Social media, ingraining its presence in “societal norms” since the early 2000’s. People sharing their lives online, looking to keep distant connections strong and make new ones, the use of social media has become a second nature and a daily event for the majority of people. From the mundane post about Sally Lue's time at the T-Ball game, to today's post taking a much different approach,flooded with hashtags, and post label with unfamiliar acronyms like with OOTD, people snapping pics of their food, super-posed influencer content, and a free marketing tool for companies world wide.

Myspace, the named pioneer of the social media frontier, reached its first milestone in 2004 with a million monthly active users. I wonder how many of those million still had Tom in the top friends… 

Like this Linkedin user, Jamie Edwards, keeping MySpaces Tom in his top 8. Friends, from LinkedIn post where he says “I've decided to go back to my trusty social media platforms that have never let me down in the past.”

Photo sources from, Jamie Edwards Linkedin Profile

Today,  MySpace has taken a bow and let its predecessors take its place in the spotlight for daily everyday use. Though the domain, MySpace, still remains a platform, its more so geared more toward musicians. Platforms like Facebook ,IG, X, and Reddit taking the lead in today's screen time. 

Photo by Pixabay;Pexels.com

The most canna-friendly?

Reddit takes the cake in first place by being the most open platform for the longest, launching in 2005. The online social media forum delayed in making it to the app store, a little over decade later in 2016. Paired with its unique operating style keeping reddit in the middle to lower top tier choice of social media platforms. The platform fosters a communal ran online community, “a vast network of communities that are created, run, and populated by you, the Reddit users”, stated in the first line of the Reddit Content Policy. Though the site still has rules and regulations, as long as your canna-content is tagged/labeled correctly, is not a solicitation, being used as a weapon, minor free, you can find a community to post in.  From check my stash pages, to help pages for every cannabis related, even situation regarding health, employment, legal, to how to’s and so on, reddits unique set up and moderator run forum-like pages, subreddits, help keep reddit in the top space for mainstream cannabis content. 

Photo Source :Pixabay.com

However, more recent lenient cannabis policies, adopted in 2023, specifically in the advertising realm, moves X the canna-friendly online platform. Created in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams, under its former name Twitter, late 2022 negotiations for the media platform had been finalized with Elon Musk. The rebranding visioned an “everything app”, and the social media giant, twitter was best suited for the vision. The X rebrand happened in 2023 with the ideal that, “X equals everything”. However, recent data reports show decline in app usage since the update. The social media platform has conformed a bit for the advertising world, but in regards to general users the stigma still sticks and you account could be in jeopardy just as it was before. Though twitter, like Reddit, has been the less strict sights for content regulations, giving your content isn’t violent, solicitation, or involves minors, and is labeled/tagged correctly.

This illustration photo taken on July 24, 2023 shows the Twitter bird logo upside down in the background of Elon Musk’s screen advertising an “X” as a replacement logo, in Los Angeles. Sourced from CNBC.com 

Chris Delmas | AFP | Getty Images

In a more professional lens LinkedIn, ushers less strict solicitation options for companies and professionals to post content and gain an audience and potential leads. Cofounders  Reid Hoffman and  Eric Ly launched the “business and employment-focused” platform in 2003. The platform offers a more accepting way for B2B networking, brand awareness,  advertisement of products and services for cannabis companies, employee and event networking, though shadow banning isn't unheard of its far less common. 

LinkedIn unlike other mainstream social networking platforms has a vast array of tools for businesses and professionals alike, from resume builders, LinkedIn learning courses where certificates from big name providers like Microsoft, not to mention the sales and leads tools. However, linkedIn is a bit to professional to go posting about your daily gardening sesh.

Photo source, Flow20.com blog page, where they dive in on tips to improve your LinkedIn profile.

Social Media Platforms… for cannabis?

Yes there are some outliers out there, completely dedicated to the canna-community. Happy to host all your cannabis content with the usual blanket regulation regarding minors and violence.  Platforms like Leafwire offer business resources similar to linkedin. Created by Peter Vogel, Jeff Hassemer, Brian Vicente JD, and Christian Sederberg JD in 2016, striving for an all inclusive platform geared toward cannabis, like their website about me states ”No Stigma. Just Business”. 

Photo Source: Leafwire X Page

MjLink, another business oriented site, is similar with a little added spice. MjLink’s  dashboard opened up similarly to leafwire or linkedin, show casing others in the industry. MjLinks real hidden gem lies in the home tab,  this nifty little resource links you to other sites; weedlife for more casual use comparable to IG or X,  and dedicated spaces for investment through MjInvest,  and hemptalk for the areas with upcoming cannabis laws. The intention to ensure cannabis has a dedicated space online regardless of your intent, from personal use, to influencer vlogging, as well as the more opposing- professional side with business/employee and B2B networking, as well as investment platforms for the ever growing industry stock market. 

Photo sourced from google play store 

You can grab those apps here:

Apple App Store;MjLink , Weedlife ,MjInvest, Hemptalk

Google Play Store;MjLink  

What about the big names?

