In mental wellness and value terms, but yes! In all cases, I’m excited to take the journey. Please come along. We’ll see how it goes.