Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Brian Keene

Another Writer Rage-Quits Social Media Platform… and the Reason Why Might Shock You!

Award-winning horror novelist and sometimes DC Comics writer Brian Keene has (mostly) quit Facebook, Keene revealed in a blog post Wednesday. Keene joins a growing list of writers, especially in the comics industry, who have sworn off one or another social media platform, often to return a few months later, then swear it off again. However, unlike many industry professionals who often quit social media due to inability to focus on work or due to digging a massive pit of negative vibes they're unable to climb out of after hundreds, sometimes thousands of tweets seeking out anyone who criticizes them to start arguments, Keene has a different stated reason for leaving the service: it's just not worth it anymore.

"Over the past four months, I've watched with dismay as the new Facebook algorithms have pretty much strangled the Brian Keene Facebook Page," Keene wrote in a post titled F*ck You Facebook.

"There are 10,000+ of you who 'Like' that page," Keene humblebragged. "These days, thanks to the new algorithms, I'm lucky if 1,000 of you see it."

Indeed, Facebook has directed more and more of its focus toward getting brands to pay to boost the reach of posts, as opposed to providing a way for creative types to engage with fans. As part of that strategy, Facebook restricts the number of users who see posts from pages they've "liked," while simultaneously displaying these numbers prominently alongside buttons encouraging pages to pay to place the post on more feeds.

"I enjoy interacting with my readers," he lied. "Unfortunately, Facebook is not giving me the opportunity to do that with you, and with only so many hours in the day, I have to stick with platforms such as twitter and this website, where it's much easier for you and I to communicate."

Keene cited others who feel the same way, such as "a friend of mine from a popular heavy metal band" who Bleeding Cool is currently unable to confirm is the lead singer of Nickelback. Keene says the band used to sell a hundred t-shirts every time they made a Facebook post, but now they're "lucky if 100 of our 20k+ followers even see the post."

"Going forward, my interactions on Facebook will be very limited," said Keene, because nobody really ever totally quits social media. Not even Ales Kot when he went to live in the woods. Instead, Keene recommends his fans sign up for his newsletter or follow him on Twitter. Additionally, the Facebook page for The Horror Show with Brian Keene will remain fully operational.

Though Keene cites business reasons for leaving Facebook, he has been known to act rudely toward "journalists" in the past, recently tweeting at one such member of comics' fifth estate:

Hopefully, Keene is telling the truth when he says that his exit from Facebook is due to business and not personal reasons.

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