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May 11, 2023

When You Lose Your Social Media Manager (Or, Notes on SMMSs to Drown Your Tears In) — Updated (5/15/2023)

Random Stuff

(See Update notes before the list!)

Fun fact: when a major social media network is bought by a billionaire who has no idea how to manage a social media network, one of the predictable consequences is that said social media network might stop working as expected.

And so here we are in May 2023 with Twitter’s new API changes rippling through the app and service industry like a tornado of stupidity. The consequences of all this? I’ve now spent hours upon hours researching social media managers. Why? The system I was using, SmarterQueue, cut off all support for Twitter two months before my annual subscription had ended. Additionally, the new API rules also scuttled moa.party, the crossposter I used to pull certain items from my Twitter feed to post to Mastodon.

Like a lot of folks, I don’t really have the time to sit on social media apps posting. And like a lot of folks, I have things to “sell,” which means I don’t have much choice but to be on social media apps. In this case, I mostly “sell” a podcast, and in the corporate environment of podcasting, you can’t exist without a social media presence. And one person really can’t manage that much social media without a little help. For me, that help comes in the form of a social media manager.

As such, when my existing management tools either went belly up or fell apart due to Muskian shenanigans, I knew I needed to find something else that would help me manage my personal feeds AND the feeds for The Skiffy and Fanty Show without me needing to be constantly app-bound. To do that effectively, that “something else” needed to be more or less similar to SmarterQueue in terms of price and function.

Thus, I set out to find an alternative knowing I might not find something exactly like SmarterQueue. My goal was to find something that met most of the following needs:

At least 6 accounts for one purchased service
Access to Facebook and Twitter
Access to Mastodon (I separated this out because not all good SMMSs have access to this service)
Bulk Scheduling functions
Category or Custom Queue functions
A reasonable amount of scheduled posts for someone operating 6 accounts
$40/mo or less at the “annual” rate (though anything approaching the upper range would have to dramatically outcompete stuff at lower ranges)
A decent mobile app (easy-to-use, contains the most important functions, and stable)

With all that in mind, I scoured the Internet for every social media management service I could find. In total, I looked at well over 100 services, including some of the biggest names (most of which were far too expensive for an individual). From those, I narrowed the list down to a handful of affordable services with most of the features I was looking for.

The following are my notes for these “finalist” candidates (from which I have yet to make a firm decision). These notes are not comprehensive and may be missing relevant details. Additionally, please keep in mind that my notes are based on what interested me, and those interests may not be your own. I encourage you to look into these services yourself to see if one fits your needs!

Update Note (5/12/2023): I’ve begun adding other services to this list which are in the sub-$50/mo range AND have some form of public statement about adding Mastodon. Many services have public feature request forums, social media posts, and blog posts stating their interest in or explicit intent to add Mastodon to their services.

The original post only featured SocialChamp, Buffer, SocialBu, Sociomonials, and Vista Social.

New entries include the following: SocialBee, Publr, SocialOomph, Zoho Social, Missinglettr and dlvr.it.

SocialChamp

$29/mo –> 12 accts, unlimited scheduling, 2 users.

Note: Social Champ confirmed by email that it has put bulk scheduling to custom queues on its future feature plan (or may be a feature they plan to reveal). A representative for the company confirmed this via email.

Pros:

Easy bulk upload via CSV.
You can create site-specific variations for the same post instance while creating the content. Saves time on creating a unique post for each platform.
Post Approval system for content created by team members (i.e., quality control)
Can create collections and campaigns for recycling content. Seems relatively easy to do.
Easy to use “suggestion” section, which can pull from recommended sources or RSS sources you provide.
Integrates w/ Canva
Threading w/ Mastodon and 1st Comment function with Facebook. Twitter threading available for the paid account but limited to 15 tweets per thread (this is probably fine).
Sentiment Analysis for posts is a cool idea. I don’t know if it will be useful to me, but I can see it as something fun to play with.
Drafts are easy to access in the post system.
With the exception of Twitter, the platform seems to have robust analytics.
Has an app for iOS and Android. Android app seems to work and grants access to many features with some, such as Analytics, listed as forthcoming. App is well-designed and intuitive.
Has a Free Images and Gif section and Canva integration.
Intuitive system. It’s easy to figure out where to go.
Has access to Mastodon even on the free version.
Has free tier for testing.

