I loudly quitted Instagram years ago. Absolutely no regrets. Doom scrolling is real and I have no time for that. I’m not a fan of staging and taking pictures and hate that “aesthetic” is a goal. Booktube is wonderful for the personal interaction.
Loudly quitting - perfect! 😂 my only regret with all of this is that I didn’t just give it up sooner! I’d rather be reading books and chatting to people on booktube!
I quit IG a couple years ago. I initially liked to post random, unrelated things there. Then it seemed like you had to have a niche for each account. Like I would need a gardening IG, a cooking IG, a bookish IG, etc. I don’t have time for that. People are not one-sided. We have multiple interests and the algorithm shouldn’t punish us for it.
Couldn’t agree more! Instagram also just started to feel like a place where numbers were what mattered rather than interactions. I’ll stick with booktube for now! 😂
Agreed. I would love to talk books and gardening on that app but no one seemed interested. even though I get less engagement on youtube it feels less lonely. Doesnt hurt that since "leaving" the app I've doubled my reading.
I know exactly what you mean by RUclips feeling less lonely! I definitely get much more of a community vibe on here. And pleased to hear that your reading has gone up since quitting Instagram - mine has too!
I actually have made some real life friends who I chat to most days and I meet up with quite regularly! I think I have been very lucky with the corner of booktube that I’ve landed in though!
I totally respect your decision! It’s so interesting the different dynamics between platforms. I only opened an Instagram to post what I’m doing on BookTube. I literally only post thumbnails that are not formatted to work in that space at all and an occasional normal(not aesthetic) photo. I have gained followers so much easier on that platform, and I am doing nothing but posting that I just posted a video. 😂So weird! I guess it’s because random bot accounts probably follow me and I follow back any bookish account. I wish gaining followers here was that easy.
Keep going with RUclips! I’m such a slow grower, so I get it, but I’m happy with where I’ve got to and once I started getting regular comments on videos, it felt like anything else was going to be a bonus. But I remember my first 6-12 months it was like I was talking to myself! All I can say is keep going! It’s probably the best hobby I’ve ever had because I have found my people! 😂
This is so interesting! I like Bookstagram, but I've definitely always used it in a very low-key way - basically posting currently reading pictures and very little else. I've never used it for reviews, and Booktube has always been my main thing, so Instagram has never really taken up a lot of my time? I definitely prefer Booktube as a consumer of content/a way to find out about books, but sometimes I like to scroll through Instagram's beautiful pictures of books while listening to audiobooks XD
I think that’s a really healthy way to approach Instagram, Katie. I think all the time I spent trying to build up a following on Instagram means that even when I go on it now just to check messages, I can feel myself getting stressed! I really liked the aesthetics and there are some beautiful accounts on there, but it took far too much effort for what I got out of it in the end. Which is funny because a lot of people would think making videos is a huge effort, but I find that process really satisfying so it never feels like that much effort!
I find it so easy to spend hours scrolling on Instagram, looking at food, gardens, crafts and artwork, that I purposefully limit my time there and on Facebook. The channels I follow on RUclips are more meaningful to me. Jack, your intro in this video cracked me up. Well done!
Thank you so much, Lindy! It is so easy to get caught up in scrolling through Instagram and Facebook. it took me some time to wean myself off of going onto them when I had a spare five minutes. Like you, I find RUclips far more meaningful!
Hi Jack, I don’t know any of the ins and outs of Instagram, even though, I’m on it sort of. I post once in a while, but I realized it wasn’t for me. I’m not creative in photography but I guess I’m quiet quitting or was always quiet quitting😊 doom scrolling?? what I didn’t like about Instagram was all the DM‘s from random dudes with fake photos😊 We found book tube together. I posted on my 70th birthday in August 20 20. I got to 1000 subscribers really fast and then nothing for a long time. I’m crawling my way back up again because I love this community and the friends I’ve made like you It’s been life-changing. Aloha dear friend.
