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The entrepreneur Sara Mauskopf has a big voice on X but not in real life. Tens of thousands of people follow her account, where she goes by @sm. Outside social media, she is an introvert who prefers to stay in with her husband and three kids, only attending industry happy hours when she feels its critical for her business. Allow me to bust the myth, which I have heard repeated by peers and colleagues throughout my working life. The myth? To build a following as a storyteller, you have to be self-centered, self-promoting, or extroverted. In reality, its often the opposite. It might seem counterintuitive, but Mauskopf gravitates to social media because she doesnt crave the spotlight in her personal life. Self-effacing, witty introverts like Mauskopf are far more commonly found on the internet than you might think. In truth, you can be thoughtful and low-key yet still find success as a storyteller. Many of the people I interviewed who had the largest followings online were also the humblest. I sum up people like Mauskopf with the term quiet influencer. These are people who arent trying to draw attention to themselves but can find a following online because of their ability to listen and absorb information. When they do share, its to educate, inform, or entertain others, not to build up their egos. Often, they follow the golden ratio of social posts: the 9:1 rule. I came up with this formula early in my career, when I was starting out on social media. I havent changed it in over a decade, simply because it works, and I share it with companies I advise daily. So here goes: For every one braggy post related to an accomplishment, milestone, or achievement, share nine that are useful contributions. Think of the contributionsthings that are interesting, valuable, entertainingas earning the brags. Sometimes it is helpful to share something positive that happened on a personal or professional levelI totally understand that but this lets you do it without it coming off as self-absorbed or generic. Companies are guilty of this toohave you ever scrolled a CEOs LinkedIn profile and viewed nothing but updates about funding milestones, customer wins, and key hires? These are important to share every once in a while, for the purposes of company morale and external validation, but a big opportunity for contribution content has been missed. If theres anything to remember, its this: To be a successful storyteller, both online and offline, its important to think about what the audience wants and needs. Many of us, as we move through our lives, welcome helpful information that we wouldnt get elsewhereinformation that helps us do our jobs better, learn something new, or feel less alone with the challenges we face. If you can meet that need, youll be a much more engaging storyteller. Contributions in this vein might include: A hilarious personal anecdote that will make someone laugh when they need a little bit of levity in their day An insight about what is really going on in the news beyond the headlinessomething people in the industry would find helpful A piece of analysis that explains a complicated topic in an accessible way or provides a step-by-step for how to accomplish something that others find challenging If you are sharing something self-promotional, it can help to provide context around why the milestone means so much to you. One example: When the Joe Biden administration highlighted Kaitlin Christine, a CEO in my network, for her companys work in breast cancer detection, I helped her share the news with her community. She initially wrote that it was an important milestone, and she described how honored she was without going into much detail. Because I knew a little about her story, I prompted her to share a little bit about how she felt in the moment when the White House reached out and what it meant to her. Christines company, Gabbi, builds breast cancer risk detection software. She started it after losing her mother to the disease at a young age. After getting screened herself, Christine ended up getting a double mastectomy given her profile (genetics, family history, and so forth). So, to hear from the Biden administration felt like her lifes goals were being realized and her mother would have been truly proud. Once reframed to talk about how personal the experience was for her, her post hit a nerve with her following. The beauty of reframing content in this way is that even something promotional, like an important new milestone or new hire, can become a useful contribution and/or a moment to truly connect with an extended network. That turns the viewer from a passive liker into a true believer or ally. Likes become comments and reshares and, more importantly, offers of support. I genuinely appreciate when CEOs talk about not just the great things theyve accomplished in their roles and daily activities but how they got there. Some people refer to this trend as building in the open. Imagine a scenario where a CEO doesnt just post something bland on LinkedIn about the stellar new chief technology officer they just hired. How about sharing instead how they found this amazing candidate? What tools did they use? Did they retain a recruiterand if so, who? What kinds of interview questions did they produce to assess each candidates technical prowess? What geographies did they focus on? Perhaps this information could even be viewable to anyone via an open document like Google Docs or Notion. Likewise, rather than announcing a venture capital funding round, a leadership team could talk instead about how they were able to raise money in a difficult funding environment. Authenticity works because it shows vulnerability or provides others with a potential lesson they can use in their own professional pursuits. If you follow the 9:1 golden ratio, no one will begrudge you the odd self-promotional post that highlights your fantastic accomplishments. Those are important to share occasionally, because the industry may want to know what youre up to. The important thing is to use your voice to give back to your community most of the time. If you are a resource to others, they will follow you, and you will build influence. Excerpted from The Storytellers Advantage: How Powerful Narratives Make Businesses Thrive. Copyright 2025 by Christina Farr. Available from Basic Venture, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
Category:
E-Commerce
