Adobe deletes Bluesky posts after backlash

They want engagement for their new account, it's what anyone who posts on social media wants.

Right, but you need to be a whole lot less obvious about it. Adobe's message here is a case study in what NOT to do.

Yes, but it's not what social media users want. How about posting tips, small micro courses, behind the scene stories about what motivated some choices in the app, anything useful or endearing? Not just harvesting likes and account names?

I’m talking about when anyone post on social media. It’s all about engagement. People don’t post on social media in the hopes that no one sees or replies to them. So I find it silly that people are upset at Adobe for having the most generic “hey we joined, show us what you’re working on” versus the useless engagement posts that are templates of “most people can’t figure out what the answer is” when the image is “two plus two equals ?”.

To your point of useful info, I’m sure Adobe would get there. They just joined the site and got bullied off. I doubt they’re going to care about the site now, but it’d be funny if they tried a second post and just trudged through it.

Social media has been a thing for 20+ years now. It's absolutely possible to achieve both: to "get engagement" and to post things that are genuinely interesting and useful and that people find valuable while you are doing it.

Adobe were really clumsy here, and that's why they got burned.

Yes, I have no problem believing that this is what Adobe wants and/or a certain category of posters. But, what's the motivation for answering? (Notably, this was about "what's fuelling your creativity, right now?" and not "show us what you're working on", about circumstantialities instead of substance.) Will Adobe notice? Probably not, they just want stats to go up. This is not a conversation. It's more like IRL going up to a person and saying, "Talk!", and immediately turning the back on them to engage the next one.

From my own experience, when moving to Bluesky, the absence of engagement posters felt like a breath of fresh air. Meanwhile, with the broader influx from X/Twitter, there are some posts which are more in this style (e.g., "what was your favorite xy" nostalgia posts, or slightly more adopted to the platform, "this was my favorite xy (image), what was yours?"), but I usually see these going unanswered. It's just not the style of the platform, which is probably more about letting people know and/or about actual conversations, or just doing your thing. So, this gambit is more likely to be received as "oh no" and "corporate communications, of course", maybe as "yet another lack of commitment." So don't expect congratulations on this, rather, it may even unlock the wrath of some… The post may have done much better without this call for engagement. Just say "hi", if this is what it's about. (Actually, this is kind of a custom, new accounts just saying hi.)

Most importantly, if you're doing public relations or marketing, it's still your job to meet your audiences, not theirs to adopt to you. And for the lack of understanding of these basics, this gambit may have come across as passive aggressive.

> It’s all about engagement.

The problem with this sentence is that words mean things... I don't use social media, so take this with some salt, but I do write things I hope people will find useful. I could just as easily share them to a social media and still wouldn't be looking for 'engagement'. It would still be in that same hope someone finds it useful. While I wouldn't object that someone could define or describe reading it as engagement. I wouldn't. Engagement is what you chase if you're looking to sell ads, because engaged people interact with ads too.

Saying everyone wants engagement as if that's the means and the ends is oblivious to the fact that people, humans, don't organically give a fuck about engagement. Attention, and therefore belonging, or appreciation. Yes, absolutely. You could also describe that goal as seeking engagement, but again because words mean things, attention, or belonging are both better words for the desire the human has.

Influencers arguably want engagement, but I'd also describe them as companies in addition to being people. Truth be told, I'm only convinced they're the former.

> So I find it silly that people are upset at Adobe for having the most generic “hey we joined, show us what you’re working on” versus the useless engagement posts that are templates of “most people can’t figure out what the answer is” when the image is “two plus two equals ?”.

I don't find it silly at all. A company who's earned it's reputation for taking from people, shows up and asks for more. Predictably, people said no! If Adobe wanted attention, and belonging, and came bearing gifts, like photos, artist resources, what have you. I suspect the vitriol wouldn't have been so bad. (They've earned their reputation) But at least they would be able to represent the idea they are seeking belonging. Paying in with the hope of getting something back. Instead they couldn't read the room, and demanded attention and engagement.

Bluesky has a real problem with outrage addiction; it's myopic to pin the blame on Adobe.

This type of vapid nonsense simply isn’t very welcome on Bluesky. Or really, increasingly, _anywhere_ (except LinkedIn, the most absurd of all the social networks); I think its day has largely passed.