#DeleteFacebook

I’ve had enough, and I just can’t take anymore. So last week ITRH joined the #DeleteFacebook groundswell.

We’re refocusing our energy on Twitter now and YouTube this fall.

Killing off Facebook was a tough choice, at first. And there was internal resistance.

The platform used to be a great way to connect with listeners of the show. We could post episodes, memes, thoughts, related news, and discuss them all with followers.

Most people are on Facebook and check it incessantly. This made it a lot easier for ITRH listeners to comment on episodes and share their thoughts more so than the site.

And it was an excellent way for the ITRH Roving Horde Armada members to connect easily with one another. We even used the events feature heavily for scheduling and organizing all the monthly member events.

But Facebook always creeped me out. My day job as a marketing consultant put me in touch with a taste of how invasive Facebook could be.

What most people don’t know is how their actions and connects can be used to target them. And they’re not aware of how much tracking happens by Facebook by users even when they’re on other websites.

This is the tip of the iceberg.

Then we come to issues of audience reach…

You put a lot of effort into social media to build and nurture a following. In return, you’re rewarded with an ever-growing group of like-minded people who want to hear your message and share your passion.

And there’s a lot in it for the social media platform too. The more entities like ITRH working to nurturing and grow their audience, the more sticky they become.

Someone recently said to me how hard it was going to be for them to leave Facebook. They’d built up a collection of amazing homesteading, gardening, and other interest groups. When they exist Facebook they’d be cut off from those groups – Facebook had become very “sticky” for this person.

Along comes throttling: Our posts are only shown to a percentage of followers. That is unless we post something viral or pay to promote our post to our social media followers.

So we’re left with two problems.

First, a growing concern over invasive and shady data collection.

Second, an ever decreasing ROI for us to invest in Facebook. This was more of an annoyance but did play a role in the decision.

For these reasons, ITRH decided to #DeleteFacebook and move on. This included eliminating the public page and private Armada member’s group.

The members are now happily chatting it up and connecting with our new snazzy Slack App workspace. Things are a tad awkward as we learn to use the app, but we’re getting used to the new digs quickly.

As for public interaction, we’re now focused on Twitter now and YouTube this fall, as previously mentioned. Be sure to connect with us on both platforms and let’s start some tremendous new conversations.