The Social Complex

Unless you live under a rock, you've heard of Elon Musk's offer to buy Twitter and take the social media giant private.

The story of how this deal came to fruition is fascinating. Not only is it a massive deal for one of the most popular social media networks in the world, but it also took place on such a public scale that the world got a front-row seat to a slice of how the deal shook out. We don’t always get such an intimate look at how strategic communications can make or break a deal like this.

Musk has been an anomaly on the platform. Users are never quite sure if he's being serious or facetious, which leaves the general public confused on how to respond to his hot takes. His tweets have historically thrown the stock market through a loop, gotten him in legal trouble, and even used the power of Twitter to help his takeover.

In this episode, we explore how Musk used social media leverage to serve his deal and answer core questions: how did this happen, what were some indicators that this was going to happen, is it a shady practice and how is it going to impact the future of social media?

Let's dive in.

Detailed Show Notes can be found here.

To connect with Hillary, click here. 

Read more about Digital HQ here.

For more episodes, go to SOCIALCOMPLEXPOD.COM

Produced by You Lucky Dog Productions.

Millennials are entitled, Gen X is cynical, Baby Boomers are technophobes, Gen Z is addicted to their phones. We’ve all heard stereotypes about different generational groups, maybe even believed them ourselves. 

Millennials were both the last generation that grew up without the internet and the first digitally native generation. Generation Z consists of the first connected kids who never knew the world without the internet. Technology has become a core differentiating factor for each generation, in how they use, adopt, communicate and rely on mobile and web devices.

And just like each generation approaches the world differently, they also approach social media differently. But how has technology defined each generation, and what can we predict about future generations’ adoption of digital media in the coming decades?

Enter: Meagan Johnson.

Meagan Johnson is a generational expert and humorist. With 25 years of experience studying and speaking about generational differences, she brings a wealth of knowledge and understanding about intergenerational dynamics. She has worked with countless brands and organizations to help break down the cross-generation conflicts in the workplace, helping leaders to better understand and communicate with those who approach the work environment differently than they have in the past. 

During the 1990s, while working for companies like Quaker Oats, Kraft Foods and Xerox, Meagan often heard negative comments about Gen Xers. Things like “they’re all slackers,” “gold collar workers,” and “it’s the Beavis and Butthead generation” were not uncommon.

Being a Gen Xer herself, Meagan knew those terms were unfair, untrue and hurtful so she began researching small and large businesses to debunk generational myths and discover the most effective ways to solve multi-generational clashes. That research gave birth to thousands of generational presentations and to her best-selling book” Generations Inc., From Boomers To Linksters Managing the Friction Between Generations at Work”.

She has been quoted by Chicago Tribune, CNNMoney.com and US News & World Report, she has been heard on ABC Talk Live, NPR and profiled on Conde’ Nast’s Portfolio.com. 

Meagan gives audiences a chance to not only laugh at their own generation (and the other ones) but flourish in the presence of others. 

In this episode, we get into digital differences of generations today, similarities and differences among the different groups, what we’re seeing with the emerging “Generation Alpha”, and how technology is going to further define generational differences. 

Leave your assumptions at the door and let’s dive in. 

To connect with Meagan, click here. 

To connect with Hillary, click here. 

Read more about Digital HQ here.

For more episodes, go to SOCIALCOMPLEXPOD.COM

Produced by You Lucky Dog Productions.

It’s speculation we’ve been hearing for a decade: Facebook is dying. And in spite of perception, Facebook has continued to grow in revenue, scale, and monthly active users.

In 2022, we’re starting to see slowed growth - but it’s still growing.

So, is it dying? Sure. But not as quickly as you may think.

In this episode, we discuss the rise of the platform, the evolution of its holding company (Meta), and why Facebook remains a viable option for brands today. We challenge perceptions with data, give an idea of what the future will look like in a metaverse world, and talk about the pros and cons of brands who continue to use the platform.

If you’re interested in hearing about the future of Facebook - this is the episode for you. Enjoy!

To connect with Hillary, click here. 

Read more about Digital HQ here.

For more episodes, go to SOCIALCOMPLEXPOD.COM

Produced by You Lucky Dog Productions.

Get ready to pop some tags and grab the twenty dollars in your pocket. We’re diving into the wild world of thrift shopping on social media with Bree Wolver of the popular Instagram page, @thatgirlthrifts.

Bree brings a unique experience as a digital marketer in big tech with a side hustle as an online thrift shopper. Her weekends are spent hunting for treasure in thrift shops and reselling them online, which is both a passion project and one that’s great for sustainability.

She’s not alone though. With nearly 5M hashtags used, there are plenty of consumers out there who buy their products #Thrifted. Bree has used social media to build community in the reseller community, share her expertise in the space with others, and even uses her social media profile as a “first dibs” space for her most loyal customers.

We discuss our background as college sorority sisters, roommates and friends, talk shop about the parallels between the reseller community and big tech, how this community of loyal resellers navigated the pandemic when in-store shopping came to a halt, and where there’s a missing opportunity in the thrift world for better innovation online.

Bree’s unique experience in both tech and fashion as a marketer and entrepreneur brought some fresh perspectives to this episode. She even name drops some super cool tools that you may not even know existed that are sure to change the shopping experience for all retailers.

Buckle up and let’s dive in. 

To connect with Bree, click here. 

To connect with Hillary, click here. 

Read more about Digital HQ here.

For more episodes, go to SOCIALCOMPLEXPOD.COM

Produced by You Lucky Dog Productions.