Cons

Repeat/recycling only available for Twitter and Facebook Pages. You would have to manually recycle content.
No category-based queues with unique scheduled times that can be individually set. Only general queue slots for accounts. You’d have to integrate your entire strategy into one cohesive whole and organize it offsite.
Twitter is only available for the paid account. This is due to the API problem.
AI Content Wizard is a neat idea, but unless it bases its suggestions on the kind of content you already produce, what it gives will be mostly generic. “Find a quote about marketing jobs” — a prompt I received on the first go — is basically useless to me.
App has limited image-related features. You can upload from your phone but not from other areas.
No Analytics for Twitter at any price point. This is due to the API problem, I guess?
No Analytics for Mastodon yet. This is listed as “coming soon” in the system. A temporary con, I guess.

Buffer

$30/mo –> 6 channels, 2,000 scheduled post cap per channel, 1 user.

Pros:

Twitter is available for the free account.
Has an app for iOS and Android. While I haven’t tested them, it has decent rating and appears to be fairly comprehensive. Possibly the most developed app of the options on this list.
Post Approval system for content created by team members (i.e., quality control)
Threading w/ Twitter.
You can create site-specific variations for the same post instance while creating the content. Saves time on creating a unique post for each platform.
Has OK AI idea generation. You can tell it to brainstorm topics. This is only for the paid versions (in beta). Idea generation seems like a useful tool.
Image system is integrated with Giphy and Canva.
Fairly robust analytics for paid versions (all sites).
Has access to Mastodon and Twitter even on the free version.
Overall, has access to the largest number of services. The only services to have similar levels of access have either been feature deficient or intended for large businesses or marketing agencies (i.e., extremely expensive).
Has free tier for testing.

Cons:

Recycling is based on analytics but not something you can build into your post creation.
No post variations for easier recycling of evergreen content. You have to create all variations yourself.
While it has queues for specific accounts, it does not have them for Facebook Pages. Additionally, these are not content-specific. You’d have to integrate your entire strategy into one cohesive whole and organize it offsite.
For whatever reason, the user interface threw me off. I couldn’t immediately figure out where to go to connect accounts with the system. It was there, but it didn’t scream this fact out in a way that made it immediately intuitive.
For a system designed to help you manage your social media presence, its posting apparatus is weirdly non-intuitive. They don’t simply call it “post” or “create post.” It’s called “create idea.” Within that, you have to click “create post” to get the page which lets you select which accounts you want it to go to. It’s an unnecessary click. Buffer advertises itself as an intuitive system, but I didn’t find it as intuitive as the others on this list.
Free account screams at you a LOT to start the 14-day trial and upgrade. I get it. They want paying customers, but this is offputting when I’m just trying to figure out the system.
A small thing for me: they send you notifications for so many things when you first start. This should be prompted with setup so you can choose which notifications to receive.
No native bulk import function.

SocialBu

$15.8/mo –> 12 accts, 800 monthly posts (presumably, no limit), 5 queues, 4 users.

Note: Usama Ejaz, CEO and co-founder of SocialBu, expressed interest on Twitter about adding the ability to bulk schedule to custom queues. This may or may not mean that we’ll see this added in the future. Either way, it’s encouraging that someone that high up in the company personally reached out to me to express this.

Pros:

Curate Content section can be used to find and share web content. No RSS integration, but still a potentially useful tool.
Has a queue system which theoretically allows you to develop individual, category-based posting plans.
Twitter is available for the free account.
Queues allow for repetition. You can set how frequently and the total number of repetitions. Similar to SmarterQueue.
Allows bulk importing.
You can create site-specific variations for the same post instance while creating the content. Saves time on creating a unique post for each platform.
Intuitive system. It’s easy to figure out where to go.
Has an AI chatbot which can help users figure out how to do things. This is neat. Only available to users in the upper tier, though.
Intuitive AI generation system. Give it a topic, and it generates tweets for you. Only available for the highest tiers, though.
The Automate section allows you to create conditional automations for specific events (messages, etc.). This could be useful for a podcast account to automate “thank you” messages.
Has an app for iOS and Android. Android app is intuitive and easy to use. See below.
Has access to Mastodon and Twitter even on the free version.
Has free tier for testing.

Cons:

Analytics don’t appear to be as robust as the other competitors on this list. However, I’m not convinced this matters for me because I’m unlikely to be a “power user” who needs extensive data and reports. Here, the analytics seem focused on helping you identify successful content.
Does not appear to have options to tailor subscriptions. If you need more than the $15.8/mo option, you must may an additional $34/mo. The problem: the higher option is clearly for people managing more than two social media presences. Theoretically, you can ask them for a custom plan, though.
No post variations for easier recycling of evergreen content. You have to create all variations yourself.
While the website says it has a recycling function, it is unclear where that is in the actual system. As with post variations, you might have to manually manage recycled content.
No external media options other than Canva. You can’t add gifs within the system; they must be manually added.
App is bare bones. You can schedule posts, access drafts, and view your calendar. It doesn’t have much else. Personally, this is not a deal breaker for me, as I am not a heavy app user anymore anyway.

