> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.polyinnovator.space/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # You Need to be Cautious of Social Media - URL: https://www.polyinnovator.space/you-need-to-be-cautious-of-social-media/ - Published: 2026-10-18T17:47:05.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-18T17:47:05.000Z - Description: Today I share my thoughts and FEARS of the social media landscape. I think this post is important for any content creator wanting to last. - Author: Dustin Miller | PolyInnovator - Tags: πŸ”§ The Content Polymath - OmniChannel Content Over the last couple of years I have grown more weary of social media platforms. You do NOT own your content on these platforms, and this goes for all of them. Two in particular that I really detest now are Twitter (I'm not calling it "X"), and TikTok (specifically now that it is owned/localized in the US). As I've said at the start of this newsletter: [Do NOT put all of Yours eggs in ONE Basket](https://www.polyinnovator.space/do-not-put-all-of-yours-eggs-in-one-basket/)! I say this because so many creators get too comfy with a platform, and they are only on one or two, or maybe a few. *Now I'm going to start off this post with a warning...* Last month completely out of nowhere Threads decided to deactivate/delete my account. I cannot stress this enough I did not do anything wrong or against Terms of Service. I've been a content creator for over a decade, and I have always been careful about what I post. Intentionally avoiding political and religious posts especially, as those are what often you get in trouble for/conflict. I tried appealing, only to get immediately denied. I tried talking to Facebook people at Vidsummit, and got blown off. What is crazy is that when my account got deactivated I was in NYC at a conference (Podcast Movement). Meaning I wasn't even using the platform. I might have scheduled out a post saying "Hey I'm in NYC anyone want to meet up", plus maybe an Instagram post that crossposted over natively to Threads. Otherwise I didn't even go on the site (I didn't have the app installed either). What sucks is that Threads was one of the only socials I actually ENJOYED using as a creator or consumer. --- ## Why am I making this Warning Post? As I mentioned I didn't do anything to cause my account to be closed, and I've heard COUNTLESS stories of situations like that happening to people's YouTube channels too. They get taken down due to some AI making a false flag on an account. I should mention that when my account was deleted, that Meta's new "Muse AI" was just launched. Meaning there was probably someone using it in the backend, or that there was some new ai filters getting added, or something. There are also the situations of hacking, where someone I know was only on Facebook at the time. Grew their following from nothing, and then got hacked and lost everything. People have this issue on YouTube as well, even the huge channel Linus Tech Tips had gotten hacked a couple years ago. People in their heads think these platforms are always going to be around, or there is a "sense of safety" that is false. I remember being on Vine, and then only for it to disappear shortly after. I remember the shift from Musically to TikTok, and while it was a great change... that meant the old platform was gone. When TikTok got "banned" in the US, everyone and their mother on the app said their Goodbyes, and then it came back. However it came back as a shell of what it once was, and it was an extreme case of "Uncanny Valley". It felt like it was a completely different platform with the same face. After it got bought out I completely gave up on it, as Oracle is a pretty terrible company. They also feed all your data into Palantir, which is not good at all. I digress. From the beginning of this channel I've always said you should syndicate your posts, and that was for maximizing your omnichannel reach. However it also allows you to have a backup place to post. All of my short form written posts would simultaneously go out to Threads, Twitter, Mastodon, Blusky, LinkedIn, and Facebook. Thanks to [Nuelink](http://nuelink.com/?via=dustin&ref=polyinnovator.space)! Which helped me stay consistent, but also it wasn't like I lost everything when Threads dumped me. --- ## How should you handle social media? Maybe its the bane of the content creator, but I've grown a bit of detest towards social media. To be clear it isn't because of the constant content cycle of following the waves/trends. Rather it is because of the greed, and algorithm changes that these companies are doing. Again the algo issues I'm not upset with as a creator, but rather as a consumer. I heard early on in my creator journey that you need to "own your audience", and that usually meant something like building your email list. That I completely agree, and every single creator out there needs to start building one as soon as humanly possible. However it goes beyond just the email. While I trust my website host, [MagicPages](https://www.magicpages.co/?aff=1wkorpMIzOiI&ref=polyinnovator.space), as they have been fantastic to me and others. I could pretty easily self host my Ghost CMS website. Additionally, for my podcasts there are some docker tools that allow you to self host your podcasts as well. Now I don't think my little home server could handle a huge influx of people, but my point is the option is there if I need to fully own my media ecosystem. **Here is how I think you should approach each social platform in 2026 and beyond.