I've read more than my share of rants, angst, attacks, put-downs and more on my social media pages. These posts originate on both the Left and the Right and make it their purpose to pollute the air. Problem is, these kinds of posts add nothing, just more of the same.
I encourage people to post what they Think. Tell me Why you like or dislike something, Why you hold your views, and try to persuade me your view is correct.
Here's a short article with some social media recommendations on creating value-added posts.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/value-added-social-media-posts-rex-m-rogers/
I’m weary up to my ears with angry, cynical, gotcha, this-political-leader’s-latest-dumb-thing social media posts. These posts originate on both the Left and the Right, and they overrun my social media.
It’s a free country (though recently, some folks seem to want to silence anyone with whom they disagree). So, I get that people can post whatever they want. And I get that people will have differing points of view—actually, this is healthy in a free society—so this piece is not arguing for you to change your views.
But aside from this, it’s a free country for me, too, so I’m going to share a few recommendations for social media posting.
Social media posts that offer nothing but another put-down of given leaders and/or their actions, or offer another rant, or throw shade on someone, do not help me much. These posts may help the posting-person to vent, but the posts don’t develop my understanding of his or her point of view. And such posts don’t really offer any substantive ideas to persuade me toward a different view. They just express angst.
What kind of social media posts actually make impact?
- Offer something original, something you think, you wrote, not just quotes from others or citations of news stories that bother you. Most of all, tell us Why.
- Include not just your feelings but again – what you think– or a point of view someone else has developed that you endorse.
- Periodically make a comment that is positive…about anything, i.e., find something that your political opposition has done with which you agree and affirm it. If you find this impossible, identify something else positive to say so you don’t become a curmudgeon. If all you do is cry, “Wolf,” or all you say is, “The sky is falling,” then after a while, you won’t be heard at all.
- Avoid using degrading or profane languagein your posts. While this seems to be the trend of the day, even among the nation’s leaders, it doesn’t have to be ours. This recommendation is not about being a prude but about being practical. If you want to persuade people to your point of view you are more likely to accomplish this with respectful and intelligent language than the base vocabularies and insults now being spouted by many celebrities and political leaders.
- Vary the contentof your posts. If you’re a political junkie, OK, nothing wrong with that, but you’ll wear your readers down and your posts won’t be read if they all sound the same. So once in a while, post about your hobby or your travels or your family, anything you think your friends and followers might find interesting.
If you implement these simple approaches to your social media posts, you’ll soon be offering your readers value added, something they haven’t heard or maybe cannot get elsewhere, and your number of followers will increase. You might even persuade them to your point of view.
Post all you want. Raise the bar with value-added commentary and make a contribution to public discourse in the body politic.
© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2020
*This blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact me or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com/, or connect with me at www.linkedin.com/in/rexmrogers.