The secret of TikToks success since its launch has been its algorithm, which presents videos to its 170 million users in the United States. The ability to synthesize users interests and keep them scrolling has been the reason the app has grown stratosphericallyand is part of the reason why the average user spends more time on the app than watching the average feature film. But TikToks fate is in jeopardy, with its owner ByteDance reportedly approaching a unique deal involving the Trump administration. Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, told Fox News over the weekend that the algorithm will also be controlled by America, as part of a deal that would see the apps data held on secure servers operated by Oracle, the large U.S. data company, and run with a consortium reportedly including media mogul Lachlan Murdoch, the son of Rupert Murdoch. Trump’s press secretary outlined more details of the deal today. The future of TikTok has never looked as grim as now, says Marcus Bösch, a TikTok researcher and consultant. If the United States does manage to wrest control of the algorithm powering the U.S. version of TikTok and deliver it to American ownership, it would be a win for the White House. It would assuage anti-China hawks, who fear the role the app plays in Americans lifestyles. Their campaign against TikToks continued existence led to the ban on its operation in the U.S., which Trump has repeatedly delayed through executive orders. Without evidence, those who oppose TikTok argue that its algorithm could be weaponized to push anti-U.S. sentiment onto millions of impressionable young users. But the latest developments could be a Pyrrhic victory. If the U.S. version of the apps algorithm differs in any way from the core apps offering, American citizens could end up with a subpar version of TikTokand abandon it in droves. TikTok did not immediately respond to Fast Companys request for comment. While the specifics of what a post-deal TikTok would look like are unclear, the current app heavily leverages an algorithm developed over the years by ByteDance, including being trained on predecessor apps. There are fears among experts that this highly honed feed could become one designed solely to promote Trump-favorable content. A nationalized feed may feel safer or more familiar, but I believe it risks narrowing what people see to American concerns, while filtering out the messy, global commons that once made TikTok so distinctive, says Tom Divon, a researcher studying TikTok at the Hebrew University in Israel. Others are equally worried about a whiplash effect. I anticipate stark shifts in the FYP algorithm, says Jessica Maddox, associate professor of media studies at the University of Georgia. Maddox has already seen TikToks algorithm tending to promote what she calls daytime TV content during politically tense timesincluding footage of cutesy animals and toddlers or wholesome dances. I see this becoming more of the norm with users struggling to train their algorithm back to their specific interests, Maddox says. TikTok will become more fluffy, general content instead of being known for its hyper-specific niches. And given that its success has, thus far, stemmed from its ability to offer hyper-specific tailoring of content to its usersin contrast to homegrown tech titans like YouTube and Instagramsacrificing that advantage seems like a great leveler. Donald Trump has previously said that Chinese President Xi Jinping has approved the terms of the deal, though Chinese and U.S. explanations of the agreement have differed, particularly around the future of the algorithm. According to Chinese state media, China’s Communist Party has said that both parties have reached an agreement to allow ByteDance to retain control of TikToks algorithmsomething Trump appears to have contradicted. Bösch believes that the apps fate could be similar to X after it was transformed from Twitterone that looks unrecognizable to its core of users but retains a loyal following among a committed minority. And under Trump, what is and isnt allowed could change significantly. I can foresee political terms that dont align with an administrations political goals being suppressed, Maddox says. Users may also see a change in content moderation guidelines, with objections that could once be overturned on appeal no longer being the case. Those who have studied TikTok extensively also fear that the quality of content could drop if users desert the platform. This one will most likely be filled with so much AI-infused propaganda, Bösch says. Nice to study. Most likely not so nice to use in private.”
Category:
E-Commerce
Tech giant Oracle will oversee the security for a licensed copy of the recommendation engine powering TikTok under the terms of a proposed divestment deal, according to a senior official in President Donald Trump’s administration on Monday. Determining next steps for the algorithm, currently owned by the Beijing-based ByteDance, has been one of the most closely watched issues during negotiations over TikTok’s future. The Trump administration official, who insisted on anonymity to discuss the emerging deal, said they believe the plan will satisfy national security concerns if TikTok divests from its Chinese parent, ByteDance. President Joe Biden signed bipartisan legislation before leaving office, requiring the Chinese company to sell its assets to an American company or face a ban. American officials have previously warned the algorithm that fuels what users see on the app is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities, who can use it to shape content on the platform in a way thats difficult to detect. It wouldnt be in compliance if the algorithm is Chinese. There cant be any shared algorithm with ByteDance, said a spokesperson for the House Select Committee on China. Oracle would receive a copy of the algorithm and oversee the app’s security operations. The algorithm would be fully inspected and monitored for any abnormal behavior, the senior White House official said Monday. In a call with reporters, the official later emphasized that the content recommendation formula would be retrained using U.S. data in order to make sure the system is behaving appropriately. It is currently unclear if retraining the copy of the algorithm would essentially create a separate TikTok experience just for domestic U.S. users, but White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed in a Monday press briefing that TikTok users in the U.S will be able to see videos posted by users in other countries and vice versa. What the president will sign later this week is an executive order, essentially declaring that the terms of this deal meets Americas national security needs, the White House official said. He notes that China is expected to sign and approve a framework deal for TikTok’s divestment by the end of the week, upon which Trump will issue a 120 day reprieve, giving both nations time to get necessary agreements finalized. Full details on investors have not been released. However, the official confirmed that the U.S. operations will be a new joint venture with a board of directors that will have a majority of American membersOracle and Silver Lake, a private equity firm, are the only confirmed consortium participants so far. The White House official also said that under the preliminary dealwhich still requires Chinese officials to sign off on a framework agreementthe United States will not take equity stake in the new venture or have representation on the controlling committee. Trump, a Republican, has extended the deadline several times as he worked to reach a deal to keep TikTok available. He spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday. Chris Megerian, Associated Press
Category:
E-Commerce
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