Sociamonials

$15/mo –> 10 accts, 10 RSS feeds, 1 user.

Note: there is a card on the public requests Trello board, though this hasn’t been approved for future integration yet.

Pros:

Has Category Queues, which appear to be nearly identical to SmarterQueue’s system. I assume these work with bulk uploads.
Bulk upload feature allows you to place things in category queues. Almost no other service at this price point allows this.
Advanced Analytics with unlimited reports. They appear to be fairly comprehensive, though some features may be more relevant to companies than to individuals.
Has a built-in feature for automatically reposting evergreen content, which you can tag for exactly this purpose. This could be useful for re-sharing certain content that should be pushed periodically. See BIG NOTE below.
Access to a large stock photo library.
Allows customization of posts by account.
Facebook options are fairly robust. You can’t post to personal accounts, but pages, groups, and business counts are available.
Has a feature which will optimize the times for sending items to your various social media accts.
Access to an AI Writer. v2 just launched and is powered by ChatGPT. This appears to be primarily for streamlining developing social marketing strategies based on your company inputs. I’m not entirely opposed to this use, as it’s primarily about automating the development process rather than inventing content. I may misunderstand this, though.
Built-in feature to add social media buttons to a website which can be used for SM analytics.
The system is largely intuitive for most features. However, they set you up with a quick start video when you first log in (which you can skip) to ease the process and comes stock with a “guide” feature which you can turn on/off at any time.
Has an iOS and Android app.
Has a variety of other features designed for business, most of which don’t matter to me but could be useful for others.

Cons:

No Mastodon support.
You cannot repost content to Twitter due to their policies. Basically, you have to create unique variations to repost evergreen content to the birdsite.
While I have not personally used the app, the available information suggestions it is not comprehensive and buggy. This might be a deal-breaker for some.
No post variations for easier recycling of evergreen content. You have to create all variations yourself. This is a notable problem because the only way to repost to Twitter is via variations.
No built-in external media options such as Giphy, etc. The royalty-free database is large, though.
Facebook integration is wonky, and their explanation video for why you need to grant permission for their system to access all of your groups, etc. doesn’t make sense to me. There may be a logic to this, but it screams “red flag.”
No option to tailor subscriptions. If you need slightly more than the $15/mo option offers, you’ll pay an additional $24/mo for the privilege. This may not matter, though. The $15/mo option seems robust enough.
Bulk Upload limited to 500 posts, which is probably sufficient for small scale users.
No free tier for testing.

Vista Social

$12/mo w/ 5 profiles ($3/mo extra for more), 3 users.

Pros:

Has free tier for easy testing.
Unlimited scheduling for Pro and Pro+ tiers.
Has an AI Assistant using ChatGPT. Seems designed to streamline writing posts, which might be useful. I am not necessarily enthused by AI writing, though.
Has integrations with Canva, though this also has AI image generation, which I’m not enthused about.
Scheduling can be set based on optimal times based on the system’s recommendations. This might become more useful as it gains information about your profiles.
Has an approval system for teams. Primarily for quality control.
Allows tailoring posts for specific social media accts.
First Comment available for Facebook posts.
Allows bulk scheduling. Does not appear to have limits.
Has ioS and Android app which appears to be quite robust. I have not used it, though.
Has a version of Category Queues (Publishing Queues) which seems to work similar to SmarterQueue. Does require an additional step, though.
Import Bulk function has more than just a CSV option, including importing latest news. This deserves some extra consideration.
Work interface is fairly intuitive and has a variety of settings. Seems fairly robust overall.
Smart Publisher allows you to created a curated list of content sources. Additionally, it can be set to publish content from those feeds based on a your schedule and keywords. Can be assigned for review and customized/personalized. This seems like an interesting way to generate additional content.
Has fairly robust analytics, including reports useful for businesses.
The analytics can be used to identify your most popular content so it can be recycled.

Cons:

Pro+, their highest tier, costs $2/mo more for extra profiles. While you get more services at this tier, it still seems backwards to charge more than for lower tiers.
Bulk Import does allow you to set items in the Queue, but it appears to be a general queue rather than category specific.
No Mastodon support.
Recycling and repurposing do not seem intuitive or a priority in the design. This makes trying to push podcasts at various times more difficult.

