I do love a fun cocktail on my birthday. Although I could very easily (and more affordably) pay $5 for a beer or a soda served in a can, I choose to pay four times the price for a fancy cocktail. Both are drinks. Both refresh my thirst. So why am I, and many other people, happy to pay so much more for a cocktail, or even a mocktail, when both are fundamentally the same thing?

The social media space is noisy and crowded and it’s not yours. You’re playing in someone elses’ backyard and they can tell you to pack up and go home anytime they want to. Algorithms change (constantly!), platforms go down, and accounts are hacked or shut down. You put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into building your business and you deserve to be in control.