If you’re reading this post in 2021, there is a good chance you found this post via social media. If you’re reading this at some point later, you probably didn’t — at least not from a social post of mine. My posts about it have come and gone, just like millions of other posts every day.
I wrote my first post on this blog nearly 17 years ago, and moved to WordPress on May 24, 2004. There’s no reason to think it won’t exist for at least 20 years more. There are no guarantees, of course, but it seems feasible.
Social media posts, as you know, have a very short life span. That’s not a bad thing, necessarily, but something you always need to consider. When I first started this blog, Friendster, XING and Myspace were the top social channels. Any content I had published on any of them is long gone by now.
What will the landscape look like 20 years from now? It’s hard to know. Even so, while sites like Facebook and Twitter keep most of your posts forever, finding old posts can be very difficult. Even if they still exist, your older content will be difficult to find.
Still, be social
Social media can be great. While this blog has comments, interactions are fairly rare, and are served much better on a social media platform. If you want to share ideas or news with your friends, social media is excellent.
The problem, as I’ve expressed before, is that social media posts come and go. If you have something worthwhile to say, publish it on your own blog and share that post with the world. This is likely one reason why Seth Godin doesn’t tweet — rather than share quick insights that come and go, he turns his quick thoughts into deeper insights that can stand the test of time.
Beyond that, it’s fairly difficult to back up your social media posts in a way that can be republished. With a blog, you can create a quick, full backup of everything, and move it elsewhere. This blog has been on a number of hosts over the years, but moved without a change in address or even a tiny hiccup. That alone is powerful.
The river
Enjoy social media, but don’t let your insights drift away. Social media is often compared to a river; take a dip when you can, but the content will keep sailing away whether you’re there or not. Those dips are fun, and I’ll continue to pop in frequently, but take the time to set up your own platform that will exist far longer than your social media platform of choice will.
Social media posts have a short lifespan. Unless you are running for office or post a really bad take on Twitter. Thanks Old Takes Exposed!
Great point! It’s vapor, and not useful for the most part, but it also never ever dies…
Maybe other peoples’ posts are vapor. Mine will serve as the foundation for civilization’s future. You’ll see. That’s why I spend so much time wording them perfectly.
Related, I had meant to tell you — your visual branding on social media is excellent. I didn’t realize/remember that “Market Media” was you, but when I saw a post from it on LinkedIn I knew instantly that it was Tom based on the format, style, content, etc. Kudos on building such a recognizable identity on social media.