Is it a bird? No it’s a plane? No it’s Super…Fake

Social Media now in days is all about clout. One’s status, is what counts.

How does one achieve clout, status, and a high regard amongst your social community? Well, the recipe to social media growth, is research, dedication, and a little dash of trial & error.

But…brands got tired of this and instead, got smarter. Many began to realize that perhaps true clout isn’t what counts. They began to understand that the perception of clout, status & fame is what really matters.

Using a little brain power, a whole lotta of money and the help of tiny robots, a.k.a ‘bots’, brands learned that they can manipulate consumers into thinking whatever they deem necessary. Don’t believe me? Take a look at this video on the psychology behind Twitter Bots.

However, buying followers and likes takes away the authenticity and anticipation of social media. Now, brands that participate in such trickery no longer have to create intriguing content. While other brands, that refuse to participate in the foolery, are left without much reward in comparison.

Besides this, no misleading information is good. For instance, you probably follow at least one celebrity and one political figure. Let’s say you see a tweet from the celebrity, advertising a new perfume, that has 100 million ‘bot’ likes. From the politician, let’s say you receive a campaign tweet that has a 150 million bot likes.

You take these likes as true face value. Successfully manipulated by the usage of bots, let’s go further to say that you decide to purchase the product and cast your vote. Well a month later, while you’re wondering what happened to your local school board and why you smell like peas, millions others will be in the midst of getting fooled, just like you.

Don’t worry, I am too! Likes, followers, status, and clout must be earned, not bought. Otherwise, the veracity of social media becomes meaningless, reduced to the contest of the wallet versus mind.