Weighing the Effort

It's been just a little bit less than a year since I've started blogging again and creating a social media account to share about my love of books. Sometimes, I look back to when I first started and envision all of the changes that have happened in my life since that time. A lot of the changes have been absolutely splendid, where I could not imagine having a more fun year in connecting with authors and readers alike. Other changes have required more effort than should be necessary, which has resulted in additional strain.

Though I haven't always been successful, I've tried to foster an attitude of positivity around my account. After all, it's my sheer love of Christian books that has led me to share my thoughts and reviews more publicly. However, for several months now, I have encountered so much friction on my social media account that it's made sharing content all the more difficult, especially since the majority of people interact with me over there rather than on here.

Since I don't share too much about my Instagram account on here other than the occasional reference, I thought I'd be more honest and break down all of the things I'm facing that have made using social media challenging. I have a theory as to why this might be happening to me as I've regularly polled others about their experiences and a lot of these things seem to only be happening to me.

1. Between July 2023 and January 2024, I did not have any issues with sharing content on Instagram. Every function worked as expected and it was smooth sailing. I loved learning about the features available and actually being able to use them. (I stand corrected; I did have a few glitches, but they resolved themselves.)
2. At the beginning of February 2024, I shared a brief story that garnered some attention. I tried very hard to keep it diplomatic considering the more controversial content I've seen posted online, and followed it up with a lengthier explanation on here that I believed to come across as balanced rather than inflammatory. To date, it's not something I've received a lot of feedback on, so my assumption at the time was that things would be fine.
3. At the end of March 2024, I found out that the link to this blog was deemed a "malicious link" by Instagram. Every time I tried to share it, I was blocked from being able to share the content it was attached to. Even typing out the web address in the posts barred me from accessing the platform unless I deleted the link.
4. As a result from March 2024 on, I have been unable to use Linktree because it contains a link to this blog. Anything that had a link to here was not allowed to be posted.
5. Also from March 2024 on, I've had to link to my Goodreads account in order for people to see my blog link, though this is an imperfect workaround as users need to be members on there before they can view my profile.
6. Between April 2024 until now, I have received notifications from Instagram that they have removed my content for community standards violations. It's seemingly random, but one-by-one, my past content is being taken down for the most innocuous things.
7. Starting in June 2024, I have been unable to share stories without encountering errors. It is near impossible to share a story and add any extra elements, such as text, mentions, tags, music, or even silly little graphics. Sometimes, if I remove one element, I can share something. Other times, I can only have a combination of certain elements, which changes each time. Now, I'm at the point where I can't add any elements or am severely limited on what text I can include.
8. Honestly, I don't know what the next issue will be for me. I've encountered a number of them this year, including notifications not showing up, messages that were sent much earlier not being received until days or weeks after the fact, and so many others that are still unresolved. I have no idea if the platform is just that unstable, though it sounds like no one else that I've interacted with has experienced what I have in such a short amount of time.

I don't love listing out all of my issues as I don't want to come across as a complainer (especially on a free platform); however, I can unequivocally say that being on Instagram is getting harder and harder by the day.

I'm at the point where I'm praying about what my future looks like on there and it's been tough. I love the relationships I've built. I want to see the #ClearlyChristianReadathon through this year. I enjoy keeping up with new books and authors.

Truthfully, though? It's a lot of extra effort that I don't have the time in my life to give. I have so many things on the go that the last thing I want is to devote any additional time to a platform that does not seem to want me on there. Creating content takes time, and though I don't mind expending that for the sake of other readers and authors, it's not worth it to me to keep fighting against a system that finds more ways to throw me off each day.

I'm prepared to ride out my commitments for now, and am hoping that I will be able to share reviews, but I'm saddened at these obstacles. On the flipside, Blogger has not given me any issues at all, and the platform is as seamless as it was when I first used it 22 years ago. Though I've explored Wix and WordPress as alternate options in an effort to be able to link to my blog on Instagram, I've discovered that it isn't worth the gamble in case Instagram still deems the content as being "malicious" and blocks those new links. Migrating content is not a quick process, so I've been content to leave my reviews and content as is for now. That being said, I do recognize that there is no email notification for new posts, so perhaps I'll look at adding a newsletter one day.

Unfortunately, it's looking like I'll be limiting my time on my Bookstagram, and diverting more attention here. It's not the same level of engagement, but I could do with reduced stress over in this little corner of the Internet. I really hope you can join me! 😀