Follow Friday Season 2 is (Probably) Canceled

And I'm (probably) leaving Twitter

Ok wow: A LOT of you signed up for this newsletter in the past few months¹, and there hasn’t been a new episode since the season finale in July. So if this is the first time you’re hearing from me, hi! I’m Eric Johnson, and I host a podcast called Follow Friday.

… Or, I did, anyway.

The backstory

My podcast was inspired by the #FollowFriday hashtag, which early tweeters used every week to spotlight their favorite follows. I designed the podcast to do the same, drawing attention to creative people who are making great stuff online.

I am SO proud of the 67 episodes I hosted and produced, and even more grateful to all my guests. And I still believe the mission of the show is a worthy one; I was even making plans to start a second season of Follow Friday in early 2023.

The news

However, I’ve decided now is not the right time to pursue that mission. I’m putting my plans for season 2 of the podcast on hold, indefinitely.

Why?

I believe the era of social media as we’ve known it is coming to a close.

The AI-driven algorithms that decide what you see on TikTok and YouTube are reshaping culture; Meta is hastily trying to force Instagram into a TikTok-shaped box, while remaking Facebook into a VR destination (good luck!); and Twitter is a lost cause² after being bought by a mad king who is utterly deficient in foresight, empathy, humor, wisdom, and business sense.

All of these changes will profoundly affect what we see online, and how we see it. Only podcasts and newsletters remain rooted in a creator-follower model; I hope that lasts.

We are all still following people, of course, but the halcyon days of #FollowFriday are over. I won’t make plans for a new season of Follow Friday until I have a grip on what it means to follow someone now.

What’s next?

I don’t know! But this newsletter will be my home base as I try to figure it out, and I hope you’ll subscribe, or stay subscribed.

I am fortunate to be busy with my real job, producing podcasts for my clients at LightningPod.fm. But when the time comes for me to take on a new project — I have so many weird ideas for new podcasts, y’all — you’ll hear about it here first.

Whether you’ve been listening since the beginning or you have no idea who I am — thanks for being here. Onward.

1. Thank you, Podcast The Newsletter!!

2. I’m also planning to phase Twitter out of my life. This will be a very hard habit to break, because it’s been my favorite social app for more than a decade. Wish me luck.