Why Social Media Algorithms Don’t Matter

Every week, I see a bunch of dorks on social media pretending they have decoded the latest algorithm.

They are the types who think everything can be reduced to a digit or a technical doodad. They believe success on social media is directly correlated with how well you understand a number, a metric, or a line of code.

They are full of SHYTE.

And here’s why:

Social media algorithms are downstream from human nature.

The people running these platforms can manipulate the algorithm, change its priorities, and tweak settings whenever they want. What works today might stop working tomorrow because someone in Silicon Valley changed a few lines of code.

So where should your priorities be?

What you should be focused on is writing persuasive content, telling your story, and getting people to buy into YOU.

Because you don’t need a f*cking algorithm to tell you whether you’re interesting.

Because that's the only thing that matters…

So in today’s article, I want to demystify why social media algorithms don’t matter nearly as much as people pretend they do. More importantly, I want you to understand how you can use that knowledge to your advantage.

Let’s get into it.

It’s like Gollum in The Lord of the Rings.

These people see a shiny object, become obsessed with it, and start whispering:

My precious algorithm.

But do you know why they love it? Nerds love algos because it makes them feel special because they can quantify everything in their minds. It also gives them something to blame for their own shortcomings.

Here’s how the typical noob looks at social media algorithms:

→ If a post fails, they sit around thinking the algorithm suppressed it or they were shadow-banned.

REALITY: But the post failed because you were boring.

If a business or social media page fails, it probably means the offer or the content they put together wasn’t interesting enough. If nobody shares your writing, it 99% has nothing to do with the algorithm.

It’s because you weren’t persuasive enough to make people feel anything. You didn’t get them excited, energized, angry, inspired, or curious enough to share the article.

Algorithm obsession is emotionally comforting for the “mental midgets” of the world because it allows creators to avoid confronting reality:

They have a bland and boring personality.

It’s much easier to blame a “machine” than admit that your personality andcontent sucks.

I want to talk about human nature because that is what you should be studying.

More than 300 years ago, Alexander Pope wrote:

“The proper study of mankind is man.”

He was right.

People have always been attracted to the same kinds of things and the same kinds of stories. They love conflict. They love drama. They love status. They love seeing something that piques their curiosity.

Stories of hope and transformation are some of the most persuasive stories of all time because they show people what their own lives could become.

We want to see someone rise. We want to watch someone fall.

We want to join something bigger than ourselves.

Technology can change, but human nature will not.

AND NONE OF THIS WAS INVENTED BY SOCIAL MEDIA!

What has fooled so many people is that they now look at social media algorithms to determine whether something is successful. But an algorithm is only the medium through which the message travels.

The algorithm is merely the medium.

Human nature is the GAME.

Julius Caesar became one of the most captivating men in the world without checking his impressions every fifteen minutes.

This is because Caesar understood the power of spectacle.

He served as Pontifex Maximus, the highest priest of Rome. During a Roman triumph, the victorious general appeared almost like Jupiter himself, wearing purple while his face was painted red.

After Caesar won his wars he held 3 triumphs and marched through the streets and transformed his victories into enormous public events.

During his Gallic triumph, Suetonius records that Caesar traveled toward the Capitol by torchlight with 40 elephants carrying lamps (just for fun!)

During his Pontic triumph, Caesar displayed three words:

“I came. I saw. I conquered.”

Memorable and repeatable.

And if Caeser lived in the time of iPhones it may have been the greatest social media post ever written all because Caesaer knew how to create LIVE POLITICAL THEATRE.

One of my favorite stories is about the Feast of Lupercalia.

Mark Antony publicly offered him a royal diadem. Caesar rejected it, and the crowd erupted in applause. Antony offered it again. Caesar rejected it again, and the applause grew even louder.

Caesar was creating with his audience because Plutarch described the moment as an experiment in testing the crowd’s reaction. Caesar was watching how the crowd reacted in real time and adjusting his movements based on the audience.

No one knows whether the entire thing was staged or Caesar was simply taking advantage of the moment but the point remains he understood the power of getting people to talk about you.

If people are talking about you, you occupy their minds.

If you occupy their minds, you can influence their decisions.

THAT IS WARFARE.

This is why I think it’s so funny that there are guys out there trying to decode every single line of the algorithm and wrap their entire personalities and content-creation processes around it.

You end up turning yourself into an idiot template that does everything from a reactionary standpoint.

What a pathetic way to create.

I can’t imagine being the kind of dork who debates whether he should make a post a certain number of characters just so Daddy Elon’s algorithm might give him a little more attention.

Could you imagine Julius Caesar thinking like this?

Of course not.

The expert creator and strategist understands storytelling, emotion, positioning, and persuasion. He understands how to keep people reading and keep them excited.

He understands that the algorithm may distribute the content, but the content still has to be WORTH it’s weight in GOLD.

My friends, I want you to leave with one important distinction.

There are far too many people worshipping the algorithm and making every single choice based off of what the algorithm tells them.

The algorithm is not God.

Now, I’m not telling you to remain ignorant of it either. There is a massive difference between understanding how the algorithm works and spending your entire life judging and studying every microscopic change.

The algorithm tells you how content travels.

Human nature determines whether anyone WANTS it to travel.

Can you see the difference?

Understanding the system can help you package, time, and distribute your ideas more effectively. But no algorithm can rescue an idea that nobody cares about.

It cannot make a boring story interesting nor can it give you a personality.

Learn the system. But never become a slave to the system.

Now that we’ve gotten this out of the way (and you understand that storytelling and persuasion come first) I’m going to give you a treat.

My friend Culture Explorer is doing an extreme deep dive into exactly how the X algorithm works.

This will be available to all paid subscribers this Saturday.

This Saturday, all paid subscribers will receive his complete breakdown of: how algos work, and how you can work with the system instead of blindly posting and hoping something happens.

Yes, I just spent an entire article telling you not to obsess over algorithms.

But you will also go into it with the understanding that the algorithm cannot create a great story for you.

It can only distribute the story you give it.

If you are capable of holding these two ideas inside your mind at once (and you understand nuance) become a paid subscriber and become a full-court content creator.

If you are capable of holding both of those ideas inside your mind at the same time, become a paid subscriber.

You’ll receive Saturday’s complete algorithm breakdown, along with every exclusive article, interview, training, and business breakdown we publish moving forward.

Click below to become a paid subscriber:

And remember the algorithm is a tool.

But human nature is the game.

- Dino Anthony