Major Fail: Myspace Deletes Users Blogs
If you ever needed an example as to why you should be publishing content you care about on a platform you 100% control, look no further than MySpace.
In the latest attempt to pivot, MySpace removed the blog feature from the site. Why they would do this knowing full well that it would annoy their existing users is really besides the point.
StumbleUpon pulled the same thing – which is why long time lovers of StumbleUpon are still sick all these years later over all they lost.
Own Your Content
If you are publishing on any platform your content is a prisoner to the whims of a business outside your control. Whether you use Tumblr, Facebook, Instagram, MySpace your content could go away at any time.
How to Backup Your Content Posted on Other Platforms
If you are a content publisher you can avoid this doomsday scenario by developing a publishing workflow where content originates on a device you control.
- For long form content (i.e., blog posts) you can write your posts on your computer or iPad and upload it to your platform of choice. I often do this because I like to write in Markdown on my iPad and Mac. So, even if you were posting to MySpace you still have all of the originals locally.
- If you wish to post photos from your phone, install Dropbox and have it backup all of your photos for you. Then, if you use Instagram, Hipstamatic, or just the built in camera the Dropbox app will create backups that will sync onto your computer.
- Install WordPress on your own webhost. It’s not really that hard and if you create a regimen that backups your WordPress database you can easily move from one hosting provider to another without losing your data.
- Status posts – if you are publishing to Twitter you can periodically get an archive of your Twitter posts.
Social Media sites and photo sharing platforms are great tools for exposing your content and brand to the world. Use them like any tool; assume they will break and have a backup plan if they do.