I am 52 years old. I was born before personal computers, and I didn’t send an email until my senior year in college. This began a lifelong pattern of being behind the technological curve. I was late to Facebook, late to Twitter, half dead when I even opened an Instagram account, and even closer to my grave with TikTok.
And I post on almost none of them with regularity.
One official post on TikTok. It was a dance with my teenage daughter and her friend – 1,200 views! Usually, Instagram and Facebook are simple re-hashes of a Twitter/X post. You see, I don’t even push something out to all three automatically.
In all seriousness, I have never been one for self-promotion, and that’s how I’ve always viewed social media. “Look at me! Look at me!” Also, I like people who have a niche and run with it. What’s my niche? Middle-aged male hot takes on anything from politics and sports to movies? Ummm, dime a dozen.
If I post a lot, I may get myself in trouble. You know, say something stupid. When it comes to video, I don’t really know how to edit on my phone, and I’ve also convinced myself that I don’t have the time.
Being holier than thou has worked for a long time. Being busier than thou has been an effective procrastination tool. And being dumber than thou probably needs to stop.
So, I’ve decided to pick one and try to commit to consistently posting something. Will it help grow my audience? Doubtful. But it might. And it’s time to try.
The ultimate question now: Which one should it be? Twitter? Facebook? Instagram? TikTok? I am not ready for Reddit — it kind of scares me because I think smart people are there — and in a world where everything outside of my Reddit theory seems dumb, Snapchat just strikes me as really dumb.
In terms of metrics, Facebook has a nearly 3 billion user reach, but it feels much smaller. According to Statista, Instagram has about 2 billion, while with X, we don’t really know; but let’s say 500 million, which is actually 250 million less than Snapchat. See, we’re so dumb.
I have not decided if there is a niche on TikTok that could work for me. I could do a video of my daily visit with the food truck guy and add in a news nugget. Food Truck Tommy! He feeds us every day – a 70-something ball of energy who regularly says if he ever gets in a fight and loses, there will be two losers (think about it). To be honest, he’s such a character, Tommy should have his own account, so recording him feels like cheating.
Maybe I will show my lunch for breakfast meal and give people a nugget of info to start the day. Perhaps, I will just talk for a few seconds and see what happens. Just be me is another option.
Oy, this is stressing me out.
Facebook always has been personal for me – seeing what friends are up to, selling my Red Sox tickets, and messaging people when I travel near them. I post less than once or twice a month, and I’d like to keep it that way. Right now, my feed is hockey fights, puppies and fall sports pictures – I’m good with that.
Instagram is where young seems to meet old(er), but I don’t really like it or know how to use it effectively. I was ridiculed yesterday by simply asking, “What is a story?” You can’t expand actual pictures, and I don’t really understand why people prefer it over a Facebook (Just ‘cause your parents are on FB?).
Is a picture and a caption or a short video going to grow my audience? Is a video on Instagram better than one on TikTok? Do I need to be funny?
Forget about Threads or Truth Social as my head may actually explode.
It’s all a big bowl of yuck to me, but since this column is often cathartic for me, I think I’ve arrived at an answer.
Drum roll, please …
I think it will be TikTok … because no one told me that it should be TikTok, and maybe I can find a niche. And of course, a side benefit is how much I love giving my personal data to China.
Check out the experiment: @shackdad.
