Goodbye Facebook - A Social Media Review
Like billions of people around the world , we use social media to make connections and share experiences. The internet is awash with advice on how to ‘do’ social media effectively and there is no doubt that some use it more effectively than others. There is no reward without risk of course, but over exposure has the ability to wane popularity and there is no doubt we are dealing with a collapsing tolerance for the efforts of others.
We get it of course, self promotion is an ugly thing right ? and doesn’t it lead to a changed perception of self ? , promoting vanity and a false sense of popularity and worth . Promoting a personality culture perhaps. Ultimately isn’t it designed to exploit others ? , especially when used by businesses or those seeking to make money from engagement. It can no doubt effect mental health adversely. These are all valid questions we asked ourselves when carrying out our self imposed social media review. The benefits of social media are also not lost on us. We realise that this will be a matter of supreme indifference to some so if you find yourself at this point , we apologise for distracting your day and wish you the very best going forward. For others thank you for reading on.
We also know that social media is a moving feast , different platforms deliver a different experience and suit differing sectors , some are faster moving than others , some are declining , some allow for more user end control while others do not, allowing for AI algorithms to dictate what you see.
Platform changes occur , it’s clear that Instagram the once favourite domain of photographers is now being shunned by them as the platform seems to be targeting its algorithm to prioritise videos , stories and reels. No doubt with an eye on the success of the more recent usurper Tiktok.
So where does that lead us ?.
Van Wolf Photography
A phased rebranding of our accounts will occur as we feel that users are ready and some dedicated accounts already exist eg. Instagram. It is part of our changing philosophy of moving away from personality to core imagery dedicated to travel.
Why Wolf ? - it’s our favourite animal simples.
Our retained platforms
The platforms we have decided to primarily use are those that promote our aims and looking at our engagement data and analytics we will continue to use the following platforms
Website - https://www.helenandmartinsmotorhometreks.uk/
This website contains links to all our social media links , our image galleries and written articles
YouTube - The Link is here
This YouTube account contains our Travelogues
Behance - The Link is here
Behance is where our image galleries are located - it is an Adobe platform and is free to access without subscription. We do not sell our images but ask for acknowledgement if they are linked or used.
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/vanwolf_photography/
We will keep a dedicated Van Wolf Travel Account for Van Travel photography
Removed Platforms
Some time ago we took the step to close our Twitter account after becoming disappointed with the platform and we find ourselves in a similar situation with much of the Metasphere. Therefore we have taken the decision to close the Helen and Martin’s Treks Face Book page and also the Group Page which in fairness has never really taken off. If you follow us on this platform please feel free to connect to us on one of the links above. If thats not possible we wish you all the best and thank you kindly for friending our channel.
We also closing the Helen and Martin’s Treks Instagram account.
We are hoping that these changes both focus our social media presence on what and who we value. It’s also time to scale back the amount of SM work we do so that we can do more of what we love and move away from an algorithm focused agenda.
Best wishes Helen and Martin
