Hey, for people interested in this stuff, here's a thread about a change we made to running our facebook account:

So, about 5 years ago, we got on facebook. Why? Well, facebook has a big audience and they like to consume on facebook. So, we started posting comics there, even though we got paid nothing and facebook made money off the free content.
Why? Because back then, once in a while, you would say "also hey, I sell books" or "hey, I'm going to be signing at this event" and your facebook followers would actually see it.
Effectively, the implicit old arrangement was "facebook lets me reach readers efficiently, and I supply facebook with free content they run ads on."
Over time, like a bad business partner, facebook basically made it impossible to reach your audience without *paying them*. Thus, you supply them free content on which they run ads, and you get nothing in exchange.
In fact, you get less than nothing, because readers who started reading you only on facebook sometimes don't even know you have a website or book.
So, as of last week, we've started posting much more frequently, linking back to the main site. Why? (1) It gets around the algorithms a little. (2) It encourages people to go to the main site. (3) It encourages people to stop consuming on facebook.
I hate having to annoy readers this way, but it's more or less our only means to fight back. The comics remain free every day on https://t.co/9yAXIFCDdW, patreon, smbc's rss, or indeed in books.
Historically, our policy has been "we will put the content where the readers want it." But, facebook has made that environment so thoroughly bad for artistic careers, that we have no choice.
As an important sidenote-- I have a developed career, so even with facebook's BS, I'm fine. A lot of younger artists have made their living on facebook and are now screwed.
In short-- sorry if you're having a bad experience on our facebook site. We felt there was no other option, and this is our way of fighting back. You are, as always, free to consume the comics anywhere else.
And, if facebook would either go back to its old ways or would cut artists in on ad revenue from their own content, we'd happily go back to just posting regular content there.
Lastly, I encourage young artists to stick to other social media than facebook. They aren't your friend.

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big louis winthorpe III energy


i almost feel bad for the guy, because someone this absolutely clueless about how he sounds really shouldn't be allowed to post under his own name.

he seems like someone who *genuinely* means well most of the time, but it extremely easy to excite and wind up, and who is just profoundly dense about the wisdom of getting wound up the way he does in public.

on the other hand, the tara reade business was indefensible, exploitative, and gross. if there is ever a writer who desperately needs an editor to save him from himself, it's nathan robinson.

i had a few friends in high school who were well-meaning, wealthier than they realized, and in drama class, and most of them grew out of their nathan robinson stage because, well, it was oklahoma. there's almost something a little charming about the fact that he didn't.
Reading this article, the story sounds pretty wild. But I spent a weird amount of time with Martin Shkreli, and I’m not surprised the journalist fell in love w him

A few years back my team built an app called Blab. It was like clubhouse before clubhouse.


When he first joined the app I had no idea who he was. I just saw that his live streams instantly had 3-4K viewers. More than anyone on our tiny platform.

I googled him and it came up: “Martin Shkreli, most hated man in America”

I assumed he was bad news

And he was... but also he wasn’t.

He was a douchebag, but he was in on the joke. He was a dick, but he was also very entertaining.

In the mornings he would live stream himself analyzing stocks or walking through drug discovery pathways.

In the afternoon he’d let people call in and debate him live on air. A CNN reporter tried to get him to go on TV, he refused, and said debate me here on Blab, no edits, no tv time limits.

At night he’d host late night convos - and eventually fall asleep on cam

The guy was a pain in the ass but man he drove traffic.

We had big celebs like Tony Robbins, the Jonas brothers etc... he outperformed them all.

At one point he was bringing in 100k users per month directly to his channel. And Bc he was so entertaining, they stuck.
I studied hundreds of top copywriting examples with @heyblake.

Use these 30 copywriting tips to convert readers into customers 🧵

Tip from Alex: Repeat Yourself

Reason: Your main benefit shouldn’t be expressed subtly. Repeat it three times. Make it known.

Example: Apple’s M1 Chip


Tip from Blake: Start with goals for the copy.

Reason: You need to know what you are writing, for whom, and what action it should lead to. No guesswork.

Example: My content engine at
https://t.co/jYMMlbgFCw


Tip from Alex: Use Open Loops

Reason: Open loops peak a reader's interest by presenting an unsolved mystery to the reader. Our brains are hardwired to find closure. Make your product the final closure. Example: Woody Justice


Tip from Blake: Write short, snappy sentences.

Reason: People have short attention spans. And big blocks of text are super hard to read. Make it

Example: Every blog from @Backlinko

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