Even More Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Automate Social Media Posts

Lack of engagement. Robotic presence. Potentially awkward timing. We all know your business can suffer due to excessive auto-posting, but what about your personal life? Ever thought about the consequences of spamming your friends with intimate details that may harm your reputation—both online and off?

The world will know you’ve become a lazy sloth

It’s great that you’ve started jogging. It really is. And it’s awesome that you’re broadcasting your ever-improving run times (and weight loss!) to the Twitterverse via RunKeeper or some other auto-posting exercise app. You look and feel amazing and we’re all jealous!

But then winter hit. You ate some pie, you took some naps, and NHL 13 became more important than exercise. And guess what—RunKeeper is still posting away, so when you do manage to drag yourself off the couch, the whole world can see you’re gaining a pound a week and you can’t run more than 2.7K without stopping at Starbucks.


The world will know how unpopular you are

Twitter is all about follows and mentions. I get that. But if you’re hideously unpopular and only sign in when you’re at home with the flu, then maybe you shouldn’t sign up for a weekly autopost of your Twitter performance (or lack thereof).

Case in point: A little something known as a Performance Post.

Sample taken from the real world: “My week on twitter: 1 new followers, 5 mentions.”

Ugh. In addition to your lameness, you’re also perpetuating poor grammar. Double ugh.


The world will know intimate details about your child before it’s even born

It’s one thing to have a pregnancy ticker—9 weeks! 22 weeks! 36 weeks!—but it’s a whole other ballgame to sign up for an auto posting app that broadcasts all the precious moments of your pregnancy, from 24-hour toilet hugging to future placenta plans to how much amniotic fluid your small fry is currently consuming.

Not only is this TMI, but it also completely eliminates the mystery surrounding both your pregnancy and your child’s birth. Names, weights, genders, whatever—no one is going to ask you anything because a) they’re tired of hearing about it; b) they already know the answer; and/or c) they’re afraid of your incredibly detailed response. Plus, if a mom-to-be shares that much during her pregnancy and labour, she’ll probably share even more once her kid has entered the physical world. Once in a while? Fine. A daily autopost of all that is baby? Proceed with caution.

Share this