Dearest Marilyn! Yes, the friendships I’ve made on here have been life changing and life affirming indeed! I remember discovering your RUclips channel through Claudia and it has been a joy to watch you ever since! ❤
I’ve got as far as posting one photo on Instagram, and have never been able to motivate myself to post more. I never understood how to have meaningful conversations on that platform. Having a BookTube channel is, I think, more rewarding. I can sort of skip the days of effort to produce a sort of “magazine spread “ life, and focus on the books! ❤
Precisely! Whilst I have made some great friends on Instagram and had some meaningful conversations, it definitely isn’t worth the time that the algorithm on that app demands. I’d rather be reading or chatting books properly on RUclips!
I agree. I think it really depends on what you want out of social media. I'm a new Booktuber so I can't really speak to the downside, but what I love about the channels I watch is that they're real. People are kind and have genuine opinions about books that I appreciate. At the end of the day, I'm looking for bookish conversation and that's what I get with Booktube.
Precisely this! RUclips is such a genuine platform when it comes to the bookish community. Whilst that isn’t true for every channel, it’s pretty obvious when someone is talking about their passion. Welcome to booktube and I hope you’re enjoying it so far!
I’m glad you picked you tube over instagram as I am not on instagram at all. I could never figure out how the posts flowed and it took to much time with little to no return.
Exactly, Suz! So much time and so little return! The posts are kind of ranked in terms of engagement - the more popular accounts and the ones who engage more constantly and there are bumped up and accounts who don’t have hours to spend on there every day or thousands of followers get bumped down the feed. They all also have to compete with adverts which the last time I was on there appeared every two or three posts! Ridiculous!
What happened to you on Facebook is really scary. I think everything you say about your Instagram experience makes a lot of sense. I’m not on that site, though, so I’m afraid I have no experiences to share. BookTube is still new to me, but I’ve found it to be very warm and welcoming. 😊
Thank you, and I’m so glad that you’ve had a positive experience on RUclips. The Facebook thing is really scary. I found groups of people online when I was searching for how to rectify the situation who had lost their entire businesses because of spurious cancellations to their accounts. Frightening indeed!
This was so very relatable and the skit at the beginning had me cackling. I do not have an eye for visuals, so I struggled to ever take any aesthetically interesting Instagram pictures. It's just not for me. But I remember scrolling through my feed and seeing your pictures on it with books presented in such a pretty and original way. But I get why it would be tiring after a while, especially getting all those props and arranging them for the shot. I never got into it enough to really understand the algorithm so this was a fascinating insight. It frankly sounds exhausting. Like you, my account is still up but I very rarely even look at the feed these days. Omg the Facebook thing... that sounds just infuriating. I really enjoyed this video and the discussion around bookish social media.
Thank you, Claudia! Of all of the social media accounts that I started for Spread Book Joy, I think Instagram was the most effort for the least return. Yes, I made a couple of friends on there who I still speak to about books to this day, but nowhere near the experiences, friendships and relationships I have built since being on RUclips. The content that people put out on RUclips actually makes me think and is engaging, so I don’t ever feel like I’m watching RUclips in order to just keep up with the algorithm (even if I really understood it, which I don’t!) and I never feel like I’m being punished for not spending hours and hours on here. Facebook closing my original SBJ account was infuriating but also eye-opening! Searching for solutions to the problem I found a whole raft of people who had their actual businesses shutdown because Facebook had closed their accounts for spurious reasons. Frightening.
Instagram has kind of devolved into a mess lately :'( It used to my favourite platform even over booktube and it was my largest platform for years because it was full of engagement and community and everything was in chronological order. Fast forward about 10 years and those groups (follow and engagement type) really annoy me and I stay away from them although I acknowledge they work for some people -- and the whole dynamic has changed. It's really all about reels and not photos and I feel a bit lost in it all now :/ Which makes me sad. Thank goodness for booktube though :D
I am really sad about the way the Instagram has changed as it was such a lovely platform to use. Ive had my personal account for 12 years and it was by far my favourite social media platform for keeping up with friends. It definitely lost its way and the photo sharing becoming less of a focus when it was the USP is a sad loss. But yes, thank goodness for booktube! 😁
I m getting tired of Instagram and Facebook. Its seems to be full of ads and suggested posts and barely anything from people I follow (until old posts randomly pop up!)
