How is everyone doing? Life is interesting times - the traditional Chinese curse!

I've had quite a disrupted couple of months on a personal level, causing me to get very choosy with which work activities I spend my limited time and energy on, so that I preserve my limited capacity.

Whilst I've been not doing much outward work, I couldn't help but notice a few changes to Instagram. I have enjoyed Instagram for years, from back when it was a place for sharing photos. I still have my original account (@daisysnapper) but it's also become a place for work. Except now they've changed the format of the homepage grid/thing.

Creating in squares is a discipline. It requires thinking in a different way, something I always enjoy.

I'm not appreciating being disrupted

But that isn’t what's causing me to hesitate. I didn't have the capacity to even recycle content and schedule to Instagram and Facebook, so I didn't.

And then the whole oligarchy situation revealed itself in the US. Now I'm not so sure that using Meta as a business tool is aligned with my core values of inclusion, equality, generosity, fairness and so on. To be frank the sort of values that a marketer would say, "Yes, and..?! those are just about being human! You need something more individual".

Well. Apparently, these values, along with that little concept called ‘empathy’ are not important to all anymore. As I said, ‘interesting times’…

So now I am wondering what to do. Confusion generally prevents action.

I don't have clarity right now

Well I do, but the alternatives require effort. I need to research. I need to create. I'm still low on capacity, but the sense of purpose is increasing. It has been useful to have this gap in my habitual behaviour, because the space has enabled me to ponder what I want, what I need, what my community needs.

What about you? What are your thoughts a Meta? Is it something you feel comfortable using?

And then there’s the algorithm...

This insight emerged during a conversation with a friend who also has lived experience of living with a narcissist.

If you're wondering what that might be like, look at the 'Zelenskyy in the White House' episode of Drumpf series 2, and what he is having to do in the ‘bending over backwards to appease the unpredictably shouty people’ department. Notice that whatever he was doing, it was never going to be good enough for the people who had already decided that they were going to use him to make themselves look good. ... ... ...

Anyway, you get the picture: it's like being Alice down the rabbit hole, or being trapped in a Dali painting; everything shifts and nothing is as it seems.

During our conversation, we realised that feeding the algorithm is like living with a narcissist. For instance:

• The need to go and give it attention before & after posting, otherwise your post won’t get seen by anyone

• The everchanging goal posts... that they don't tell you about

• The punishments for not jumping according to the latest whim that they haven't told you about...

• The sense that if you just master that new behaviour (like miming and dancing on videos of precise duration), then next week everything will be sunny and wonderful again, and the people who connected with you on the social media platform will be "allowed" to see your content

And don't get me started on that whole thing about being kept out of contact and not being able to see other people without them getting upset, like when you post a link to your website, for instance.

Don't they realise that the Covid years are over and there is no need for social distancing anymore?!

I'm just not convinced I need that energy in my life

I am conscious that my LinkedIn game is still a work in progress. But it doesn't seem like that much fun, and it definitely isn’t Facebook (hurrah!) even though nowadays there are lots of people using it that way.

I need creating to be fun and fulfilling. So I'm thinking about working up my Substack. I have lots of tips to put out on notes and I love writing articles. There's always my website too (thank you for coming!).

Will you come and connect? [Links in the footer] I'd like that. I really appreciate getting to know people.

As I'm writing this, I am heading to a meeting in real life, to meet up with real people in real life and I’m really looking forward to that. Can’t beat being social in real life! Let’s all do more of that!

_____

Back to my opening question – how are you doing?

We shouldn't underestimate the draining effects of the reports of *waves arms around at everything* ‘ludicrous behaviour’ being shoved at us from all directions.

Realistically, retreat from the world isn’t practical. In fact, in some circumstances, it might even be called ‘running away’. That's an entirely understandable emergency strategy to preserve life, but we cannot live in a state of emergency. Instead we must find ways to look after ourselves and those near and dear to us.

The best and most human response is counterintuitive (and you know how much I love a counterintuitive thing!)

Instead of retreat and running away, turn towards and connect

Taking time to connect with ourselves and others is vitally important during interesting times