Somebody asked why I don’t include social media links on my website which I know is a bit of a departure from the accepted wisdom.
On a practical level, I just don’t think they are necessary. Whatever device you are on, the ability to share page is so simple without needing a link to any of the social media sites. However, I get that it does act as a visual prompt to share.
Secondly, some icons do include various trackers which then mean I have to include in the cookie notice. At this moment, my cookie notice is pretty clean as I managed to find an analytical tool that doesn’t include a tracker compared to Google’s Analytics.
However, my attitude to social media is heavily influenced by my own personal use. I simply think the modern social media sites are a cancerous lump on humanity run by morally bankrupt organisations. Old man thinking? Probably.
Recently, I deleted my Facebook account even though I barely used it the last few years – it is truly awful. I’ve never used Instagram, TicTok, Twitter or anything else other than youtube. I still use Whatsapp but just because everyone else does and it is easier to continue to use than fight the incoming tide. I’ve also drastically reduced my use of youtube – used it a lot during Covid and post-Covid but these days the content is all very samey and just so many ads!
The only other platform that I use (minimally if I’m honest and should use a lot more) is Linkedin, for obvious reasons: I offer a professional service, and it is a place to offer those services even if I do sometimes feel like a clown in a room of clowns yelling “look at me!”.
