Penman Ventures Episode 3

TikTok Ban Incoming: The Degradation of Social Media

Welcome to Penman Ventures, a multimedia web journal where I dedicate my time to delving into the stories behind various works of art, media, news, and a myriad of interesting topics.

In this episode, we'll briefly dive into the origin and evolution of social media, and how the technology behind social media set the groundwork for how we connect with others over internet.

We'll also tackle the latest legislative actions in the U.S. against TikTok, a platform facing potential divestiture or ban due to national security concerns; the different implications if such a ban went through for social media in the United States; and the broader consequences for internet safety, privacy, and regulatory scrutiny in the social media industry.

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Referenced Articles

• Confessore, N. (2018) Cambridge Analytica and Facebook: The Scandal and the Fallout So Far | The New York Times - A brief review of the Cambridge Analytica Scandal that occurred back in 2018, which led to Facebook being taken to court for the selling of political voter data to third parties through less-than-moral deceptive practices.
• Egan, M. (2024) Trump Calls Facebook the Enemy of the People. Meta's Stock Sinks | CNN Business - Trump continues to make unscrupulous statements regarding Facebook and Meta that is sure to affect a certain voter demographic. Of note, former president Donald Trump was previously banned from Facebook before, following the Capitol riot that occurred January 6th, 2021. He has only recently gotten his account back in February 2023.
• Robison, M., & Karsten, J. (2020) What the Debate Over TikTok Means for the Future of Social Media | The Brookings Institution - The Brookings article discusses the complex issues surrounding TikTok's potential ban, focusing on national security concerns due to its Chinese ownership and the broader implications for social media regulation. It highlights the challenges of ensuring data privacy, the role of algorithms in user engagement, and the need for transparency in tech companies' operations. The debate over TikTok is presented as a microcosm of larger issues affecting the tech industry, emphasizing the importance of developing coherent policies for foreign tech firms in the U.S.
• Phillips, H. (2023) The Impact of a TikTok Ban: What Brands Need to Know | Goat Influencer Agency - This article hypothesizes what could happen if TikTok was fully banned in the United States. There will likely be a flood of new content creators migrating from TikTok to other platforms like Instagram and YouTube. It also would stoke new initiatives from creators to create multichannel strategies to promote their businesses and brands to prevent similar incidents from impacting them in the future.
• Ruzicka, E. (2023) How the 'TikTok Ban' and Other Social Media Legislation Could Restrict Internet Use | Stacker - This article examines how proposed legislation, like the TikTok ban and the RESTRICT and DATA Acts, could impact internet use, focusing on data privacy and national security. It discusses the potential consequences for users, such as the disappearance of certain apps from stores, and explores broader implications for businesses and data access. The piece emphasizes the need for comprehensive data privacy laws in the U.S. to address these concerns more directly.
• Fung, B. (2024) Is TikTok Getting Banned? House Panel Unanimously Approves Bill for Nationwide Ban. | ABC, Inc., WPVI-TV Philadelphia. - A powerful House committee recently advanced a bill that may lead to a nationwide ban of TikTok from all electronic devices in the United States. This article reviews the Government's fear of data privacy and the Chinese Communist Party, and what the parent company, ByteDance, would need to do to avoid having their popular social media app removed from U.S. app stores.

1

The term

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social media was coined with the

release of an online platform called

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Six Degrees, which was released in 1997

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for people to create their own accounts,

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profiles, and connect with friends

online.

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It set the groundwork for other

websites like Myspace and Facebook.

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And social media has since

revolutionized the way we connect and

8

maintain friendships

9

today,

10

It took me a while

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to get into social media myself.

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I never saw a reason to really

establish any sort of online presence until

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six years ago.

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Even then, I'm mostly stuck with

Discord so I could talk to the friends

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I made on

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Final Fantasy 14 and other MMO's.

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But now for the sake of my business, I

have since tried to make a better

18

effort in setting up my platforms

online.

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I waited as long as I did to get into

social media because I was always

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worried about my online privacy.

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Social media has opened up a lot of

discussions since its inception,

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Most of those discussions concerning

internet safety and privacy, especially

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following the recent Cambridge

Analytica Scandal.

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With how easy it is to create a social

media account

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there's tons of new worries about how

much personal information is leaked online.

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And

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those worries have become the forefront

of arguments to limit these platforms operations,

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especially when young children are involved.

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These arguments recently came to a head

with a recent vote from the U.S.

30

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Government to ban TikTok from all

electronic devices nationwide.

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Today we're going to talk about this

and the implication this ban may have

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on social media, if successful,

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and on other creative platforms.

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Hello, my name's Gabriel.

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The Penman and Penman Ventures

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we're available on Amazon, Audible, Spotify and more.

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Whatever your preferred listening app

is, be sure to subscribe to Penman

39

Ventures for our latest articles and

podcast episodes as they're released.

40

Visit my website at

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www.penmanventures.com

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for all of our available content.

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Now let's roll the introduction.

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The recent vote by a U.S.

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Congressional committee to advance

legislation aimed at TikTok

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has sparked a significant discussion

concerning the app's future in the

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United States.

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The bill would require TikTok's parent

company, ByteDance, to divest the app

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to a non-Chinese entity.

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Failure to comply would cause TikTok

being banned from app stores and web

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hosting services in the United States.

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This move comes amid bipartisan

concerns over national security, particularly

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the potential for user data to be

accessed by the Chinese

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Government, although TikTok denies

these allegations.

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This legislation

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underscores the ongoing debate over

internet safety privacy

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and the influence of foreign tech

companies on American soil.

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We've seen this coming for a while now.

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TikTok recently was banned from being

used in government buildings for fear

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of secrets being leaked to foreign

governments.

