oh yes, i love this. this is exactly how/ what we'd like to promote with objet.cc -- which is challenging too. typically these days, i'm talking to vintage shops amd tailors in NYC and the one question at the end is (still) always 'gimme your insta' and when i say we don't have one, i can tell they're suspicious right away haha -- funnily enough, we'll have a soirée coming soon in London, would love to see you there 🤗
Thanks kev! Yeah I can totally imagine that. Helps that you have a v cool website and substack to point them to :). Ah amazing - would love to hear more about that! Feel free to email me hey@matildalucy.com
I can relate, this is my goal too - I’d rather dedicate my time to in-person activities! Re Instagram, I’m deciding to mentally reframe it as ‘social proof’ (like proof my brand exists) and leave it at that / not invest too much time into it. Funny enough I’m the opposite of Matilda and it’s TikTok I can’t get into at all! Object.cc is super inspiring, I’m sad I won’t be able to make it to your soireé in Brooklyn - hope it goes well & hope to come next time.
I love this reframe of IG Anne - totally with you on utilising these tools in a way that works for you. And LOVE your scarves do you sell them anywhere in NYC? I’m coming in Jan 😍
YES! Been preaching the value of thinking differently about owned channels and partnerships for years. I feel like a big key to swaying megabrands to think more in this direction will be developing new, readily accessible metrics, as everything lives and dies by its ability to be measured. Brands need to invest in their own data to feel good moving away from the feel-good "number go up" hit social channels offer.
Such an interesting point!! Developing new sets of metrics to measure will be key you’re so right - we’re all hooked on up and to the right charts. Do you work for a brand/ agency/ solo?
This is gorgeous. I'm also a digital strategist and I'm seriously contemplating leaving Instagram next year and... dude. It takes courage. These kinds of insights boost my chutzpah. Thanks for your two cents!
I really wish there was a fully functional desktop version of Instagram. I'd delete IG on my phone in a heartbeat, but I could still use it to post work-related content without getting sucked into its endless spiral. But I guess that's not in the platform's interest—it wouldn't be profitable?
Hey Matilda! We're brand new to Substack and just came across your work, LOVE your perspective!
This nails what we’re seeing too. Social media has become more about renting space on someone else’s screen than building anything meaningful. Brands that are leaning too heavily on paid media are stuck chasing algorithms instead of creating real value for the people they're trying so hard to reach. We're big on moving strategy towards owned channels, but struggling to pinpoint a solid strategy to grow an owned audience from scratch without relying on social at all (not that it's helping all that much). We want to prioritize owned channels, but when you have no foundation (as a startup) it's a difficult sell to clients.
I can’t wait to see what comes from the shift in social platforms as mire and more people realize that they’re being sold a product.
The product is literally the platform. We can no longer freely use social media without the threat of subscription or an Amazon list. Time to collectively regroup and work towards alternatives
A couple of points of feedback. I dislike the innocent cynicism in the phrase “late stage” applied to anything, not truly historical and in hindsight. Should have left the expression where you found it.
Second, this seemed liked a bunch of interest hopeful points in search of a solution. There hasn’t been REAL connection on any social media since very early FB days. Maybe a little on Reddit and Quora. It seems like all social is unbridled expressionism, mostly driven by commerce.
Part of this conundrum is our own fault as users and consumers. Obviously “following” (whatever term is used on the particular platform) far too many people than one could possibly keep up with brings algorithms into play and starts the funhouse mirror process. The recent burst of activity on BlueSky is a testament to this with topic starter kits which means you suddenly have hundreds or thousands you are “connected” to. This isn’t connection, it is deception
I’d argue there has been real connection on social media since Facebook and still is - I’ve met many friends and colleagues on social platforms - but agree the main driver from the pov of most platforms is now commerce.
Agree that some onus lies with individuals re how we use social apps!
oh yes, i love this. this is exactly how/ what we'd like to promote with objet.cc -- which is challenging too. typically these days, i'm talking to vintage shops amd tailors in NYC and the one question at the end is (still) always 'gimme your insta' and when i say we don't have one, i can tell they're suspicious right away haha -- funnily enough, we'll have a soirée coming soon in London, would love to see you there 🤗
Thanks kev! Yeah I can totally imagine that. Helps that you have a v cool website and substack to point them to :). Ah amazing - would love to hear more about that! Feel free to email me hey@matildalucy.com
I can relate, this is my goal too - I’d rather dedicate my time to in-person activities! Re Instagram, I’m deciding to mentally reframe it as ‘social proof’ (like proof my brand exists) and leave it at that / not invest too much time into it. Funny enough I’m the opposite of Matilda and it’s TikTok I can’t get into at all! Object.cc is super inspiring, I’m sad I won’t be able to make it to your soireé in Brooklyn - hope it goes well & hope to come next time.
