LESS SOCIAL MORE MEDIA: HOW SOCIAL MEDIA IS EVOLVING

 

When social media first hit the market all the way back in the 90’s, people were using it to make connections. In the early 2000’s it was no different with MySpace and FaceBook dominating the space. Social media was a place for friends and collogues to connect and learn more about each other, and the social aspect was forefront. Now, social media is all about content, algorithms, and making money.

 

The only way to be successful online is to pump out as much content as possible. It’s almost as if the social aspect is slowly dying. Meaningful connections have turned into soulless comments.

 

I have worked in the media industry for a decade now, and I constantly see this debate getting more prominent.

 

Is “more” the only way to succeed on social media? And where does this leave us for the future?

 

QUALITY VS. QUANTITY 

If you posted one video a week on YouTube, your overall channel views will suffer.

 

 It’s no secret that more videos = more views. The industry harps on consistency when it comes to content creation. Posting more content leads to more views, and more views leads to more followers or subscribers. It’s a never-ending cycle that causes an over-saturation of content on social media.

 

Now that giant media companies have taken advantage of social media, we are beginning to see sites like YouTube prioritize quantity over quality. If views are down that month, then the answer is to make more videos. Resources remain the same, but more work must be done to fill that quota and feed the machine.

 

Now, we are seeing endless compilation videos, reactions, and what people are calling “AI slop” in place of well-thought out, scripted content.

 

EMERGENCE OF AI

AI slop is a very interesting term and one we could talk about at novel length, but to keep it short and sweet, there has been an emergence in AI generated videos. These videos are made from prompts and can be mass generated to bring in billions of views at ease.

 

Consumers are starting to grow tired of content that doesn’t feel human or truly speak to them, but because there are so many it only makes sense that views are continuing to go up regardless.

 

IS THERE HOPE FOR THE FUTURE OF SOCIAL MEDIA?

After a decade in the media industry, I can say with confidence things are always going to change in the digital space.

Companies are beginning to realize that every IP can have its own YouTube channel with its own revenue.

 

I think we will continue to see AI tools making the rounds to help big companies make more for less. These AI tools are already making it easier for editors to find footage and create videos to feed the algorithm. They will only get stronger.

 

Social media began as a place for connection, but now it’s a place for content creation and the TV industry is capitalizing on that. I personally believe social media is only going to grow, and influencers will continue to dominate the oversaturated market. AI will soon need regulations, but in the meantime, we can only expect more and more for less and less.