Almost every session of me scrolling through Facebook ends with some sort of negative experience. Sure, politics are a big part of that, even when comedians are the ones joking about it. (I mean, I guess you can either laugh or cry, maybe both.) However, what really bothers me is the need for people to rip on others for their appearance, and let’s face it, it’s usually men ripping on women. It’s disgusting and sad. Most often, it’s not true. These men are just trying to say something they think is funny and criticizing someone’s appearance is one of the easiest ways to do that.
Sometimes, it makes me wonder if I should harness the child I was in middle school. That kid put everyone down. He made adults cry. As he got older, he learned how to insult people in such a way that he didn’t need profanity. A subtle barb would fester in the room waiting for the wounded person to realize what had just happened, leaving others in stitches. Release that kid on the Internet, and man, Facebook would be responsible for a lot more emotional issues than it has already caused (sometimes on purpose). But that attitude and those words were a part of growing up Gen X. You had to be tough on the street, and if you weren’t big, you better make sure your words were cutting enough to earn the respect of the bullies. Sticks and stones could break your bones, but words would leave you crushed, despite the saying to the contrary.
At some point, my freshman year of college, I decided I didn’t want to be that person anymore. I had just verbally destroyed someone at lunch. Everyone was laughing, but I didn’t feel good about it. I didn’t want to hurt people anymore. It didn’t seem right.
Yet, now it seems that Facebook is full of those type of people – trolls trying to cause anguish to garner views and likes. Someone might even say, “it takes a troll to hunt a troll,” and part of me thinks I could do some good by doing some bad.
But I look at the other Gen Xers that are posting about their childhoods and what they loved about growing up Gen X. They all say pretty much the same things: in before the streetlights come on, forced to be outside during the day, drinking from the garden hose… rarely do they mention the war of words that was a part of childhood then. Sure, they’ll talk about “You’re mama,” but that’s as far as they go. When confronted with a troll, they don’t call on their inner 12 year old and load that troll down with harsh words. Instead, they’re reliving their fondest memories. They’re reliving the best parts of a life that is so far gone, and they’re reliving parts of that life they didn’t get to live when it was happening.
And then there are the people who are trying to make Facebook better: a song, “It’s to be kind,” the aforementioned Gen Xers, the folks at Mr. Rogers, Levar Burton… These are the people that are trying to create a healthier social media ecosystem, and there are hundreds more.
So, let’s try to aspire to their level of kindness, joy and wonder, and not sink to place of trolls. It may not be easy to be kind, it may not garner as many views or comments, but it’s better for you.
Author’s Note: I have not included any links to Facebook because it’s probably better for us to not be on it. However, as long as it’s the easiest platform to use to reach my friends, family and new readers, I’m still going to be posting. Please like, comment, and share. Also, feel free to leave a comment on my blog post, maybe we can build a better social media without the trolls…
Beat the social media algorithm Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
To paraphrase Gandhi, “Be the Feed You Want to See in the World.” One of the things that I dislike about recipes and “help” articles on the Internet is that they require you to wade through a bunch of extraneous stuff to get to the information you want. There’s always a story, complete with large photos, that requires you to scroll for five minutes before you ever get to the solution. That’s why I paraphrased Gandhi and put the easiest solution to beat social media algorithms first. Now, if you know how to do that, you don’t have to read any further. However, it would be nice if you did continue because that’s how the algorithm works. The longer you stay on this page and the more you click on the links on my website, the higher the ranking my page and website will achieve.
Computer Algorithms
Algorithms have no decision-making capabilities. It is important to know this because it means that the algorithm can’t decide if you want to see content. It can only compute the amount of time you spend interacting with a topic and, based on its program, the type of interaction you focus on. Algorithms will also look at the key words you are using. Whatever you interact with, no matter the type of interaction, is what you will see. If posts that make you angry cause you to react on social media, those are the posts you are going to see. Algorithms may also look at what your friends and who you are following are interacting with, which means you can’t control everything you see on your feed because some of your (social media) friends are likely going to interact with stuff you don’t like.
Your Posts
The easiest things to control in your feed are your own posts. Post the type of content you want to see. If you’re posting your political views, chances are you’re not only going to the views that align with yours, but you’re also going to see the views that are directly in conflict with yours. Anger is a powerful motivator, and if Trump or Biden get you to like, comment, block, stop scrolling, repost, subscribe or other interaction, you’re going to get more of them on your feed – both good and bad (from your point of view).
If you’re reposting something, make sure it’s something you want to see more of. Keep your personal feed free of the stuff you dislike, that makes you angry, or that could incite others, and you’ll be on your way to a happier, more engaging feed.
Seek Out Friends
You’ve seen the post:
Facebook is blocking me from seeing my friends posts and showing me ads instead. Like and comment on this post, so I can see more from my friends.