I love this reframe of IG Anne - totally with you on utilising these tools in a way that works for you. And LOVE your scarves do you sell them anywhere in NYC? I’m coming in Jan 😍
Thanks! We’ll see how it goes, ha. And re the scarves, soon!! I’m knitting them up right now and planning a sale in a few weeks :)
YES! Been preaching the value of thinking differently about owned channels and partnerships for years. I feel like a big key to swaying megabrands to think more in this direction will be developing new, readily accessible metrics, as everything lives and dies by its ability to be measured. Brands need to invest in their own data to feel good moving away from the feel-good "number go up" hit social channels offer.
Such an interesting point!! Developing new sets of metrics to measure will be key you’re so right - we’re all hooked on up and to the right charts. Do you work for a brand/ agency/ solo?
So on point! This is something a few of us are hoping to change. It's about respecting attention as a finite resource. If you're interested, I think you'll enjoy reading this: https://soundquakepodcasts.notion.site/We-Respect-Your-Attention-Initiative-Strategic-Overview-152cd78f5e8380b0805bf92e70374ff7?pvs=4
In this early stage we're looking for those that want to carry the mantle for this kind of movement.
That looks really interesting and needed! Have signed up to find out more :)
This is gorgeous. I'm also a digital strategist and I'm seriously contemplating leaving Instagram next year and... dude. It takes courage. These kinds of insights boost my chutzpah. Thanks for your two cents!
Love it. What comes after is precisely what I have begun writing about at Hard Refresh. Looking forward to following you @miranda Lucy.
Nice! Have subscribed :)
This this this. Thank you.
Thanks for reading 💘
I have boxes of mirror selfies of my Gram's. We'll just have to print and share physical copies! :P
I read this as “I have boxes of mirror selfies at my Gran’s” and thought ah cool ofc the older generation keep their selfies in boxes
I really wish there was a fully functional desktop version of Instagram. I'd delete IG on my phone in a heartbeat, but I could still use it to post work-related content without getting sucked into its endless spiral. But I guess that's not in the platform's interest—it wouldn't be profitable?
Same!! I’m currently downloading IG once a week to post work stuff but don’t think I’ll do that much longer it’s not really worth it for me.
Maybe the Guardian read this substack Matilda and then decided to sack off X 👀👀👀
Hahaha I don’t know how anyone is still there
I hear ya! 🙌
Hey Matilda! We're brand new to Substack and just came across your work, LOVE your perspective!
This nails what we’re seeing too. Social media has become more about renting space on someone else’s screen than building anything meaningful. Brands that are leaning too heavily on paid media are stuck chasing algorithms instead of creating real value for the people they're trying so hard to reach. We're big on moving strategy towards owned channels, but struggling to pinpoint a solid strategy to grow an owned audience from scratch without relying on social at all (not that it's helping all that much). We want to prioritize owned channels, but when you have no foundation (as a startup) it's a difficult sell to clients.
I'm surprised you didn't mention the term Enshittification coined by Cory Doctorow, which sounds very similar to "Late stage social media."
Anyways, thanks for the read!
I can’t wait to see what comes from the shift in social platforms as mire and more people realize that they’re being sold a product.
The product is literally the platform. We can no longer freely use social media without the threat of subscription or an Amazon list. Time to collectively regroup and work towards alternatives
A couple of points of feedback. I dislike the innocent cynicism in the phrase “late stage” applied to anything, not truly historical and in hindsight. Should have left the expression where you found it.
Second, this seemed liked a bunch of interest hopeful points in search of a solution. There hasn’t been REAL connection on any social media since very early FB days. Maybe a little on Reddit and Quora. It seems like all social is unbridled expressionism, mostly driven by commerce.
Part of this conundrum is our own fault as users and consumers. Obviously “following” (whatever term is used on the particular platform) far too many people than one could possibly keep up with brings algorithms into play and starts the funhouse mirror process. The recent burst of activity on BlueSky is a testament to this with topic starter kits which means you suddenly have hundreds or thousands you are “connected” to. This isn’t connection, it is deception
Thanks for your thoughts David.
I’d argue there has been real connection on social media since Facebook and still is - I’ve met many friends and colleagues on social platforms - but agree the main driver from the pov of most platforms is now commerce.
Agree that some onus lies with individuals re how we use social apps!