Social Media Changes
With the questionable decisions of a certain platform beginning to compound, and the rise of nothing but ads on another, I wanted to address the topic of social media and where you can find me beyond my blog.
I’m not leaving any of my current platforms, but I will be limiting what I post on certain ones. I’m beyond tired of trying to have my posts seen, only to be swallowed by the algorithm whole, and I am not okay with the new policies “if you have an account and post, we’re going to use that to train our AIs.”
That being said, if you want to read snippets from my books or see new artwork I have to share, you’ll have to follow me on Bluesky (I’m there as @ajcalvin). I will not be sharing those items to Twitter (or X if you’d rather use the ridiculous new name its overlord decided to change it to.) I don’t plan to change my sharing on Instagram at this time either, so it’s another option (I’m @authorajcalvin there.)
I have also decided to limit my posts on Facebook. It is my oldest author platform, but has historically been the worst in terms of engagement… And it’s only become worse the last few months. Their new model of “Let’s show everyone 9 ads before they can see anything they actually follow,” is obnoxious. I’m not closing the page there yet, though I’ve strongly considered it. I do have a few people who regularly interact there, and I don’t want to entirely lose them by disappearing. But I won’t be posting there much beyond current book reviews, sharing blog posts, and the occasional update on my books.
I’ve gone as far as removing Facebook as a social link from my website/blog and my newsletter because of its poor performance and the ad situation. This is me throwing up my hands in frustration and more or less walking away.
All that being said, the best places to follow my writing-related news and book reviews are:
- This blog
- My once-monthly newsletter
- Or FanFiAddict (for book reviews only)
But if you’re more interested in the social media side of things, I’ll be focusing more on Bluesky and Instagram from now on. I’m not leaving Facebook or Twitter, but my time there will be reduced significantly.
I just don’t have the bandwidth to continue battling with the algorithm on either site, and I do not agree with Twitter’s new stance on AI training. Any new content from me will be shared to my newsletter first, here on the blog if it’s relevant, and the two safe (so far) social media sites I mentioned above. (And if it’s any incentive to sign up to the newsletter, I will be sharing several new art pieces at the end of November. I’m also going to have a cover reveal in December and some fun stuff coming up in 2025 related to Wraith and the Revolution.)
I hope most of you will continue to find my writing and other content somewhere…
Anyway, now that this update is out of the way, I hope you all have a happy and safe Halloween season! I’ll be back to my usual blog content next week.
I hate Twitter’s new stance too, but for the moment you can opt out of training plagiarism software in settings. I know it’s probably only for now, and the internet is constantly being scraped to feed the foul programs, but it’s something.
I’ve opted out already. The new terms that go into effect Nov. 1 seemed a little more aggressive, and I’m not confident the opt out will remain a viable fixture based on how things have gone there so far.
They probably won’t. It’s so disappointing.