Big social media news this week — Orna Ross Publications is moving to Pinterest

I’m moving away from Facebook and Instagram due to Zuckerberg’s recent elimination of fact-checkers and general Trumpery. (I left X when Elon Musk bought it). It's been a difficult decision.

Instagram / Facebook have been places of connection and community for me for years now. I’ve loved it–though in recent times less so, as algorithms have throttled my connections.  I could have lived with that. Business is business.

But now, Meta's decision to dismantle fact-checking and shift towards policies that I believe will  harm women, (and thereby children) plus other seriously vulnerable communities, mean I just can’t stay here. 

The integrity of our shared spaces matters

Spreading unchecked misinformation in a dangerously divided, world opposes everything I strive for in my work. And when a supposedly open platform moves toward such blatant political partisanship, it throws out every creative and ethical principle I hold dear.

While I’ll deeply miss the conversations we’ve had on Facebook and Instagram, I hope you’ll join me elsewhere.

Main Social Media Now: Pinterest & Goodreads

I’ve settled on Pinterest as the strongest alternative for my social media presence—an evergreen, search-driven platform with a relatively ethical history, it is now publicly owned.

I like that, unlike social media posts that disappear quickly, Pinterest pins have longevity and can continue to see traffic for months or even years.

And that it functions more like a visual search engine than a social platform, making it ideal for discovery. According to Forbes,

Unlike platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, where influencer marketing reigns supreme, Pinterest is more about individual discovery. Users create personal mood boards filled with ideas for future projects, vacations, and purchases. This makes Pinterest less about following influencers and more about exploring personal interests and inspirations.

It's about ‘sustained interaction rather than fleeting virality' — which is very much me, as is its users' focus on sustainability and ethical shopping. they are my kind of people and there's a sizeable cohort of readers and writers actively use Pinterest to discover book recommendations, as well as creative inspiration and personal growth content—all of which aligns with my fiction, poetry, and my upcoming Go Creative! books.

I'm hoping shopping features like shoppable pins and direct checkout options will make it easy for readers to buy my books directly from the platform.

I'll keep you posted on how all that goes.

My Communities

Pinterest users don’t ‘chat' like they do on other platforms but, rather than running open communities on social media, I’m now focusing on closed, dedicated spaces where deeper connections can thrive. I've chosen Mighty Networks as my platform for that.

📌 ALLi Members – The Alliance of Independent Authors' private members' forum + 📌 SelfPubConnect — for our annual conference
📌 Go Creative! – My space for creatives and creativists taking my Go Creative! Mastery or Facilitators' Courses
📌 Reader Members – A special place for my book community

I'll also be posting Go Creative! updates on Patreon (for authors) and Substack (for authors and everyone).

Stay Connected

So no shortage of places to stay connected.  And I’m always just a message away on my website.

Hope to spend time with you somewhere, soon.