Exactly! This is what turned me off of Instagram and Facebook both as a creator and as a content consumer. RUclips just shows me the content people are posting at the time they post it! their videos are ranked according to how much they interact on the platform and my subscriptions feed is not full of random suggestions!
I did think of you, Julie in the conversations we’ve had about Instagram. I remember when you quit and I wasn’t quite ready to do that. It took a year and a half of me on a break before I realised I didn’t wanna go back! I’m a little slow on the uptake! 😂
A good job really Ros! It takes up so much time for very little return! I’d rather be reading or watching book tube and I don’t seem to have as much time to do either of those things these days so I’m really glad I’m not bothering with Instagram! 😂
I completely see what you mean. I use instagram for quick book reviews but RUclips feels much more genuine. However I do not have the time to engagement farm on either platform so I am growing sooooo slowly.
As a slow grower, I can really relate. What I would say is that I think RUclips is much less punishing to those of us who have less time to post and interact. I used to get really stressed by how much Instagram would punish me when I took some time off. So I’m just sorry I didn’t leave it sooner! I really do hope that you get the growth in your channel that you deserve!
Book content on Instagram didn’t make sense to me either because I didn’t understand what Jack just explained in this video, about the time spent engaging with other bookstagrammers. The Litsy app is like Instagram except only for book-related content and I’ve been very happy using that platform for 6 or 7 years.
The algorithm is definitely a difficult one to please on Instagram. I find the content on booktube to be so much more meaningful. I also enjoy the fact that my subscription feed on RUclips is just the videos that I want to see in the order that they are posted in rather than some weird ranking system that shuffles them about based on engagement and interspersed with adverts every two or three posts!
I use Instagram for basic things like sharing my videos and the tandem readalongs but I don’t have time for more as like you say it’s hard work. I’m not that artistic either so it’s not for me
Great video and very timely. I left Facebook years ago and haven't wanted to go back, but I had been thinking about Instagram, so this was helpful information. Also considered for direct messaging, but I have since found Google chat where you can also send messages and well you are already logged in to watch youtube, so not an extra platform and password to remember. When I began RUclips, just a month away from 2 years, I never heard of booktube and the channels I followed back then never mentioned the hash tag for new booktubers and honestly weren't much help. Over the last few months, I have met more small booktube content creators and it has been wonderful and very helpful and friendly people. I also agree about responding to people's comments - always shake my head when a creator says - oh I am too busy to respond, or they just don't respond to commenters. Mind boggling as they don't consider their viewers are also busy, just gave them the gift of their time to watch the video and comment. Very happy I found your channel and enjoying your content.
That is a really great tip about Google chat! I will definitely have to start using it. I’m really pleased that you found this video useful and welcome to the channel! I’m always hugely appreciative of anyone stopping by to watch or to interact. I always make sure that I will answer comments, though sometimes it can take me while to get through all of them. The book tube community has been such a revelation to me and enriched my life immeasurably so I hope it continues to do so for you as well! I definitely can’t say the same about Instagram Instagram!😂
@@spreadbookjoy thank you have been enjoying your content. Feel free to get in touch with google chat, I am still getting it figured out, lots of great features 😎
I loudly quitted Instagram years ago. Absolutely no regrets. Doom scrolling is real and I have no time for that. I’m not a fan of staging and taking pictures and hate that “aesthetic” is a goal. Booktube is wonderful for the personal interaction.
Loudly quitting - perfect! 😂 my only regret with all of this is that I didn’t just give it up sooner! I’d rather be reading books and chatting to people on booktube!