Publer

$9.6/mo for 3 accounts, 1 member, unlimited scheduling, drafts, and workspaces.

Note: Publer publicly announced its intentions to add Mastodon in their 2023 Roadmap announcement in January. It’s not clear when to expect this to be completed, but it does fall somewhere in the middle of their 2023 roadmap, which suggests a possible Summer 2023 release.

Pros:

Features a queue for each social media account. The queue can be modified to specify the types of content (photo, link, status update, etc.) that post in specific slots, which is almost like category-based queues.
Allows customization for posts going to multiple social media sites.
Features AI Assist, which is designed to help generate content, auto-complete text, and create photos. The assistant functions are probably welcome, but I am not enthused by other AI integrations.
Features integration with Canva, Drive, Dropbox, and other cloud-based services (primarily for images).
Allows bulk uploading via CSV.
Comes with a built-in photo editor, which is neat.
Can recycle content (share it multiple times or set to recur at specified intervals). See below.
Has an iOS and Android app. This appears to include most of the major features. Reviews are largely positive.
The more expensive tier is not actually that expensive. It comes with more than some similarly-priced plans come with.
Analytics seem geared towards “influencers” and anyone vaguely related to that category. This is likely fine for most creatives who are not operating shops or web-based businesses.
System is fairly intuitive. The only thing I didn’t immediately find was the option to create a custom schedule for a specific account, but the “Help” documentation made this easy enough to figure out. Otherwise, I suspect this would be fairly easy to use for most.
Has a free tier for testing.

Cons:

While it has a form of category-based queues, they don’t operate the same as SmarterQueue. You’d need to have content set to their categories rather than ones you set.
Bulk uploading requires an extra step to add it to a queue or customize scheduling. This is not horrible but also not ideal.
Twitter only available for the paid account.
Mastodon is in development but not yet available.
Analytics, insights, and “best times to post” are only available for the top tier plan.
The recycling and recurring post features are only available for the top tier account. However, if you need to manage more than 3 accounts, this is cheaper than adding those three to the first paid tier. For anyone who doesn’t need more than 3 accounts, though, that’s about $7 extra per month. This might be worth it for some.
Does not allow post variations, which may be a limiter for users on platforms which can penalize you for perceived spam (i.e., Twitter).
There are posting limits specific to each service. However, unless you’re a power user, the limits for the first paid tier are probably fine for most individuals.

SocialBee

$24/mo for 5 accounts, 1 user, 10 content categories, and 1,000 posts per category

Note: While Mastodon has not been formally added to the their roadmap, it is listed on their public Product Roadmap Trello board as “a definite maybe.” A developer has said they are considering it pending enough interest from users.

Pros:

Features content categories which can be customized (based on types of content, how the content should be posted (evergreen or not), etc.). These operate like queues and can be customized based on a time schedule you set. Basically, they’re category-based queues that are fully customizable, which is great!
Features post variations for evergreen content. Almost nobody has this built in.
Features a bulk post editor, which could make managing a lot of content at once fairly simple.
Features bulk uploads via CSVs. When you upload, you can add the items to a specific category. You’d probably need to set up a CSV for each category for simplicity, but this is hardly a real problem.
Features an onboarding wizard, which is a neat tool for getting new users familiar with the system.
For the most part, the system seems intuitive enough. Some features may require some fiddling to learn the ropes, but that’s to be expected.
Can generate hashtags for you, which seems neat in theory.
Has image alt text built in.
Integration with Canva, Unsplash, and GIPHY.
For an extra monthly fee, you can pay for access to specialists (social media, video, article writing, and more). This is part of their Concierge Service area and features way more options than I’ve listed here.

Cons:

Analytics are only available 3 months in the past for the lowest tier. You also cannot export analytics, which means you can’t easily compile the data yourself. This might be a problem for users who wish to make data-driven decisions about their posting practices.
$24/mo isn’t terrible for what you get, but it’s certainly more expensive than many competitors offering similar or more service.
The 5 account limit for the first paid tier would price me out for the service (I need 3 each for myself and my podcast), but this is probably more than enough for most individuals.
You have to contact them to eventually pay for the service. Personally, this is a deal breaker because I mostly only want to talk to the people in charge if I need help with something. I hate “sales calls” or “sales emails.” Your mileage may vary, though. (Note: you might be able to “sign up” without doing this, but it’s not clear that you can, and I’m not going to go through that to find out.)
While an Android app exists, it is poorly rated and appears to be extremely bare bones or buggy.
No free teir for testing.