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The move to potentially ban TikTok

however highlights deeper concerns

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about data sovereignty and

cybersecurity,

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reflecting a

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growing weariness about the influence

of foreign entities on American digital life.

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This legislative action also prompts a

reevaluation of how the U.S.

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approaches internet freedom versus

national security,

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showing a shift in policy that could

set a precedent for other foreign

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owned applications

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and American owned ones,

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if anyone was looking forward to seeing

Mark Zuckerberg back in court.

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What can this mean for

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users in the United States?

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If TikTok were to be successfully

banned to the United States, other

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social media platforms could see

different impacts.

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For instance, there could be a

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significant migration from TikTok

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to other

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platforms which use short form video

content, such as Instagram reels and

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YouTube shorts.

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This shift can boost user engagement,

engagement and advertising revenue on

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these platforms.

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However, the ban could also set a

precedent for

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increased regulatory scrutiny of all

social media platforms, particularly

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those with foreign ties, leading to

potentially

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stricter data privacy and security

measures.

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The situation with TikTok highlights

the importance of algorithmic

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transparency and privacy enhancements

across the social media industry,

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ss platforms may feel pressure to be

more open about their data handling and

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content recommendation processes to

maintain user trust and comply with

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potential regulations.

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Or harrass them,

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more like,

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depending on the intentions of our

politicians.

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Already we're seeing Trump show his

hand while making unscrupulous

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statements regarding Facebook, as he

calls the platform, "the enemy of the people."

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Politicians who share similar

sentiments may be emboldened to push

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their own policies on to other social

media platforms

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if TikTok is successfully banned from

the United States,

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thus weakening our ability to promote

and engage in free speech and creation.

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What should content creators and

brands do in the meantime

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while all of this is happening?

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Well, an article by Harriet Phillips,

the Insight Manager at the Goat Agency,

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made several recommendations

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for what creators and brands should

start doing in order to mitigate the

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impact of the TikTok ban

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If it does go through.

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The five recommendations Harriet made

in her article are as follows, and I'll

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also provide my own input on these

recommendations.

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Number one was to create a multi

channel strategy.

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Use more than one social media channel

to create content and promote

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your brand.

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Users who have exclusively posted on

TikTok are now scrambling to save their

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content, as we speak.

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Having multiple channels post your

content

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not only helps prevent you from losing

all of your work in the future, but

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also helps you engage with a wider

audience from different platforms.

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I am of the firm belief that you should

never let one entity house all for your

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work if you could,

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if you want to prevent the heartbreak

of losing it all because of events like these.

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If you're a writer in particular,

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having your own ISBN versus letting

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platforms like Amazon, handle your ISBN

for publishing rights

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would be my go to recommendation.

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You could (should) purchase your own ISBN

online on ISBN.com

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Now, the second recommendation

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is to learn from the best.

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Different platforms will cater to

different audiences.

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If you're used to

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releasing content on one particular

platform, you want to do your research

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ahead of time to learn what clicks with

audiences on, say, Facebook, Instagram,

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Reddit,

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whatever platform you choose to go on.

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If you're

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looking to diversify your channels,

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it doesn't hurt to look at what's

working for others.

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Now number three, the third

recommendation here, is to work with multiple

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influencers.

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Now

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my opinion may differ a little bit from

Philips here,

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where she writes that "collaborating

with a range of different creators on

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various platforms is a recipe for

success."

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I feel this depends on the niche you're

in.

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But if you've seen success in working

with other influencers in the past, or

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content creators,

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go for it again.

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As you're diversifying your channels,

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get used to making friends with people

on other platforms so that you could

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create content together

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for both audiences.

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The 4th recommendation here is to cross

promote your channels.

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If you have following on TikTok,

already it won't hurt to promote your

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new channels on other platforms to

your fans.

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Folks who are...

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who were once exclusive to the platform

should already be doing this.

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Another thing you could do is create

your own website containing all of your

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social media links,

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that way your fans have an easy to

access landing page for all of your work.

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This is what I'm doing right now with

my website, Penman Ventures,

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where I'm utilizing Ghost.io as my main

website provider.

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But you have a lot of different

options, including Google, Squarespace,

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Wordpress...

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You...

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one shout I want to throw out there too,

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for its ease of use is Carrd.co

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You have a different bunch of different

options for creating a simple landing

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page or a full website,

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if you really want.

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The 5th recommendation is to keep up

with the community.

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Be sure you're able to connect with all

of your fans

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no matter what platforms you move to,

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and

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don't spread yourself too thin.

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Otherwise, diversifying your channels

may be too unwieldy for sustainable growth.

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If you

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end up abandoning one of your channels

in the future.

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maybe it doesn't hurt to.

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Don't be exclusive to one platform,

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but also don't

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try and

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grow on too many platforms at once.

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Otherwise

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you'll have a hard time getting back

into it later in the future,

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if you end up abandoning that channel.

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Whether TikTok has successfully

abandoned the United States, we could

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expect the internet and the entire

infrastructure of social media to see a

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massive shake up soon.

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While I do not use TikTok,

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it scares me to think that the

government can

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take away a medium of creativity from

the people, regardless of concerns to

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national security.

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I mean, there has to be better ways to

protect our internet data and privacy,

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like revamping how data is recorded in

the first place.

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The technology exists.

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We have accessible VPNs we could use to

better protect ourselves online.

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And I'm sure there are other creative

solutions in

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protecting ourselves,

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versus just taking away a platform

altogether.

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Let's start that conversation day.

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Should internet security overshadow our

creative freedoms?

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Let me know your thoughts and comments

on my website,

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www.penmanventures.com

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Subscribe today to sign up to our

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notifications of our latest podcast

episodes and written articles that you

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could read and get invested in.

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It would mean a lot to me.

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Thanks again.

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We'll see you all soon.

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Take care for now.