Related Articles
Social media today is nothing like how it was when it first started. We’ve come a long way from checking to see if you’ve made it onto your friend’s “Top 8” list (a nod to all the MySpace Millennials). But, not everyone is happy about that, including the most-followed woman on Instagram, who responded to the company’s announced changes to Instagram’s feed and seemingly forced a rollback of many of those changes.
Kylie Jenner reposted a graphic on her Instagram story with the words, “Make Instagram Instagram Again. (Stop trying to be tiktok i just want to see cute photos of my friends.) Sincerely, Everyone.” Jenner’s plea isn’t the only qualm that people express against social media.
I was the Chairman of MySpace’s parent company and have had a front-row seat to see how social media has changed over the years. I love the ways technology evolved to bring us closer or help us explore our passions. But, like a lot of people, I miss the way social media used to feel private and safe, and that the internet as a whole was a place where we controlled our own experience. Here are some things business leaders can learn from the backlash against the changing landscape of social media.
1. Stick to your promises.
As Instagram tried to mimic its way into becoming TikTok, many people like Jenner pushed back. This isn’t because people don’t like video content. It’s because Instagram’s original promise to its users was beautiful content from friends, family and the world. The shift to push content from those you don’t follow may drive ad revenue but goes against why users chose Instagram. This doesn’t mean don’t innovate — it means you need to listen to your users and engage along the way.
The Rolling Stone Culture Council is an invitation-only community for Influencers, Innovators and Creatives. Do I qualify?
2. Follow the user, not the advertiser.
The key to success in social media is the “network effect” — the more people use your product, the stronger the pull of the network. In the beginning, social media promised to connect us to our friends, family and the world. Years later, due to quarterly profit demands, it became clear that companies were building not for users, but for the advertisers who pay them. The backlash to recent changes is a good reminder that in the end, it is users — not advertisers — who are the heart of social.
3. Users want control and should have it.
When you’re creating products for millions and even billions of people, it’s hard to find a one-size-fits-all model, and users are always willing to share when something doesn’t work for them. Heck, complaining is the heart of one of earth’s most successful social media companies — Twitter! But there is a lesson that today’s big social media companies never seem to want to learn: Users deserve control. They deserve choice.
In almost every other industry — fashion, grocery, auto, etc. — consumer choice reigns supreme. But in the quest to squeeze more seconds of “engagement” from every individual, social media continues to try to algorithmically manipulate its way to “perfection.” By doing so, we lost the heart of the reason social media exists: to be social. People want to connect on their own terms, with the people they choose to care about. This was a key lesson I took away during my time at MySpace.
To put it simply, social media is a user-driven experience. Short-term, it may be possible to algorithmically tweak your way to higher engagement; but at the end of the day, it is users who control our businesses’ success. Respecting their choices and giving them control is the key to longevity.
