Algorithm vs Your World

Posting on social media can be extremely frustrating.

You spend your time and energy trying to come up with ideas for content and once you do then you spend your time and energy creating the content.

All of that effort should feel like it means something to someone else besides you.

When you post it, you expect results from it. It's human nature.

Again, you put the time and effort into this and if school taught us anything is that time and effort always get rewarded.

But as you know, that's not how the algorithm plays out. So then maybe you go looking around to see what people are saying about the algorithm.

Social media gurus know how to play it and they share their tips but a lot of times, those tips feel like they are invading your workflow instead of becoming a part of it.

Let me show you some advice that I'm looking at right now as I write this essay:

• Old way: General advice for "everyone" | New way: Hyper-niche, highly tailored posts
• Old way: Faceless reels with text overlays | New way: Face camera & storytelling moments
• Old way: Blending into the noise | New way: A brand that's instantly recognizable
• Old way: Overused trends | New way: Building real connections

On the surface, this advice isn't bad, but how helpful is it really? It's like asking someone for fashion advice and they advise you not to mix patterns.

But you can mix patterns if that's your thing. As long as you show that it's your thing. As long as you own it.

Every other piece of advice on that list? The old way will work just as well as the new way as long as you own it.

I mean, every social media guru is literally giving general advice for everyone.

So what gives? What do you do to avoid this frustration?

It's important to understand that algorithms have changed and I think that they've changed for the better but people haven't caught up to how to see them.

And that's really the problem. Before I explain the new algorithms, let me show you how we all see the world.

The Micro Universes

One of the beauties of the online space has always been that you can find your people. They are somewhere.

Hell, you can find your people in many different spots.

I'm an Arsenal fan so I visit /r/Gunners daily.

I love worldbuilding so I created Obsidian Tavern to surround myself with other writers who loved the worldbuilding aspects of writing.

You have your places.

Even when we go to the big places like Reddit, Instagram, or YouTube, it doesn't feel like we are in a big place because the algorithm shows us our people.

My YouTube feed isn't YouTube. It's my business TV channel.

When I go and read on Substack, it's like reading the New York Times back in the days when I was in college.

The big sites don't say, "Here you go! Checkout everything!" They try to learn your interests so they can put you into a Micro Universe that is meant for you.

We each have our own Micro Universes and that's why we continue to come back to these places. If they didn't feel like the places meant for us then we would stop.

How frustrating is it when the algorithm starts to show you a ton of stuff that doesn't align with you? One of the worst experiences is starting a brand new account on a social media platform when the algorithm has no idea what you like.

Your feed is garbage. So the algorithm shows you bits and pieces from different people hoping to find something that you'll latch onto.

But that's just the start because within each of these Micro Universes are a lot of people competing for attention and that's where the frustration begins.

Your Micro World

When we post content online, we tend to view it in isolation. Here is this one piece of content that is going to go off and do work on its own.

But that's not how it works.

That one piece of content is a representation of the Micro World that you're building so instead of looking at it as an individual piece that should work wonders.

You have to see if it's something that represents your Micro World well. Because you're not trying to get the masses all at once.

The algorithm doesn't play that way.

What you're trying to do is get one person at a time because you want that person to bring in the next person. You want that person to latch onto your content, explore other pieces, and then realize they want you in their Micro Universe.

Because remember, if our Micro Universes feel off, we get annoyed.

So how does your Micro World play into that?

A Content Portfolio

When you take a step back and look at all of the content you produce for a platform, does it feel like a unified portfolio?

Do all of the pieces together tell a story? If so, what is it?

It's hard for someone to want to be in a Micro World when they don't understand it. When they can't see how they would fit within it.

One does that Reel connect to that Carousel which connects to that Story?

If I sit down and watch your YouTube Channel am does it feel like I'm flipping through the channels late at night hoping to find something interesting?

This might feel restrictive to you but the truth is that every world has boundaries. But the best worlds have many different places to visit.

The best worlds have variety but you can understand how that variety fits within the whole ecosystem.