Category: sethwCategory: sethw

Back to the basics – talking about breaking up with social media!

​Can we still get the word out with posting on platforms? Is it possible to grow an email list if we’re not on Instagram? Can we stay in touch with friends and family? Can we exist in this world without having a profile?!?!

​I say the answer is yes, and on this call we’ll discuss how we’re getting by without social media, or at least not making it the focus of our daily lives.

​Some of us are still on social media, some aren’t – everyone is welcome! This ain’t black and white. This ain’t Fight Club (if this is your first call with us, you have to delete Instagram haha).

​If you’re curious about leaving social media, cutting your screen time, or if you’ve already quit and want to share you experience with others, please join us!

Monday, August 17 at 9:00 AM EDT → https://luma.com/gh71h88j

Thursday, August 20 at 2:00 PM EDT → https://luma.com/1q7ykwbs

An artist asked me to look at their website (as part of my Website Resurrection offering), and I noted two things that always seem to come up.

1. Stop sending your fans to platforms where you can’t reach them. Think about it, that one click away from your site could have been a click deeper into your site, so remove (or at least deprioritize) your Instagram links.
   
2. When posting your upcoming events and award nominations on a platform where 90% of our followers won’t even see it, add those updates to your website, too!

Remember, it’s 2026 – not everyone’s on Instagram anymore. Make sure the people who were adventurous enough to seek you out can see what you’re up to.

I spoke with Frances Fogel on the Better Bolder Braver podcast all about platform independence, the power of newsletters, and “work-work balance.” It’s a fun one – enjoy!

From “Bespoke Websites for Emergencies are an Active Thing“

“A single website URL is much easier to give to friends and family, who don’t really know how to look up the data on their own, but it’s something that can be put in a text message. “Go to this site,” is all you need to say. They’re happy.”

Look, not everyone is on social media these days, but every smart phone still ships with a web browser. (via Hacker News)

This from “I Moved My Entire Business Off Big Tech. Here’s Exactly How and Why,” by Tracy Stewart.

“Every single company in my new stack offers real human help. Phone, live chat, email with actual responses… I hadn’t noticed how completely I’d accepted the big tech model of help articles and chatbots until I experienced the alternative. Small companies compete on care. It shows. It makes a genuine difference.”

This is such a huge point to consider when leaving the big services – companies actually want to help you use their service!

I know setting up a website sounds hard, or moving to a new email platform, or figuring out something with domain names! But I promise, there are good companies out there with great help documents, and staffed by people who actually will help you. Like Tracy says above, we’ve accepted the big tech model of service, which is usually a let down!