** ### Twitter/X: Truly has become a cesspool of a platform. Constant barraging of "upgrade to premium", I even had a full screen ad block me from using the site as it wouldn't close, and it happened more than once. Their API costs exponentially increasing, causing social media management tools to either eat the costs, or worse drop Twitter as an output outright. Most of "truthsocial" people also hang out on Twitter still, and it can just get political from even the most innocent posts. Again as a creator unless your content is quite literally politics, then you want to avoid any political alignment. The only reason I even go on it anymore is that a good chunk of the "Obsidian" community is on there, and I know that the Automation focused people tend to gravitate to there as well. I've almost considered dropping it completely if it keeps up this trajectory. ### Pinterest: Surprisingly one of the only platforms that seems to support creators. I don't intentionally post to Pinterest unfortunately. It just isn't my vibe, but I have gone out of my way to cross post to there. In the early days I would cross post any of my Instagram posts to there, I might still have an automation for that. I also share a post to it every time I make a video, blog post, or podcast. Then what most of you might find the most interesting is that I share all of my CLIPS to Pinterest. They do surprisingly well on the platform, and not as much as they used to... but more than I would expect. I think last month I got 55k views, and I quite literally didn't post to Pinterest manually even once. It is just a check box on the SMM tool, and initially I chose it over Facebook. As my previous tool limited me to four outputs. I chose insta, tiktok, YT, and then Pinterest. At the time I got MORE views on Pinterest, than I did on all of the other three COMBINED. Going forward I don't think my strategy is going to change, I think I wish I set up my boards a bit better, but overall it is a platform you should at least have an appearance on. ### Instagram: Simultaneously my favorite platform as a consumer, but one of the worst as a creator. They keep changing the interface, and adding useless features like Muse AI. The algorithm also changes a lot, so I essentially gave up trying to chase the waves of growth. Just focused on trying to post consistently across pictures, reels, and stories. A little bit of notes and instants where I can. Again it is one of the only platforms I like to use as a USER. Unfortunately I have been having more and more issues with it. For example every time I go on trips I share the trip to my stories, and it is how I document my journey. However sometimes I get too busy to add to my highlights, which is obviously how I keep those trips around to peruse later. Tell me why that when the stories get added to my archive I can no longer add to highlights FROM my archive? Everything is checked off, "add stories to archive" save them essentially, and there is no logical reason as to why I can't but I can't. This only reminds me though that I can't put all of my stuff on one platform I might need to use PromoCut, and just compile a video of all of my pics and videos from my trips into one video. That way I can have a copy of it (I have downloaded my Instagram Export, but that's not the same). Going forward you need to be on this platform, but given my experience with Threads recently it gave me great worry as to the stability of Instagram for me as a creator. ### Farcaster/Mastodon/Blusky: I'm lumping all of the decentralized blockchain based twitter alternatives, as they basically act the same. I will say Farcaster has a lot more going for it, with Paragraph and Ghost sending posts to the feeds. However they all sort of have the same issue: a lack of users. Blusky had a chance to grow, especially with the mass exodus of Twitter. However with Substack Notes and Threads superseding X's usage. It makes sense that Blusky would slow down. It also had a chance as there was a "video feed" like TikTok that Blusky supported, and it happened around TikTok's ban. Meaning it could have taken those users over, but nothing came of it. I should also mention that Threads surpassed Twitter in active users, which means it technically is the top platform for that type of micro blogging content. I'm hopeful though that in the future these decentralized platforms will take over, as it is a lot safer for us creators. [A Case for Centralized versus Decentralized Content EcosystemsWhile focused on content angle, the lessons here can be applied to many areas of life. Such as polymathy, skill acquisition, personal data, and more. Do not put all your eggs in one basket.![](https://www.polyinnovator.space/content/images/icon/image_2024-04-30_105217127-d18822cc-8e4b-4041-9736-a575707ef3cf.png)Official Website for Dustin Miller PolyInnovator \[LLC\]Dustin Miller | PolyInnovator![](https://www.polyinnovator.space/content/images/thumbnail/Centralized-versus-Decentralized-Content-Ecosystems-80e1e5e1-e694-4a1d-9539-17ac15cb4cd8.png)](https://www.polyinnovator.space/a-case-for-centralized-versus-decentralized-content-ecosystems/) ### LinkedIn: Probably one of the most popular platforms right now, and if you do posts correctly then you can grow really fast. Personally I really don't like using the platform. The DM's / messaging system is pretty old school/archaic, compared to more modern chat features like what Instagram has. The jobs search feature is