This is your brain on Facebook

To paraphrase an old speech by the late genius advertiser Leo Burnett: “The human mind is a wonderful device which starts working the minute you are born and never stops until you join Facebook.” How true it is. Reminds me of an anti-drug campaign from the 80’s. They’d show a hot frying pan and say: “This is your brain” Then they’d crack the egg in the hot pan and as it starts sizzling say: “This is your brain on drugs. Any questions?” So it is with your brain on Facebook. Except, perhaps a more accurate description would be cracking an egg in a bowl and then beating it with a whisk. Here’s my opinion, biased as it is considering I co-own a social media platform: I was on there from 2008 - 2018. Then, just last month, I created a profile to follow just two groups (a local police scanner group, and a local "town square" type group for local news & chatter) because it’s the only way to keep up with my community in town without pestering Stefania to constantly keep me up to date on things. And I can tell you right now: Even though I deliberately made it so nobody (not even Stefania, much to her annoyance) can friend me or message me on there... even though I am not even aware if someone tags me and wouldn't see/notice it if anyone did... and even though I do zero engagement on there (I just lurk in those two groups for probably 3-5 minutes per week, if that)… It took only 30 seconds to see how nothing’s changed. And how insidiously (I kinda admire how Facebook pulls it off) it works to enslave attention. I defy anyone to leave that platform for just a few months, then talk to someone who is on there all day, and see if you don’t notice that person's "brain on drugs" phenomenon when speaking to them. Specifically, their dullness of thinking. Eagerness to jump on the latest bandwagon. Little or no critical thinking whatsoever. Blind adherence to whatever the media Narrative is in the bubble they hang in all day. Parroting - word for word - whatever the media tells them to say and think. Lack of accomplishments (time spent creating offers, launching new products, etc) As maybe even on-and-off depression followed by happiness, constant state of outrage, desperate attempts at virtue signaling to get noticed, complaining about the platform & Zuckerberg even as they continue to use it (one of those “the irony writes itself” things), over reliance on it as a marketing media, freaking out as if the sky is falling when it goes down, low attention span, constantly checking every few minutes for no real reason (including at dinner tables, while having conversations, even as they take a leak), unable to respectfully disagree, an urge to join in on trolling, mindless guru-bashing alternating with mindless guru-praising, and the list goes on. But, I will say this: The above was generally not the case in my old elBenbo’s Lair Facebook group. If anything it was the exact opposite. It was like an oasis in a desert of nonsense. And it was so psychologically & emotionally addictive I was sometimes literally accused of being a cult leader. It was also a ‘World’ unto itself — full of laws, digital harems, spy networks, corporate warfare, & soap opera-like storylines. There were so many discussions happening certain people in there were routinely locked out & tossed into ‘Facebook jail’ due to its algorithms assuming they were bots. Lots of money was made. Some hearts were broken. And entire businesses were created from scratch As well as lifelong business & personal relationships (a “splinter” group even formed right after I closed it down, with its most rabid members still going strong today) and even at least one marriage & child came from it. (i.e., Stefania and Willis) The downside is, it takes a lot of time & energy to use the methodology I worked out to do it all. You also have to love being on social, and loving being social to do it long term. And to this day I'm still burned out on using my own methods, and have zero desire to create my own community on social media. I am far more content tweeting out random brain farts, lessons, and other assorted nonsense, with zero responsibility to anyone else as far as babysitting a group of customers and fans and trolls. The point of all this? Yes, elBenbo’s Lair exploited what Facebook was already doing. (To get addiction-like engagement) But it was also intended to be a counteraction to a lot of the creepy nonsense Facebook did, and still does, that causes otherwise intelligent people to become functional idiots. Which brings me to my Social Lair book. It’s on sale until midnight tonight (12/12) EST. And I believe it can help you cheaply create a fanatical customer base & following for your business on social media like I did (regardless of the platform — does not have to be Facebook, you could do it using free message board software if you wanted to) by showing you the exact game plan I used to build what was - according to many of its members - one of the most rabidly engaged & helplessly addictive social media groups in my niche. It was also extremely profitable, too; full of what I call “berserker” customers, who cheerfully obeyed every word I said, savagely battled trolls & haters on my behalf, and practically frothed-at-the-mouth to buy the offers I sold in my business. I cannot guarantee you all or any of that will happen for you. But, if a misanthrope like me can do it, then... You have until midnight to get it for $100 off the listed price. Here’s the link: [https∶//www.EmailPlayers.com/social]( Ben Settle This email was sent by Ben Settle as owner of Settle, LLC. 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