I quit IG a couple years ago. I initially liked to post random, unrelated things there. Then it seemed like you had to have a niche for each account. Like I would need a gardening IG, a cooking IG, a bookish IG, etc. I don’t have time for that. People are not one-sided. We have multiple interests and the algorithm shouldn’t punish us for it.
Couldn’t agree more! Instagram also just started to feel like a place where numbers were what mattered rather than interactions. I’ll stick with booktube for now! 😂
Agreed. I would love to talk books and gardening on that app but no one seemed interested. even though I get less engagement on youtube it feels less lonely. Doesnt hurt that since "leaving" the app I've doubled my reading.
I know exactly what you mean by RUclips feeling less lonely! I definitely get much more of a community vibe on here. And pleased to hear that your reading has gone up since quitting Instagram - mine has too!
I actually have made some real life friends who I chat to most days and I meet up with quite regularly! I think I have been very lucky with the corner of booktube that I’ve landed in though!
I totally respect your decision! It’s so interesting the different dynamics between platforms. I only opened an Instagram to post what I’m doing on BookTube. I literally only post thumbnails that are not formatted to work in that space at all and an occasional normal(not aesthetic) photo. I have gained followers so much easier on that platform, and I am doing nothing but posting that I just posted a video. 😂So weird! I guess it’s because random bot accounts probably follow me and I follow back any bookish account. I wish gaining followers here was that easy.
Keep going with RUclips! I’m such a slow grower, so I get it, but I’m happy with where I’ve got to and once I started getting regular comments on videos, it felt like anything else was going to be a bonus. But I remember my first 6-12 months it was like I was talking to myself! All I can say is keep going! It’s probably the best hobby I’ve ever had because I have found my people! 😂
This is so interesting! I like Bookstagram, but I've definitely always used it in a very low-key way - basically posting currently reading pictures and very little else. I've never used it for reviews, and Booktube has always been my main thing, so Instagram has never really taken up a lot of my time? I definitely prefer Booktube as a consumer of content/a way to find out about books, but sometimes I like to scroll through Instagram's beautiful pictures of books while listening to audiobooks XD
I think that’s a really healthy way to approach Instagram, Katie. I think all the time I spent trying to build up a following on Instagram means that even when I go on it now just to check messages, I can feel myself getting stressed! I really liked the aesthetics and there are some beautiful accounts on there, but it took far too much effort for what I got out of it in the end. Which is funny because a lot of people would think making videos is a huge effort, but I find that process really satisfying so it never feels like that much effort!
I find it so easy to spend hours scrolling on Instagram, looking at food, gardens, crafts and artwork, that I purposefully limit my time there and on Facebook. The channels I follow on RUclips are more meaningful to me.
Jack, your intro in this video cracked me up. Well done!
Thank you so much, Lindy! It is so easy to get caught up in scrolling through Instagram and Facebook. it took me some time to wean myself off of going onto them when I had a spare five minutes. Like you, I find RUclips far more meaningful!
Hi Jack, I don’t know any of the ins and outs of Instagram, even though, I’m on it sort of. I post once in a while, but I realized it wasn’t for me. I’m not creative in photography but I guess I’m quiet quitting or was always quiet quitting😊 doom scrolling??
what I didn’t like about Instagram was all the DM‘s from random dudes with fake photos😊
We found book tube together. I posted on my 70th birthday in August 20 20. I got to 1000 subscribers really fast and then nothing for a long time. I’m crawling my way back up again because I love this community and the friends I’ve made like you It’s been life-changing. Aloha dear friend.
Dearest Marilyn! Yes, the friendships I’ve made on here have been life changing and life affirming indeed! I remember discovering your RUclips channel through Claudia and it has been a joy to watch you ever since! ❤
I’ve got as far as posting one photo on Instagram, and have never been able to motivate myself to post more. I never understood how to have meaningful conversations on that platform. Having a BookTube channel is, I think, more rewarding. I can sort of skip the days of effort to produce a sort of “magazine spread “ life, and focus on the books! ❤
Precisely! Whilst I have made some great friends on Instagram and had some meaningful conversations, it definitely isn’t worth the time that the algorithm on that app demands. I’d rather be reading or chatting books properly on RUclips!