Your friends interacting with your post will allow them to see more of what you are posting. You need to interact with your friends’ posts. Social media’s first priority is to keep you on the page. Interacting with your friends with a long comment that sparks a conversation will compute to the algorithm and cause it to show you more of that type of content. If you want to see more posts from your friends, it’s up to you to make that contact, like, long comment, and share (repost) their posts.
Post What’s Verifiable and True
A lot of people will post or repost something that they want to be true. Cough CPR doesn’t work, but the post makes its rounds because “if I’m alone and having a heart attack, I’m going to do what it takes even if it doesn’t work.” Flat earthers abound; conspiracy theorists, like scum, rise to the top. Some people just want to believe the lie: If you repost this the lucky penny, the four-leaf clover, screaming goat, Jesus will grant your wish. It’s the modern version of a chain letter. No matter how much you want it to be true, do not post it until you have verified it as a fact. If your opinion is not true, it is a lie.
That doesn’t mean you can’t post your opinion. (And obviously, you can post whatever you want because freedumb.) However, “aliens built the pyramids” isn’t an opinion; it’s a conspiracy theory. “This cupcake tastes amazing” is an opinion. “Who is the worst president ever” is an opinion-based question. An opinion is something that ascribes value to a subjective experience. Facts are not objective. The best way to look at it is if you don’t want to see the opposite of what you are posting, then don’t post it. For example, if you really dislike people who think that chocolate is the best flavor when you think vanilla is, don’t post your opinion on vanilla.
It’s important to remember that posting your opinion, even when based on facts, will not change anyone’s mind on social media. You won’t have the perfect comeback, the perfect link, or the perfect rapport with someone to help them see the truth or the light. Responding to a post where you have the undeniable truth on your side – i.e., the Earth is round – will only cause your feed to become inundated with people who disagree with you and no amount of evidence will convince them otherwise.
The Chaos Bullies
This is probably too cool a name for those people that enjoy poking the bear. There is a significant portion of the population that gets their jollies from poking the bear. They don’t care if what they post is true. They don’t care that their comments hurt you or the people you love. Their only pleasure in life is making others angry. If they can get a rise out of you, they will feel better about themselves. They will have gotten the attention they crave, and they will have learned how to control you. Their like toddlers who learn to control mommy and daddy by making a scene in public, throwing a tantrum in the market, shouting out “you’re not my parent” and asserting that they will call the police and claim abuse.
The best way to deal with bullies is to ignore them. By not interacting with them, you take away their power. If a bully is persistent, you can and should block them. Just remember that the algorithm is going to pick that up and file it away as an interaction. You may have to block quite a few people and bots depending on the comment. If the bully is not a social media friend, you can change your settings to post only to friends, and avoid the possibility of unwanted attention. (I posted about a person’s car being stolen, found and impounded. It was going to cost $500 to get the car out of impound. I had 60 almost identical comments about how to use an Instagram tracker to get the car back. All of the comments referred to one of two Instagram pages. I tried blocking them, but they just kept coming. I switched the post to Facebook friends, and that cleared up the problem.)
Facebook Manipulates Feelings
In 2012, Facebook manipulated the feelings of over 700,000 users subjected to the social media platform’s science experiment. They found that those who saw more positive and uplifting posts posted more uplifting words by the end of a week. Those who saw sad posts posted sadder updates by the end of the week. We know that Facebook has done at least one experiment to control people’s feelings. We don’t know what they have done with that information.
Follow the Right People
John Schneider was posting a series of amazing, heartfelt tributes to his wife who died a year ago. He talked about compassion, lifting others up, and explained how we’re all fellow travelers. These were amazing sentiments about coming together in hard times. My heart went out to him, and I was uplifted by his ability to express his emotions. It was nice to have a childhood icon explain some of the very things I was feeling and could relate to.
Schneider is also a die-hard Trump supporter. Once his year of grief was over, he posted more of his alt-right rhetoric, disrespected the president, and shouted pain from his social media platform. How could he reconcile the two positions? More importantly, for me at least, is how could I reconcile the two positions – one of uniting and one of dividing? The last post I saw from him was one where a woman complained about his political stance. Rather than engage in a dialogue, where neither would be convinced by the other’s position, but where maybe they could come to an understanding, Schneider and company just kicked her out. Good riddance. Schneider doesn’t have to be nice to people. He doesn’t have to be consistent in his beliefs, and I don’t have to follow him. I don’t want to see political posts against the American judicial or political system. I don’t want to hear from people who only believe in democracy as long as it conforms to their vote and opinions. That’s my personal thing. If you love Trump, and seeing political posts makes you happy, follow John Schneider.
If you don’t want those kinds of things in your feed, do not follow people who are posting politics. If you do follow people posting about subjects you don’t want in your feed, you will engage and your feed will be inundated by those things you don’t want.