completely neutered now, and all you ever see are promoted jobs that aren't even relevant to you personally. Not to mention most jobs on the jobs feed are generally "fake". Either geared towards hitting a quota of "empty roles" the corporation has to hit, or they are just going to hire internally anyways. Then if happens to be one of the few REAL jobs, then you're more than likely going to get filtered out by AI regardless. The only thing going for it is the FEED. I tend to find real job openings by scrolling the feed, I find other people going to the same conferences as me, and sometimes I can see people I actually want to interact with and support. Really even if you are in a niche that you think won't fit on LinkedIn, then I would still say you should have a presence on the platform. Although don't use their terrible "newsletter" feature, it is such garbage. I hate Substack, but I'd sooner suggest you go on there than use LinkedIn's. ### YouTube: THE place to be as a content creator. I know not everyone will feel comfortable being on camera, but you can always do a faceless channel or something. In my head I am thinking of YouTube as if I'm driving down the Las Vegas Strip at night and Ain't that a Kick in the Head is playing in the background. The song is fitting because it bombastic at the beginning, showcasing the excitement of the video platform. Conversely, the lyrics also sort of indicate how the platform can treat a lot of YouTubers when they are putting out content. > Like the fella once said, β€œAin't that a kick in the head?” > Like the sailor said, quote, "Ain't that a hole in the boat?" A kick in the head because you are going to be fighting against the current for most of your early journey. Trying to scrape what views or watch time you can scavenge. A hole in the boat? Try floating on said river in a boat that is slowly filling up with water. That is how it feels trying to keep up with other creators, when you are trying to hit a certain level to get monetized... only for YouTube to now double the requirements. Essentially making that river twice as fast, and filling up your boat also twice as fast. I still think it is a platform you SHOULD be on, but I no longer think it is a platform you should get on to be monetized. YouTube can be a money maker for a creator, but not in the ways that you would think. Focus more on products, affiliate marketing, or sponsorships. ### TikTok: ***Drop it.*** Seriously, *I think TikTok is completely overrated now*, and I won't even let the app be installed on my phone. They track so many details about you now, such as your ethnicity, sexuality, political leaning, and much more. All of which gets fed into Palantir like I said, which is literally "Big Brother"/ "Minority Report". Maybe if you are out of the US, then sure that TikTok is still probably the same as it used to be. Or if you are on Douyin perhaps. Not only are they data collecting all of those details about you, they are also taking a ton of diagnostic and telemetry data too. Given the political element as well, there are a ridiculous amount of cases of censorship, and even when a IRL event occurs the platform will shift to only showing you OLD content (from weeks prior). In order to suppress information from spreading about the event, such as when ICE has shot innocent people on the street. Regardless of your political leaning, regardless of how you feel about the platform, I would honestly say that it is NOT worth your time to be on it. Now going forward I can say I still POST to the platform, as again like with what I mentioned earlier with Pinterest. It is as easy as checking off a box on Nuelink, so I don't see a reason not to post there. πŸ’‘ I'm using yellow as a warning color for the callout, as there is a reason to be concerned about posting to TikTok. Even if not MANUALLY being on there. Given what happened with CapCut, which is owned by the same people as TikTok, a sister company if you will. The app basically updated their terms of service to include a clause where ANY media you upload to CapCut to edit. Is inherently copyright free for the CapCut/TikTok/parent company to use in any way they like. Meaning they OWN YOUR media. Now TikTok can turn around at any time, and do the exact same thing. Maybe they have already, and I hadn't caught up with the updates yet. ### Twitch: Now this is sort of in the middle. My personal opinion is that it is overrated, and with the way the platform has been treating its creators. Not to mention the CEO constantly shooting himself and the company in the foot with what he does/says. I feel like it is something that should be an afterthought. Kick often pays a lot more (although has its issues too), and YouTube can pay a decent amount; Though more importantly has an actual discovery system so you can grow. Meaning the two main competitors of Twitch are just inherently better choices. There will be some twitch fans out there in the creator-sphere that might say otherwise. Although its clear that Twitch can be a check box output like TikTok, if you have a GOOD multistreaming setup. However going forward it should NOT be your first choice. ### Kick: Up until recently I had only heard good things, they pay a lot more, there has been more discoverability for small streamers, etc. However I've been hearing through the grapevine that kick streamers were harassing twitch streamers AT TwitchCon no less. In addition to my knowledge at least, there is a bit of a weird gambling addition to Kick due