The new X algo has killed my views. Here’s my plan to ‘never’ rely on it again.
The top creators on CT do not stress about the algo, and neither should you.
I used to feel anxious every time my posts didn’t get enough likes.
But since the day I’ve turned off my Twitter notifications, I became happier.
The algo should not dictate what we post, because it doesn’t care about our mental health.
Here’s how I plan to stop relying on the algo for good:
The algo turned us into slaves
Everyone panics when there are new algo changes:
Will our reach be reduced?
“The algo hates me, it’s so unfair”.
Every post we publish is meant to ‘serve’ the algo:
We care too much about what the algo likes, and not what our audience likes.
We’re forced to reply 100 times a day or post every day so the algo will continue pushing our content.
But is that the life we really want to live?
Where we’re so scared of doing anything because the algo will destroy our reach if we post something that it doesn’t like?
Many would go down this route, but they will fail miserably:
Algo hacks are useless
Everyone wants results fast.
How to hit 1 million views with your first post.
How to get 10,000 followers in 30 days.
For context, it took me 1 year of consistent posting to hit this milestone.
Everyone cares about optimising for views and followers, but do they really mean anything?
Anyone can game the algo for views by:
Reverse engineering human psychology
Posting BREAKING posts that give zero value
The algo feeds on hype and drama, and it will push posts that include these factors.
But do they really add value to the readers, or is it just another dopamine hit?
Follower count is just a clout metric that can be easily gamed.
Because these are hard numbers, it’s easy to determine an account’s success based on them.
But since they can be gamed, they don’t tell anything about how trusted the account is.
So don’t bother about algo hacks (because they could be wiped out in future updates), and avoid this completely too:
Those who play the volume game will lose
The algo forces us to be constantly active to avoid becoming irrelevant.
It wants us to pump out content every waking hour, but we’re fighting a losing battle:
AI will outcompete us in the volume game.
In this age where information is at your fingertips:
Who says it is more important than what is being said.
Reputation matters, and we build that by showing that we have an authentic point of view.
Just by being yourself online, you build the greatest skill any creator craves for:
Become algo-resistant
There’s no need to rely on the Twitter algo if you are algo-resistant:
People don’t wait for the algo to serve your content to them.
They actively visit your profile to view your posts, because they are just that good.
Algorithms are still great for being discovered, but more than 50% of our followers won’t even see our content.
So we have to create a habit for our followers to actively search for our posts.
And here’s the only way to do it:
Build a cult-like audience
Cults have a bad connotation, but the best brands in the world already own a cult-like fanbase:
Taylor Swift
Apple
Disney (maybe…?)
A cult-like audience is one that will follow you because they like you.
They no longer care about the topic that you write about, they just care that it’s you who’s writing that post.
And we get this by building trust with our audience:
Build your own content universe
We won’t get cult-like followers overnight.
It takes months or even years to build up this following, because no one will trust us at the start.
So to build rapport, we have to show that we’re worth listening to.
Build authority and trust by giving value.
Consistently improve their life in some meaningful way.
I learnt this from Dan Koe, where we need to build a content universe for someone to binge through:
We have a full library of all our thoughts on the same topic that anyone can read.
And that’s why I’m writing multiple long-form articles that can be interlinked together to create my universe for anyone to binge.
Building this up can be daunting, especially when you’re just starting to write.
But there’s no need to worry about running out of things to write when you approach Twitter with this mindset:
Treat Twitter like a journal
If you don’t do anything, you have nothing to write about.
No one wants another summary of the project’s documentation.
They want your authentic experiences and lessons from your failures.
So instead of treating Twitter like a bazaar where you have to shout the loudest to be noticed:
Treat it like a journal where you’re speaking to your former self.
Share the lessons you’ve learnt by doing things, and others will find it valuable.
The algo doesn’t have to be your enemy, and it takes a while for it to notice you when you’re just starting out:
Play the long-term game
“I’m getting zero views, no one cares about my content.”
That’s because you’re not convincing people why they should listen to you.
Why would you trust a stranger online, unless there’s a compelling reason to do so?
Google’s 7-11-4 rule suggests this marketing framework, which we can use to get others to trust us:
To convert a prospect into a buyer, consumers need ~ 7 hours of engagement, across 11 different touchpoints, on 4 separate locations or platforms.
People and the algo need time to warm up to you.
Unless you already have a reputation from another platform:
It will take time to build authority and get people to trust you.
Smart followers will come.
The rewards will come.
If you can post consistently about your authentic thoughts online:
You will build an algo-resistant brand that is respected by others.
It’s not a matter of if, but when.
Trust the process and play the long-term game.
Build trust by consistently providing value, and good things will come.
Don’t be a slave to the algo
Don’t let the algo dictate the success of your posts.
Post what feels right to you, instead of trying to please the algo and others who don’t even care about you.
Chasing vanity metrics took a mental toll on me.
I was so obsessed with views and I became stressed when a post I worked so hard on barely got any likes.
Now, I’ve completely turned off all notifications and any vanity metrics with this extension by @typefully:
Even as we become full-time content creators (I’m not one yet), virality should not be the goal.
Optimise for value instead of views.
Build social capital and authority by giving value.
Increase your luck surface area by doing things and then sharing what you did.
Become algo-resistant when you ignore vanity metrics and focus on creating signal.
The 30-day challenge to go from zero to Signal Creator
The future of airdrops is reputation.
If you’re still following the old playbooks, you're missing out on the highest allocation from airdrops.
To capture the next wave of airdrops, you need both onchain and social reputation.
Stop wasting hours on low-value tasks and start building habits and systems that projects will reward with bigger airdrops.
Build the foundations for a reputable brand in just 30 days with one actionable tip you can implement each day.
I used this exact system to grow from zero to:
20,000 followers on Twitter
1,573 score on Ethos
205 Smart Followers and 902 Yaps on Kaito
It’s time to stop burning out on low-value tasks: