Less frustration, more laughter: my plan for 2016

If you look at my social media presence now in comparison to, say, 18 months ago, there’s a pretty stark difference. I took every perceived injustice as an opportunity to Call Someone Out™. Say something transphobic? BOOM. Called Out™. Homophobic? Sexist? Misogynistic? Racist? Called Out™. You get the idea.

It was a bit like this, actually.

The point is that over that time, I’ve come to realize that sometimes jumping in to express upset over something does more to fuel that than to remedy it. As such, I’ve tried to take more care in what I post on social media — especially in terms of tone. Where I would have railed against someone or something with a 12-tweet thread, I’ve instead reached for the “mute” button or made a joke. It’s been a healthy turnaround, and I think my brand™ has been better for it.

Still, there’s room for improvement. So with that, I present my list of 2016 social media goals:

Me, basically (2012–2014)

In 2016, I want to take that even further.

Here’s a list of what you can come to expect from my social media accounts in 2016:

1. Commentary — I’m not giving that up. I’ll still be offering opinions on issues ranging from politics to music to media to pop culture. That won’t change.
2. Interaction with followers — I like talking to all of you online*! I try to be helpful whenever I can. I try to respond to emails whenever I can. I try to be a person who adds something to your online experience.
3. Links to things I write, past and present — My social channels are usually the first place any of my writing pops up (barring you frantically refreshing my work’s home page, but hey, feel free to do that, too!) Sometimes there’ll be a story that ties into something I wrote a year or two ago. I try to re-share pieces when appropriate.
4. GIFs, poorly made photo edits, jokes — Sometimes I joke about serious things. Sometimes I joke about nothing. Sometimes it’s about sports (namely the futility that is the Chicago Cubs and Bears). Sometimes it’s about politics. Some jokes will be funny. I’m sure many won’t be. Bear with me, please.

Here’s a tiny dog. Still with me?

And here’s what you won’t be seeing (or seeing significantly less of) in 2016.

1. Swearing — Anyone who has spent any significant amount of time around me knows that I use a lot of swear words. However, I realize that on social media, me saying something like “fuckshitballsfuckshit” could be taken as anger when it’s really more just joking around. So, you’ll continue to see less swearing.
2. Political endorsements — I’m not going to get in the middle of your Bernie vs. Hillary cage match (and for the love of all that is holy, Bernie people, please stop with the assumptions that I support Hillary; Hillary people, please stop with the assumptions that I support Bernie). While you’ll see me criticizing politicians (see: everything I’ve ever said about Donald Trump), you won’t see me endorse any specific candidate for president.
3. Screen shots of comments on my articles — In the past, I’d point out the occasional hypocritical/funny/ridiculous comment left on an article of mine or unsolicited message I’ve received. The more I think about that, the more I think it’s time for me to retire that aspect of my social presence.
4. Fights — I’m too tired to get into heated back and forth arguments on social media. I’ve walked this WAY back since 2014, but expect to see it even further. I really don’t want to have any “enemies,” and I hope we can all respect one another even if we disagree (aka please don’t be a jerk)

No more of this.

All that said, I hope you stay with me for the coming year! I think it’ll be a good one!

Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, and here on Medium.

Byeeeee.

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