to an acquisition. I don't know enough to share any opinion, but at the very least I wanted to share the information I had. ### Facebook: Can be a hit, or it can be miss, and for me it is the latter. Facebook is definition of a platform doing too many things, which is ironic for the polymathy guy to be saying. Facebook supposedly is trying to push video again, and I have heard some creators making some decent money from being very active on FB. However I don't see it often enough to say that it is worthwhile for the average creator. You'd really have to be intrenched in the Meta ecosystem to really be taking advantage of it. I did see Facebook at Vidsummit, and they were trying to persuade creators to join up in their creator program. ### Threads: I'm conflicted now because if you asked me a month ago this might have been the only positive paragraph in the entire post. Threads had a way better vibe than twitter or blusky, it has more users now, and it felt natural to go from Instagram there. I actually got a decent amount of views, and I actually ENJOYED using it as a user. However there was a huge influx of maga bots, I'd even argue bots on either side of the aisle, which ruined the feed in a lot of ways. No matter how many times I did the "Dear Algo" crap to tell it not to show me any political stuff, I'd still see a ton. Now to the elephant in the room... Threads literally deleted my account OUT OF NOWHERE. I didn't do anything wrong, I tried to reach out via official channels (although there really weren't any without paying for the verified subscription). All I can say is that don't put a lot of faith into Threads, I did, and look where it left me now. ### Substack Notes: I'm not a fan of the Substack platform as a whole. For ref: [My Experience with Substack the Good, the Bad, the UGLY](https://www.polyinnovator.space/my-experience-with-substack-the-good-the-bad-the-ugly/). I've been on and off the platform half a dozen times, and every time I get pissed off at how bad they are at communication. They never warn you when a huge user interface update is going to happen, and their actual UX leaves a lot to be desired. Especially when writing, and as a writer first and foremost I hated it. However I'm not just a writer, and Substack isn't just a written platform anymore. Their podcast features seem to be stable now, but the actual hosting features are very limited compared to even a generic podcast host. My issue came from their video features (especially when auto posting to YT), their livestream beta (it barely worked), and most of all their utter and complete lack of support channels. Meaning when I did face issues with their features, and wanted to give valuable feedback to them. There was no way for me to do so at all. Now what does all of this have to do with substack notes? Well considering it is the social feed portion of the whole, then I would say why would you go out of your way to post to substack notes if the rest of the platform is so janky. Notes helps your newsletter ON THERE grow, to a degree, but it is a glorified Medium.com and that isn't a good thing. --- ## What should be your mindset when using Social Platforms? For the most part I've always been pretty agnostic on platforms. The ones I liked such as Threads, YouTube, and TikTok (back in the day). They have all changed in ways that make me less confident in them as platforms. I'm making this post because I am truly worried for the state of the creator economy ON social media platforms. They are not one and the same, but rather just synergetic. Meaning you can have one and not the other, and I think a lot of people don't realize that. The creator economy is changing, and something I've been screaming about for years is [The Future of Social Media](https://www.polyinnovator.space/the-future-of-social-media/). The quick answer is decentralized control. ### In a similar vain, but moreso just regaining control of your own digital life: I've even been going down the rabbit hole of de-googling, and de-big techifying of my life: [De-Google Update - De-Big TechAn updated process on how I am decoupling from big tech, degoogle if you will, and the tools/processes I'm using that you can too!![](https://www.polyinnovator.space/content/images/icon/image_2024-04-30_105217127-09009f94-8985-486a-954d-9a2a2b43319f.png)Official Website for Dustin Miller PolyInnovator \[LLC\]Dustin Miller | PolyInnovator![](https://www.polyinnovator.space/content/images/thumbnail/photo-1564457461758-8ff96e439e83-f8e52579-ffa7-45a2-8d12-1a691a17bb20.jpg)](https://www.polyinnovator.space/de-google-update-de-big-tech/) --- ## πŸ₯‘ Takeaways Look most of this post is negative, and I have a pretty negative point of view right now. Maybe its cause I've had bad luck, maybe I haven't grown due to my own lack of execution, or maybe there really are changes happening across the board impacting all creators. I'm leaning towards all three if I'm being honest, but I wanted to share this negative take with all of you. As all I ever see are the positive motivational gurus who are telling you "what a time to be alive", and they fail to communicate to you just how hard some of the platforms have made it become. I fully support anyone who wants to be a creator, and I think that you can grow on any of these platforms (maybe not Blusky, but still). Although I want people to realize that you are going against the current, and you need to be strong enough to keep swimming when it gets hard. **Believe me it will get hard.**