SocialOomph

$22.5/mo for 10 accounts, 1 member, 5 queues, and unlimited scheduled posts

Note: The above price is for the 2nd paid tier (Professional Suite). The cheapest tier (Advanced Suite) only includes 1 social media account, and it seemed pointless to consider it here given that almost everyone will need more than one account for management.

Pros:

Includes AI post generation, though I have no idea how this actually works.
Has free tier for testing.
Features a queue system which can handle recurring posts. In theory, the queues can be set up like category-based queues, though the system doesn’t make it easy to figure out if this is the case.
Has Mastodon access.
Features bulk uploading. See below.

Cons:

Technically, it has a posting limit of 60/hour; however, that likely wouldn’t impact most users even if they’re using all 10 social media accounts.
Does not allow post variations, which may be a limiter for users on platforms which can penalize you for perceived spam (i.e., Twitter).
No free trial for this tier. You can test the most expensive tier for 30 days, though.
It is difficult to find official information about what is inside the suite except in text form and often without much detail. Most other services have YouTube channels or built-in videos showing how the features work. This service does not.
Bulk uploading requires you to use a simple markup language. While this isn’t difficult to figure out, it’s rather offputting and seems limited.
No bulk uploading for media files or images. You can only upload text.
Seems underpowered and underdeveloped for the cost.
No app of any kind.

Zoho Social

$10/mo for 10 accounts, 1 user

Note: They announced in their community forums that Mastodon is scheduled for integration sometime in 2023 (Q2 or Q3, as stated).

Pros:

Has an iOS and Android app. It seems to be well-developed and contains most relevant features. Reviews are largely positive.
Integrates with Canva and other Zoho systems, such as Zoho Desk. The first matters to me; the second might matter to others looking for additional intergrations in the same software suite.
The Repeat feature (i.e., recycling) allows you to set the time-based frequency of reptitions (w/ a user-selected end date).
Features a pretty intuitive content curation system for finding materials (yours and others) to post. You can work within the system to design your posts.
Features fairly advanced analytics with multiple layers of tracking (though mostly for upper tiers).
Features an option to set tracking rules for your links. Other systems might have this, but Zoho makes it fairly prominent in their features lists.
Upper tiers are definitely built for social media teams. While this doesn’t matter to me, it is still worth noting for anyone looking for a team-friendly system.
SmartQueue feature automatically publishes at ideal times for your respective social accounts. This is neat, but see below.
Does have a bulk schedule feature. See below.
Custom queues allow you to set specific times for posting.
The system seems fairly intuitive. If you can’t figure something out, there are numerous videos and support documents to help you out.
Has a free tier for testing.

Cons:

Notifications aren’t available in the Standard paid tier. This might not be a big deal for a lot of folks, though.
The bulk scheduler does not allow you to set posts to a queue. This means you have to manually design your social strategy from the ground up before bulk uploading.
No category-based queues, and custom queues appear to be shared across ALL accounts rather than individually by account. This severely limits the effectiveness of your social media plan, as optimal times are not universally shared among social networks. You can probably get around this with the SmartQ feature, but you’d have to pay a lot more.
Does not allow post variations, which may be a limiter for users on platforms which can penalize you for perceived spam (i.e., Twitter).
Unless you only need a post scheduler with custom schedule options and no other management features such as bulk scheduling, post recycling, etc., you’ll need to pay an additional $20/mo for the Professional tier. That’s a pretty big jump to get access to most of the relevant features for an SMMS, especially since the $10/mo is mostly making it easier to schedule across platforms. Other systems give you more for roughly the same cost.

Missinglettr

$7/mo for 3 accounts, 500 scheduled posts, 1 workspace, and 2 users.

Note: They announced on their blog sometime in April that Mastodon has been integrated into the system. However, it’s unclear if this is instance specific or open to all instances, as the language there suggests you may not be able to add accounts from unlisted instances. That said, the post says they want to know which instances to add, so perhaps this has been sorted already.

