Artists get all the benefit and all the cost of social networks. I’m still not sure if social media is a win or a loss overall for us.
Social Media
Before we had these platforms, musicians and other artists needed to connect with people in real-time. We created relationships if we wanted our art to be heard or seen (or both).
Now, on social networks, we still create relationships. But let’s face it, these online connections are quite different. We have to put out a lot of effort and discernment to find people (or companies) that will listen. And if we’re willing to take the time, these can become a kind of supportive community.
Social Networks

But what I want to write about today is some of ridiculous interactions we have to deal with along the way. The most obvious is the robot. Over time, there have been so many “bot” systems and accounts that sometimes fool us into thinking they might be real people. I suspect anyone who has been around the social networks for any length of time has run into a few. And for many of us, the moment we realize that we’ve been tricked by one of these “fakes” can be very embarrassing.
But that’s just the tip of the social media iceberg. There are more everyday interactions on these networks that are just plain silly, too. Here are a few of my pet peeves.
Is This Social?

First, there’s the “I didn’t know there was a link” interaction. Whether we’re sharing a blog post, a new artwork, or a video, so many people will look at the share and miss the link. After all, we use social networks to get people to drop by our little part of the interwebs. If folks stay only for the social platform, they are much less likely to connect with our art.
Some of these people are prepared to interact with us. But they never click a link, never see our art, and never listen to our music. They might respond to the headline as if it was the whole story. They may “like” 20 of our shares without interacting in any other way. Or they may say what a beautiful photo we used to get their attention. They just won’t click the link.
Second, there’s the “let me tell you about me” person. These are the folk who are trying to sell something or they may even be another artist. Our post or comment reminds them to start giving us the sales pitch. They are personable enough to raise it like a conversation, but it’s with a clear goal in mind.
We Asked For It

“Let me tell you about me” is better than the spammers, at least. Spam on social networks comes in the form of someone going into their sales schtick without ever saying “hello”.
But finally, there’s the social media time suck. I’ve written about it previously, so I’ll just say: beware. The best thing I’ve come up with is to set strict time limits. And yes, this means you and I need to set a timer. When it goes off, we’re done.
Hi Stan,
As a chef and food writer social media is a tool I use to share my articles and recipes, it does make people from around the world aware that my blog and youtube exist. But its abilities are limited and far too much time and credit is given to it.
Mankind has a habit of inventing something but often the results are a much poorer version than what is touted in the first place.
Take mobile phones, I got my first one when I returned to the UK to live in 1994/95. It was the size of a small brick and in some areas of the UK the signal could be poor. Now in 2022 we use phones as mini computers and can send videos, watch films, play and store large music collections but fundimentally its core function as a phone has not really improved. You can still find areas in the UK (including my apartment ) where from time to time the signal is poor enough so I have to ask people call me back, on my landline.
First and foremost a smart phone in 2022 should be a phone that holds a good signal in places it couldn’t in 1995 and it is not. So they are not as smart as we give them credit for. And the world would be a better place if the tenticles of social media were removed from phones and it just reverted to being a mobile telephone.
Kevin,
Yes, I hear you on this. Sounds like your experience is similar to mine. I’ve been writing about the snares of social networks for many years. However many relationships social media has connected, it has probably demolished as many or more.
Best regards,
Stan
Best Wishes and Stay in Touch 🙂
Social media can be so powerful Stan when one engages genuinely and generously with no expectations. If someone adds expectations, the lack of being genuine and generous shines through and I block them LOL. Not because I feel angry but because I hang up on boring, off topic conversations. Nothing personal!
Ryan
Ryan,
If I’m 200% honest, I know I can never remove all of my expectations, but I get what you mean. I think I do engage genuinely and have done so with you (on Twitter).
Yes, sadly, I’ve had to block or mute more accounts than I care to recall over the years. I’ve been on social networks since about 2002, so I’ve been looking back at those 20 years…
Have a good one,
Stan