Don't depend on platforms if you can avoid it

Is Elon among the censors?

We’ve all heard about the Twitter files, and allegations of collusion between the government and social media to regulate speech.

And now, possibly challenging his pledge to protect free speech, we’re hearing reports that Elon Musk’s X is throttling users who share stories from The New York Times. Only time will tell if this particular story is true, but Lord Acton would predict it or something like it will be eventually. Power to censor speech is simply too compelling to leave in anyone’s hands.

It’s outrageous, unacceptable, and un-American that a few tech titans get to control access to information. That has to stop.

But in the meanwhile, content creators need to cope with the mess as it exists.

Platforms can demonetize you – or restrict your reach – if the people in power don’t like what you’re saying.

And it’s not always about censorship. Sometimes it’s simply not in their business interests to promote your content. So they stop, and you lose lots of traffic.

It’s not a stable situation.

That’s why I encourage all content creators to become less dependent on the platforms. Find a way to reach your audience where Elon, Bezos, Zuckerberg, Cook, Sundar – or whoever else tries to regulate speech – can’t affect you. Or at least not very much.

Own your own distribution channels to the extent you can.

Work on building your email newsletter.

Focus on long-term relationships of trust with your subscribers.

Build a community around your brand.

Try to work your way into your subscribers’ daily habits and workflow.

Become essential.

And if Big Tech land is profitable for you, make sure to diversify, and be prepared in case that spigot gets cut off.

Dominic Young made this comment on LinkedIn yesterday.

“The strategic imperatives for publishers to thrive online come down two things. Revenue independence and distribution/discovery independence.”

Think about those things, and I’ll try to provide ideas and food for thought when I get back from my vacation.

That’s right, I’ll be away for a bit, so there won’t be any new podcasts until September 26th. But I hope to come back refreshed and full of new ideas. Talk to you then.

Resources

Twitter appears to throttle users trying to share New York Times articles for months: report
https://nypost.com/2023/09/11/twitter-appears-to-throttle-users-trying-to-share-new-york-times-articles-for-months-report/