Your Friends’ Feeds
From time to time, maybe more often than you want, one of your friends is going to post something you don’t want to see in your feed. Social media will share these posts with you because you have interacted with your friends. Ignore the posts you don’t like. Don’t comment on the post, don’t angry emoticon the post. Ignore it, especially if it’s something they copied and pasted or it’s from another page. If it’s especially bothersome, block the page (not necessarily your friend). Just remember blocking is a form of interaction.
Beat the Social Media Algorithm
If you’ve made it this far, thank you. It won’t be easy to beat the social media algorithm and save your feed, but it will be worth it. By engaging more with your friends’ original posts that you truly enjoy and only posting what you would like to see more of, you will be able to find your happy place again. Avoid the angry emoticon, interact with what and whom you love, be healthier mentally. (And if you want more of this type of content like, share, follow, comment, subscribe and interact.)
If you haven’t realized it by now, social media companies are not a product. They are not beholden to their users for any reason other than that they need users to be the product. Social media then sells its data and insights to the highest advertising budget to get the most targeted results. While making you the product has been vilified in some arenas, it’s not any worse than you as the product for TV or radio. The biggest difference is that Facebook, Twitter, and their ilk can target you specifically, have done experiments to show they can manipulate your feelings, and are in it for a profit, not of millions of dollars, but hundreds of millions.
The purpose of online marketing is to drive people to your website to buy something. While the Internet is constantly changing as are the way search engines evaluate websites and their relevance to queries, one thing appears to remain true throughout the changes. In order for your online marketing to work, you need to provide meaningful content at your website.
There is a lot of misinformation about Alaska that Alaskans
hear from tourists and see in movies and TV. Some people think the money is
different. Some people think everyone lives in an igloo. Some people think that
there’s gold lying on the beaches waiting to be picked up. And some people ask
where they can see the penguins in Alaska. There are no penguins in Alaska.
When I left Alaska in 2012 and traveled through the Lower 48, I got asked a lot of questions about my time in Alaska. Does it really stay light for 24 hours a day in summer? How cold does it get really? What do you do for fun in the winter? What’s the best part of living in Alaska? Why did you leave? Did you see any penguins while you were there? I would answer each of the questions as well as I could. For the last question, I would point out that Polar Bears would eat the penguins and that there are no penguins in Alaska.
That trip gave me an idea for a book: “There Are No Penguins in Alaska.” The idea would remain just that until 2018 when I published my first book, “My Life in the Projects: A kid’s-eye view of HUD housing in the 1980s.” Once I realized I could publish books, I also realized I could publish my penguin book. The problem was I let my art skills degrade for a long time and was no longer up to the task of drawing what I needed to make “There Are No Penguins in Alaska.”
Well, my art skills haven’t improved much over the last year, but fortunately, I was able to find a couple of artists to do the work. Antonisa Scot and Oscar Feliz of Transcend Studio put together “There Are No Penguins in Alaska” and now it’s ready to be published. In fact, you can preorder it on Kindle and as a hard copy coloring book at penguinate.com. However, there is a catch.
In order to publish “There Are No Penguins in Alaska” as a coloring book at a reasonable price ($2 per book my cost to retail at $4), I need to order 750 or more copies. That’s $1500 for anyone playing along. I could get fewer copies, but the price goes up pretty drastically, capping out at $5 a copy for 50 copies. That’s only (Haha! Only!) $250 but then I would have to charge $10 per book to make any money. Who’s going to buy a coloring book for $10? Maybe you, since you’re reading this, but not most people. Most people won’t even spend that on a regular kid’s book or any eBook.
Other writers or artists, at this point, would probably launch a Kickstarter, or maybe they would’ve launched it sooner. I, on the other hand, realize that I will publish this book in one form or another, and a Kickstarter would take away from my opportunity to write more books before I start touring the inland states in June where I will sell my books at Lilac City Comicon in Spokane, City Cakes and Cafe in Salt Lake City, Ogden UnCon in Ogden and Amazing Las Vegas Comic Con in Las Vegas, as well as any other bookstores, coffee shops or venues on the way that will have me.
In lieu of running a Kickstarter, which would definitely
kill one or both of the books I plan on finishing before June, I am offering a
presale. The price for the preorder is set at $8 in case I have to settle for
the higher printing costs and to account for shipping and handling, which is
more expensive than people would believe. If I can get 80 preorders of the hard
copy and/or the Kindle version of the book, I will find the other money I need
to print the rest of them. Even if only two people preorder, I am still going
to print them, just not in the massive quantity of 750 or for the cheaper
price.
This is a challenge. I haven’t sold 80 of any single book, so this preorder, if it works, would make “There Are No Penguins in Alaska” my most popular book. If you’ve read this far, thank you for your interest and support. Please share this page to your social media network, tag me and add “#penguinate.”
Penguinate! Positive Creativity 