Pros:

Has a feature called “Drip Campaigns,” wherein the system will monitor your blogs, etc. and automatically generate a posting campaign for your socials. This is system generated and user reviewed. Honestly, this is really cool.
Has a free tier for testing.
Features a stock image library

Cons:

If you need more than the $7/mo account grants, you’ll have to jump up in cost by $25/mo. Honestly, there should be a middle tier here. Additionally, the highest tier is a tad underpowered for the price.
The Curated Content feature (wherein you can add your content to a library that other Missinglettr users can share from) is only available at the more expensive tier. You can share other’s content at the $7/mo level, though. This is fine if supported by data (i.e., that it actually works).
Advanced Analytics are only available for the highest tier.
You can get more for your buck via other services. $7/mo is cheap, but I’d rather pay $12 or $15 and get more, especially as a single user.
Doesn’t appear to have a queue or category-based feeds of any kind. The site seems mostly geared towards automation, but most of that is only accessible at the most expensive tier.
Does not allow post variations, which may be a limiter for users on platforms which can penalize you for perceived spam (i.e., Twitter).
Honestly, the $7/mo tier is sad. I really wanted to like the service, but as presented, it feels less like a robust SMMS than a powerful autoposter of some kind.

dlvr.it

$9.99/mo for 10 accounts, unlimited daily posts per, 150 queued items, 2 users

Pros:

The automatic hashtag feature does exactly as it says. Seems neat!
Allow for recycling via the Echo feature. Allows for reshares by hour, day, or week timeframes.
Paid tiers have a 7 day free trial. I’d prefer 2 weeks, but a week is still better than nothing.
Features category-based queues. See below…
Features a bulk uploader which can add content to specific queues. See below
Can auto-post to most socials, which will send new content from your selected feeds (your own or that of others). See below…
System seems intuitive and fairly easy to use.
Has Mastodon integration. Twitter is also available on all tiers.
Has a free tier for testing.

Cons:

Bulk uploader is only available at the $29.99 level.
Category-based queues are only available for the top tier.
The top tier is underpowered by comparison to competitors; otherwise, it might be worth the price for the added features.
The auto-post feature appears to be simple content posts, though, and some may view that as spammy.
The EverQueue feature is only available to the top tier. This is a more robust tool for recycling your content.
No app of any kind.
The Stats feature seems pretty basic. This probably wouldn’t matter for most users, but I personally found them to be underpowered for my needs.

With all of that information listed out, I’ve ultimately come to a couple of options for sorting my social media management needs:

Accept some limited functionality for queues and recycling but get access to a reasonably priced manager that includes Mastodon. Two of these services have indicated that they may solve the function limits in the future. In the short term, this would mean some limits on what I can post in relation to the time I have available for that work; in the long term, it would mean supporting developing systems whose creators are receptive to user feedback.
Select a system with more of my desired functionality for queues and recycling while using a free system such as SocialChamp or Socialbu just for Mastodon posting. This would mean sacrificing my Mastodon posting schedule, as the free tiers are limited in function. Basically, Mastodon would continue to be a secondary system until something came along with all of my desired functions built in. It would also mean splitting my activity across multiple systems. Frankly, I’m unlikely to do this because I can see myself getting burned out quickly.
Sacrifice automated posting to Mastodon altogether, as there is, as far as I can tell, no current way to crosspost to it from another service and most social media managers do not have it built into their systems. IFTTT still technically functions as a crossposter, but its crosspost quality is questionable. I want any crossposting I do to be largely seamless so it is clear that I am actually on the platform (I respond to mentions anyway, but I feel like posts which feel artificial will produce less desire to interact).

Of those options, 1 and 3 are the most desirable, but all of them come with a downside. I’m either losing functions, time I would rather spend elsewhere, or a social media platform that matters to me.

There is also a practical concern here: Twitter might collapse or become so untenable a system that SMMSs may drop support for it anyway. If I’m locked into another service that doesn’t have Mastodon now or on its future plans, would this mean I’d need to incorporate a different service into my social media strategy? This is a problem for two reasons: 1) most of the new Twitter-like services aren’t supported by any SMMSs (even Buffer); and 2) most supported services are not designed for link sharing (Instagram, for example, which notoriously doesn’t allowed external links). I’m not a heavy user of visual platforms such as Instagram or TikTok, but I still need to figure out a way to get people to see what I’m creating because there’s no point making a podcast if nobody is listening to it. Since listener sharing is unreliable for expanding viewership, I need some other strategy for doing so.

Or, maybe there is a more depressing problem here. Maybe the infrastructure for social sharing is so compromised that there’s no point in spending time making things which rely on a public audience unless you have institutional support. I hope that’s not the case — because if it is, that might be the death of most forms of fan-oriented public engagement.

Anywho. I hope some of the notes in this post were useful to you. If you happen to use a system I didn’t mention, please tell me about it in the comments! Wee!