In terms of the other social media platforms, specifically the ones we use on the daily for scrolling and general entertainment? If you're wanting to let the online world know about your canna-activities you'll have to get a little creative. Platforms like Facebook, IG, and youtube all have quite strict community guidelines against cannabis use in every form. Even federally legal hemp is struggling to find its safe place in these platforms communities. The battle is strong for users all round, from Joe Shmoe to the developing companies, and even medical and educational establishments, doesn’t matter who if cannabis is involved shadow bans, account restrictions, and account closures are very real concerns. On most platforms if you want to include cannabis content you're in for a struggle. Not to mention if you're not completely out in the open with your cannabis advocacy then you risk the effects on personal relationships, including your employer asking you to remove the content or naming them as your employer, or worse.

Photo by Magnus Mueller:Pexels.com

Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes, originally naming the company TheFacebook, before renaming to Facebook was founded in 2005. Fast Forward to 2009 when Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, a year later addition to the team, work on the project Burbn . In 2010 Burnbn underwent a needed rebranded to its known name Instagram, in this year IG hit its million user milestone, as well as introduced Hashtages. By 2011 the app was in the App Store, and then acquired by Facebook a year later in 2012 for approximately $1Billion in cash and stocks.

Photo by Jeremy Levin: Pexels.com

Facebook and instagram follow the Meta community guidelines,  after facebooks rebrand in  2018,  six years after Facebook acquired Instagram. The company Meta Platforms Inc, formerly Facebook Inc, one of the arguably largest American tech. companies,  own a number of the VIP players in the social media game, including Threads and WhatsApp, as well as a lue of other products and services. Facebooks and the other Meta Platrforms,  success to remain relevant to current trends in a world of ever evolving consumer media, has notably played a hand in their ability to remain in the game for so long. Older generations would crowd around television sets for half hour to hour long sessions to get their fill of current events, in hand with lengthy phone conversations and drawn out processes of snail mail for written correspondence. Nowadays even commercials are almost completely unheard of-if not drilled down to mer seconds. News and media in general is consumed in a much faster way, crunched down into 3 or less minutes at times. Being able to adapt and stay in tune with the instant consumer way of life, by offering stories, reels, reactions, and more has kept these apps relevant. The real threat for the meta platforms apps and cannabis content, on a personal use level, is being reported, and the ever growing use of AI to search and scrub pages looking for red flags in peoples content. These things could be key words, hashtags, and even the images you’re posting. Being up to date on policies, following people and companies in the industry to see how they’re being successful in their canna-content, and staying creative with how you post is just the start if you’re looking to be a canna-content page on the meta platforms.  

Photo by Julio Lopez: Pexels.com

Youtube changes the game by offering longer video options and weeding out the copious amount of selfies and written post in general. YouTube caters a much more specific content feed, you’ll see videos on tutorials, subjects and people you’ve specifically searched. Now if their content seems to stray from what you originally sought them out for, that’s on the creator-YouTube does cut out the meaningless one sentence post that take up space on your dashboard and offer more aligned content. Content ranging from mintutes to hours long, covering raw document style footage capture by hand help devices like the every day cell phone, to commercial grade setups for informative news like pages, there’s even feeds of animals in their habitat living life, the YouTube content world is vast but a a distinct difference than the moment by moment update feeds found more often oFacebook, IG, and X. Launched in 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim, three former employees of PayPal, allegedly after having issues uploading a dinner party video. The app has since been purchased for a wooping $1.65Billion back in 2006 by Google. YouTube comes with its own policies and guidelines, and if you’re wanting a cannabis content channel you’ll need to keep a few things in mind. Educational content is generally a safe space, so be informative without coming off as your soliciting. Never use the content as a weapon and minor free are the take aways, but being thoroughly versed in YouTube's Community Guidelines is best practices to ensure your page is safe from bans and complete removal.

Photo by Viralyft  : Pexels.com

Can I Canna-post?

In short, yes, but it comes with its own diligence and risk. You’re running the risk of the stigma affecting you personally and that leaking onto your page, and possibly your professional life or business. You will most likely experience shadow bans, post removal, “social media jail” for a set amount of time, and the headache of jumping through hoops other industries, even ones seen in similar light to cannabis- like tobacco, alcohol and big pharma just don’t seem to have to do. You’ll need to keep current on changing regulations and constantly coming up with new ways to speak on your canna-advocacy. Focusing your content on educational points, making sure to code word as best as possible and covering all labeling that might cause concern is just the first leve, but the most detrimental when not followed through. Keep posting your gardening life style, the current code word on social media, and keep staying current on laws, and maybe we can see a more open canna-community on social media in the future.  Follow us on social media at SherpaExplore on IG & ExploreSherpa on TikTok to see how we post our Hemp products, like our 25 mg rainbow gummies, the hot item this month for Pride!

Photo source: instagram.com/sherpaexplore/

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