I agree. I think it really depends on what you want out of social media. I'm a new Booktuber so I can't really speak to the downside, but what I love about the channels I watch is that they're real. People are kind and have genuine opinions about books that I appreciate. At the end of the day, I'm looking for bookish conversation and that's what I get with Booktube.
Precisely this! RUclips is such a genuine platform when it comes to the bookish community. Whilst that isn’t true for every channel, it’s pretty obvious when someone is talking about their passion. Welcome to booktube and I hope you’re enjoying it so far!
I’m glad you picked you tube over instagram as I am not on instagram at all. I could never figure out how the posts flowed and it took to much time with little to no return.
Exactly, Suz! So much time and so little return! The posts are kind of ranked in terms of engagement - the more popular accounts and the ones who engage more constantly and there are bumped up and accounts who don’t have hours to spend on there every day or thousands of followers get bumped down the feed. They all also have to compete with adverts which the last time I was on there appeared every two or three posts! Ridiculous!
What happened to you on Facebook is really scary. I think everything you say about your Instagram experience makes a lot of sense. I’m not on that site, though, so I’m afraid I have no experiences to share. BookTube is still new to me, but I’ve found it to be very warm and welcoming. 😊
Thank you, and I’m so glad that you’ve had a positive experience on RUclips. The Facebook thing is really scary. I found groups of people online when I was searching for how to rectify the situation who had lost their entire businesses because of spurious cancellations to their accounts. Frightening indeed!
Instagram is definitely a time suck. Thank you for sharing your experience. ⭐️💪☺️
Thank you my lovely ❤
This was so very relatable and the skit at the beginning had me cackling. I do not have an eye for visuals, so I struggled to ever take any aesthetically interesting Instagram pictures. It's just not for me. But I remember scrolling through my feed and seeing your pictures on it with books presented in such a pretty and original way. But I get why it would be tiring after a while, especially getting all those props and arranging them for the shot. I never got into it enough to really understand the algorithm so this was a fascinating insight. It frankly sounds exhausting. Like you, my account is still up but I very rarely even look at the feed these days. Omg the Facebook thing... that sounds just infuriating. I really enjoyed this video and the discussion around bookish social media.
Thank you, Claudia! Of all of the social media accounts that I started for Spread Book Joy, I think Instagram was the most effort for the least return. Yes, I made a couple of friends on there who I still speak to about books to this day, but nowhere near the experiences, friendships and relationships I have built since being on RUclips. The content that people put out on RUclips actually makes me think and is engaging, so I don’t ever feel like I’m watching RUclips in order to just keep up with the algorithm (even if I really understood it, which I don’t!) and I never feel like I’m being punished for not spending hours and hours on here. Facebook closing my original SBJ account was infuriating but also eye-opening! Searching for solutions to the problem I found a whole raft of people who had their actual businesses shutdown because Facebook had closed their accounts for spurious reasons. Frightening.
Instagram has kind of devolved into a mess lately :'( It used to my favourite platform even over booktube and it was my largest platform for years because it was full of engagement and community and everything was in chronological order. Fast forward about 10 years and those groups (follow and engagement type) really annoy me and I stay away from them although I acknowledge they work for some people -- and the whole dynamic has changed. It's really all about reels and not photos and I feel a bit lost in it all now :/ Which makes me sad. Thank goodness for booktube though :D
I am really sad about the way the Instagram has changed as it was such a lovely platform to use. Ive had my personal account for 12 years and it was by far my favourite social media platform for keeping up with friends. It definitely lost its way and the photo sharing becoming less of a focus when it was the USP is a sad loss. But yes, thank goodness for booktube! 😁
I m getting tired of Instagram and Facebook. Its seems to be full of ads and suggested posts and barely anything from people I follow (until old posts randomly pop up!)
