Social Media Games Still Being Played

Plight of the little fish

I get almost no engagement on any of the big Social Media platforms. I tried with the two biggies but only a select few see my offerings, especially in the wake of that turf war between Substack and Elon Musk. This has been happening for months.

Twitter is now blocking likes, retweets, and comments on tweets that include a link to a Substack newsletter. In addition, Twitter users cannot pin a tweet that includes a Substack link to their profile.

When I share my links from Substack, they are invisible over there. And it’s worse over at Facebook.

Without knowing about the war, I purchased the Twitter/X check mark for a couple of months, which resulted in my account there becoming even more throttled. So I ended that financial arrangement a few days ago. Before that, I had applied to become a subscriber there and that application is sitting in a Musk underling’s mailbox - an underling way down the food-chain, no doubt.

But, just yesterday, I received this:

I don’t know what to think about that. But It’s frustrating to be tossing work into the ether. Meanwhile the big Twitter/X accounts get bigger - and get paid enough via Twitter/X subscription to live on.

(I get paid, too, when I remind you, beloved readers, that this is a solo endeavor. And, don’t forget: I made all my posts here free for anyone to read. That policy is still in effect.)

Therefore I have to balance between writing and promoting my writing while being a Social Media Untouchable. It’s why I’ve been silent for long periods of time; I gave up.

I can’t, however, quash the desire to communicate - at least not for very long.

While I still have this platform, I’ll try to keep speaking even if I’m just complaining -like now. Yes I know that I’ve promised that before, but I mean it this time! lol

Right now, I’m working on part three of my Memories series and on my second novel.

I shouldn’t complain, though, since I have a lot for which to be grateful. Getting a link from Glenn Reynolds never fails to bring tons of traffic and many new subscribers. (By the way, he has a Substack account, too.) As I recall, Glenn abandoned Twitter several years ago.

Additionally, there are my loyal, longtime fans. Example.

I aim to ”get luckier” while I still have the ability. You want to see more of that, don’t you?

Now, I’m going back to work. That new Memories post isn’t going to write itself - at least not yet.