Death of the follower

I don't know about you, but I feel like I've lost control of my social media feeds.

I see the same formulaic content over and over, designed to maximise engagement, from people I never chose to follow.

This is kind of annoying as I've always been selective about who, and how many people I follow on my socials. To 'follow' someone is a meaningful signal to the creator that I resonate with their message, and that I’m committed to subscribing to their journey over a period of time.

But today, it matters far less who we, the consumer, choose to follow.

Following is dead. Simply open your favourite social app and drink from the hosepipe of content that awaits.

And for the creator, it’s no longer advisable to make content you love. Instead, each piece of content should be made in servitude of the ranking algorithm. To do otherwise is to risk not being seen.

We've been witnessing this cultural shift in how we consume content on the internet since ranking feeds were first introduced by Facebook in 2010. TikTok has taken this to a whole new level since 2020.

Algorithm based ranking feeds are eroding the value of long term relationship building between creator and consumer.

This change in the creator / consumer relationship is profound. I suggest watching Jack Conte’s brilliant SXSW talk on the subject for a deeper dive.

All a bit doom and gloom so far, but is this actually the death of the 'follow' model?

Hopefully not...

As the social giants continue to incentivise short term reach over long term follows, Jack points out that a space has opened up in the market. Companies such as Patreon, Beehiiv, Kajabi and Moment House are all building spaces where creators can foster lasting connections with their true fans.

I believe this void left behind by companies like Facebook is one the reasons why email newsletters and long form podcasts have had a resurgence in recent years.

I suspect also that we’ll eventually have enough of seeing the same shit. We will see beyond the formulas and a new wave of truly creative creators will emerge. See Natalie Lynn’s incredible work below:

What are your thoughts?

Have a great week

Sam