Exactly! This is what turned me off of Instagram and Facebook both as a creator and as a content consumer. RUclips just shows me the content people are posting at the time they post it! their videos are ranked according to how much they interact on the platform and my subscriptions feed is not full of random suggestions!
As you know i quitted ages ago and its the best thing i did.
I did think of you, Julie in the conversations we’ve had about Instagram. I remember when you quit and I wasn’t quite ready to do that. It took a year and a half of me on a break before I realised I didn’t wanna go back! I’m a little slow on the uptake! 😂
@@spreadbookjoy we all do these things when we are ready 😎
I seem to have quiet quitted Insta without really realising. I just forget to do stuff there.
A good job really Ros! It takes up so much time for very little return! I’d rather be reading or watching book tube and I don’t seem to have as much time to do either of those things these days so I’m really glad I’m not bothering with Instagram! 😂
I completely see what you mean. I use instagram for quick book reviews but RUclips feels much more genuine. However I do not have the time to engagement farm on either platform so I am growing sooooo slowly.
As a slow grower, I can really relate. What I would say is that I think RUclips is much less punishing to those of us who have less time to post and interact. I used to get really stressed by how much Instagram would punish me when I took some time off. So I’m just sorry I didn’t leave it sooner! I really do hope that you get the growth in your channel that you deserve!
@@spreadbookjoy thankyou- I have to remind myself constantly that I am doing it for my own pleasure not aiming to make my fortune!
@@youareherediversity7321 it’s important to remember that!
I never understood the allure of IG for book content. It's hard to engage there and takes a lot of time to please the algorithm there.
Book content on Instagram didn’t make sense to me either because I didn’t understand what Jack just explained in this video, about the time spent engaging with other bookstagrammers. The Litsy app is like Instagram except only for book-related content and I’ve been very happy using that platform for 6 or 7 years.
The algorithm is definitely a difficult one to please on Instagram. I find the content on booktube to be so much more meaningful. I also enjoy the fact that my subscription feed on RUclips is just the videos that I want to see in the order that they are posted in rather than some weird ranking system that shuffles them about based on engagement and interspersed with adverts every two or three posts!
❤
I use Instagram for basic things like sharing my videos and the tandem readalongs but I don’t have time for more as like you say it’s hard work. I’m not that artistic either so it’s not for me
It really is hard work! I’ve no idea how some people keep up with their accounts on there.
❤️
Great video and very timely. I left Facebook years ago and haven't wanted to go back, but I had been thinking about Instagram, so this was helpful information. Also considered for direct messaging, but I have since found Google chat where you can also send messages and well you are already logged in to watch youtube, so not an extra platform and password to remember. When I began RUclips, just a month away from 2 years, I never heard of booktube and the channels I followed back then never mentioned the hash tag for new booktubers and honestly weren't much help. Over the last few months, I have met more small booktube content creators and it has been wonderful and very helpful and friendly people. I also agree about responding to people's comments - always shake my head when a creator says - oh I am too busy to respond, or they just don't respond to commenters. Mind boggling as they don't consider their viewers are also busy, just gave them the gift of their time to watch the video and comment. Very happy I found your channel and enjoying your content.
That is a really great tip about Google chat! I will definitely have to start using it. I’m really pleased that you found this video useful and welcome to the channel! I’m always hugely appreciative of anyone stopping by to watch or to interact. I always make sure that I will answer comments, though sometimes it can take me while to get through all of them. The book tube community has been such a revelation to me and enriched my life immeasurably so I hope it continues to do so for you as well! I definitely can’t say the same about Instagram Instagram!😂
@@spreadbookjoy thank you have been enjoying your content. Feel free to get in touch with google chat, I am still getting it figured out, lots of great features 😎
@@Cobaltdragon 🤍