Welcome to the Age of Social Entropy

If you know anything about my career trajectory, the world of social media has been a vital element in my life, learning, and work. I’ve been in it since the beginning, so much so that in 2012, I referred to email as the forgotten social networkwith logical proof. And although job titles with the term “social media” may come and go, integrating the various platforms into strategies, tactical plans, and program executions was a constant because our job is to connect and communicate with people.

Monetization over Sustainability

Yet, as time continued, the powers that be began to shirk the brand-building and bridging potential of social activity in favor of monetization via dated media activity. Granted, these channels needed to finance their businesses to become sustainable. However, leaning too heavily on antiquated media practices detracted from their users’ purpose. Furthermore, surface-level efforts to build algorithms to encourage engagement without depth of thought ultimately introduced toxicity levels, eroding credibility and trust over time. Add the looming ban of an extremely popular channel along with new policies undermining the types of inclusivity that helped grow these channels into the multibillion-dollar entities they are today; it seems we are pointing towards new levels of real-life 404 errors in our society.

A New Era

These factors put us on the brink of a new era of social entropy where this chaotic energy brings more uneasiness and agitation to how many of us want to engage with these platforms. Instead of these channels acting as conduits to cultural connectivity, the greed at the top appears to be trying to collect as much money as quickly as possible without consideration of the people they are leveraging to fill their coffers to the brim. This grim future for these companies neglects the promises of these channels, and people are noticing more actively than ever before. Keep in mind that this perspective is coming from someone who has genuinely met some of his favorite people in life through these platforms.

Lost Value

In addition, the strategist in me makes me rethink the business value of these platforms all over again. I, a Gen-Xer who started in the rate card days of print media, radio, and billboards, can look at today’s media landscape and question all of the data and what it means in spaces that make it more challenging to reach those for whom I’m searching in a place that is making them more uncomfortable each tick of the clock. Moreover, the point is not that I, as a marketer, want to do all of this for free—the advertising industry is where I’ve made my career. Nevertheless, the inability of those looking for what I or my clients have to offer is not the optimal experience for those who literally make these platforms relevant. Balance is still a thing for us all, and resonance is a function of that.

What Now?

So, where does this leave us? Well, honestly, there’s no simple answer, is there? I will say this: pay attention to the fact that meaningful conversations and connections are happening in the digital dark again. This is critical to consider because it introduces another emerging trend, or dare I say practice—people learning or becoming more comfortable with being social again. We are, by nature, social beings, and you may be able to take the social out of the media, but you won’t be able to take the social out of humanity.

Businesses take heed and learn new (or old) ways to be more social. It will serve you well in the short- and long-run.