Trigger Warning: Suicide, CyberBullying

In this solo episode, Hillary snorkels through the various anonymous social media platforms, which are specified as “content or information posted that is not connected with particular online identities or profiles,” according to the good ol’ Wikipedia.

We explore the history of anonymous social, the rise and fall of Ask.FM, the data that tells whether it's good vs. evil, and the general reaction from users about the fact that Yik Yak is back. 

We discuss mental health impact on students, history of online bullying, and other difficult fallouts from the use of anonymous social media. Join Hillary as she explores the nuances of the space, challenges her own preconceptions, and tries to grasp what the future holds for anonymous social media. 

For resources from the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/

To connect with Hillary, click here. 

Read more about Digital HQ here.

For more episodes, go to SOCIALCOMPLEXPOD.COM

Produced by You Lucky Dog Productions.

LinkedIn is the top professional networking site in the world. With nearly 800 million members in more than 200 countries, it’s a powerhouse platform for those in the workforce who are looking to make connections and elevate their careers.

Jasmine King is a LinkedIn creator, among many other things. Hailing from St. Louis, Missouri, Jasmine is a recent University of Kansas graduate who studied marketing. She also is the founder of a social media shop called Socially Hooked. 

She went viral on LinkedIn after creating a resume for her application to Twitter that resembled a Twitter Profile. The creative move sparked over 40,000 engagements and thousands of shares of the post, drawing attention from brand managers and creators from around the world. That post also landed on my LinkedIn Feed, which inspired me to reach out to Jasmine to see if she’d be interested in getting on the mic to talk about her experience on LinkedIn and beyond.

We talk about what it was like to go viral on LinkedIn, how pushing through the fear of vulnerability leads to great content, what Gen Z is missing by not being on LinkedIn, and how to navigate creepers in the inbox. We also explore differences between creators and consumers, how life behind the screen isn’t as glamorous as it appears, and what you can do today to get more out of your LinkedIn experience.

To connect with Jasmine, click here. 

Check out Jasmine’s viral LinkedIn post here.

To connect with Hillary, click here. 

Read more about Digital HQ here.

For more episodes, go to SOCIALCOMPLEXPOD.COM

Produced by You Lucky Dog Productions.

Influencers have been around since the beginning of time. Now, the term “influencer” has become amplified and democratized now because of social media. 

Think about your community growing up; a local pastor, a teacher with a strong reputation in your small town, a beloved mayor. All of those people had influence over the community and impacted behaviors, beliefs, and actions.

Take that, give them a smartphone with some internet, and you have unlimited potential. That’s the essence of influencer marketing.

In this solo episode, we explore the origins of influencers, how brands choose influencers to work with, fraud in the industry, and FTC rules that influencers need to follow to stay compliant. We discuss the future of influencer marketing and how brands can stay ahead of this rapidly changing industry. 

To connect with Hillary, click here. 

Read more about Digital HQ here.

For more episodes, go to SOCIALCOMPLEXPOD.COM

Produced by You Lucky Dog Productions.

If you’re interested to hear what it's like being a social media manager by trade, this is the episode for you. Maddie Lydon is a social media strategist with some incredible brand experience. She started her career in sales and pivoted into social media, never looking back.

We discuss various times in social media history that have changed the game, including political elections, algorithms impacting the way people operate, data regulations and how the Covid-19 shut down drastically changed the social media marketing world. 

We also get into influencers and how their profession as creators has evolved over the years, including the transparency of admitting hardships and finding boundaries in the content they create to keep their sanity afloat. 

You’ll also get some insider information about what it’s really like to work in social media, advice for those interested in getting into the space, and how brands can rethink the way they hire for social media teams.

To connect with Maddie, click here. 

To connect with Hillary, click here. 

Read more about Digital HQ here.

For more episodes, go to SOCIALCOMPLEXPOD.COM

Produced by You Lucky Dog Productions.

Huy Nguyen joins us on today’s episode. He’s a creator, social media executive and entrepreneur. We bond over being psych major dropouts, using film and photography to pay the bills, and what is more important than brands being “authentic”. 

We talk about his life growing up as a Vietnamese American, how he got into video editing thanks to YouTube skateboarding videos, and what it’s like to live in the mind of a creator who’s always scouting locations.

Huy has an incredibly unique perspective when it comes to social media. Not only has he managed brand social media and strategy, he infuses his professional experience to build his own creator profile, creating mini vlogs and Reels on his channel to share his passions and interests. He also shares how he used social media to build a new community of friends after he moved to Arizona, and how he took friendships from the internet to the real world.

To connect with Huy, click here. 

To connect with Hillary, click here. 

Read more about Digital HQ here.

For more episodes, go to SOCIALCOMPLEXPOD.COM

Produced by You Lucky Dog Productions.

Sarah Kleist isn’t your typical web designer. A performing artist by trade, Sarah’s world came to a halt when Covid-19 stopped all live events and shut down New York City. With time on her hands and a skill for design, Sarah took to designing websites for some friends and ultimately, turned this skill into a full blown freelance business. 

Her story includes stumbling into success on TikTok, building a business in web design through the pandemic, and finding funny connections via social media — including a weird serendipitous encounter to how we met.

We get into some conversations about the weird relevancy of social media algorithms, parents exploiting their children for clout online, and how she landed an interview with the DuoLingo Owl (who, if you aren’t familiar with, check them out on TikTok ASAP)

To connect with Sarah, click here. 

To read Sarah’s interview with DuoLingo, click here. 

To connect with Hillary, click here. 

Read more about Digital HQ here.

For more episodes, go to SOCIALCOMPLEXPOD.COM

Produced by You Lucky Dog Productions.