Tips For Better Posting in 2024
This is the year we finally post some good posts.
We are coming towards the end of the Golden Age of Posts. Twitter is done, and it’s taking the artform down with it. Bluesky, Mastodon and the rest survive as passable shadows of the glory days of posting. The less said about Tumblr, the better.
But just because posting is bad now doesn’t mean we’re going to stop doing it. On the contrary, 2024 seems likely to illicit more posts per capita than the last four years combined. This means we are all going to see a lot of posts and most of them are going to suck.
With that in mind, I’m hoping we can all help send the Golden Age of Posts out on a high note. As someone who posts too much, here are just a few tips I’ve taken to heart over the years.
Posting is very rarely brave or noble or anything like taking a stand. It is 99 percent just a silly way to kill time and shoot the shit. $20 towards a local non-profit will likely do exponentially more good for the world than the most viral post.
If you do have a post that feels like it requires something resembling courage or fortitude, then what you might actually have is an idea for an article or even a book.
If your post is a take that requires a lot of nuance and phrases like “on the other hand” and “having said that,” then it’s definitely not a post. Write a blog or an article. Give it room to breathe.
If your post isn’t going to change someone’s mind — and it, in all likelihood, won’t — then what is your goal?
Got a spicy take? Run it by the group chat first.
Got a spicy take about a situation or community that you’re not directly a part of? Definitely run it by the group chat first.
If you don’t have a group chat where you can drop spicy posts that aren’t ready for primetime, make that your new year’s resolution. You do not know how much you need this.
Every now and then, scroll back over your most recent posts. Read with an objective eye. If everything you’re reading is angry or antagonistic or despairing, it’s time for a break.
You should have a few subjects that you just don’t post about no matter how heated and timely the discourse gets. Know the limitations of your expertise and post accordingly.
Haters gonna hate, but haters also gonna make a good point sometimes.
Do not elevate the worst, dumbest post you can find as indicative of your ideological opponents as a whole. That is Matt Walsh maxxing, and it is the laziest form of post.
Delete all your posts regularly. There are plenty of free apps that can do this. I send all mine to the wood chipper every three months or so. Not necessarily because I’m worried that there’s something that will get me in trouble (although there definitely could be) but so that I can free myself to grow and change.
Do not kill the part of you that is cringe. Kill the part of you that cringes.
In all sincerity, it’s been a little over a year since I started this Substack and it’s been very rewarding to see it grow. A year is far too short a time to spend with such excellent and admirable posters.
This was my most popular post of the year. This was my favorite thing I wrote. Here’s to many more very popular and favorite pieces in 2024.
Happy new year!