Are the Wild West Days Over for Social Media?

I know that I’ve been on a tear lately about what’s been happening to Facebook and the state of social media in general.

Many of you and pundits may say, “So what? Same old, same old!”

I don’t think so.

Something feels different about this time round.

Very different!

Let’s talk about that!

Facebook may have caught a slight break this week.

No whistleblowers appearing in front of Congress decrying its antisocial behaviors.

Although, there may be another one soon.

But, the lack of a media circus didn’t prevent Senator Amy Klobuchar from firing a warning shot across Facebook’s bow.

(Actually, it was closer to a preemptive thermonuclear strike IMHO.)

She wants them broken up and feels there is bipartisan support for this.

(Bipartisan support is a rare thing in Washington, D.C. these days and it never bodes well for the target of said support.  Just ask Saddam Hussein.)

Social media has been pretty much unregulated since its inception, particularly in the United States.

However, those Happy Days may be coming to an end.

The European Union is starting to take note and get involved.

China is imposing its own Digital Great Wall.

(Along with a bunch of other autocracies.)

Just last week, Microsoft announced it was shutting its LinkedIn server because of censorship by the PROC.

The cynic in me wonders if this was done for altruistic reasons or because of fears of appearing too compliant to autocracies by The Powers That Be.

And you wonder why I’m suggesting the wild and woolly Wild West days of Big Tech and social media are coming to an end?

As in the good ol’ days of wild cat banking in America, the party has to come to an end sometime.

A good idea started with good intentions (And we all know where they pave the road to.) gives way to excess and somebody, usually the Federal government, takes away the punch bowl. 

Amy and her friends are beginning to eye the punch bowl.

(And, just wait until Bernie starts eyeing it!)

Why do I bring this all up?

For those of us who use social media and make our living by it, change is coming, Big Time change!

I’m not going to pretend that I know or even understand what this change could be, but the one thing that I’m certain of is that it’s going to change everything.

But, as the old saying goes, “The more things change, the more they remain the same.”

We’ll always have the Internet, that’s not going anywhere.

Yes, the players may change, but the Internet will always be there.

(And, should the Internet somehow go away, we’ll have other things to worry about!)

We need to be ready with our email lists and websites, while watching out for those new opportunities.

That’s it for now!

Please check out my 8 step approach for developing a social media program for more ideas on how to use social media.

Also, never forget to reach out to either ask questions or to ask for help from someone like myself! In the meantime, thank you for following and reading my blog.

I look forward to any and all comments that you may have. I will reply to any comments made to this blog post as promptly as I can.

And, remember!

I do this for a living and if I can be of any assistance to either you or your organization, please feel free to call on me. Our initial discussion will be of no charge to you.

I can also be reached at conpsweeney@someddi.com