Streamlining my social media

Find me at LinkedIn, BSKY, Substack

The X exodus is well documented. It is nearly impossible to gain organic growth on the platform without paying for the premium, and I refuse to do that. It is too bad, because I was an early adopter of the platform, joining in October 2008, and I developed many wonderful “virtual” friendships. I found a sense of community, particularly in the nascent days of the platform, around areas of interest such as college sports, the Dodgers, journalism, Springsteen, and more.

I have made the decision to no longer be active on X following a farewell post earlier tonight. I downloaded my archive of posts, though I have no idea what I will do with it. I am not deleting the profile, but I won’t be posting there any more. The decision is not simply because I don’t want to pay for the service. If I were receiving value, I would happily pay. I do this with other media such as NPR, PBS, and several Substacks. But when I checked in on my new followers recently, this is what I saw. And, my decision has nothing to do with not enjoying steak and red wine, because I do!

Instead, I am focusing solely on three platforms: LinkedIn, Bluesky, and Substack. Right now, these platforms provide more meaningful interactions, both personally and professionally. Please connect with me on any, or all, of those.

As you may know, my first book will be published in February. Jim Gilliam: The Forgotten Dodger will be available from August Publications. I maintain an account on X and Instagram for that, and am even dabbling with TikTok and Pinterest for engagement. I know… but I have a kid in college and I need all the royalties I can get. And those platforms seem effective Ha.

So, I guess I am really not streamlining social media, but, rather, realigning my social media. I will continue to exam the relationship between sports and enrollment at small colleges and universities. Hearing from many readers has been wonderful and I am glad that my writing is helpful to you.

Thank you for subscribing here and I look forward to future engagements on any of the aforementioned platforms not named X.