The 48 Laws of (Social Media) Power
as co-written by ChatGPT believing itself to be Robert Greene
One of my favourite books that I have read, and occasionally re-read from time to time has been The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene (Author) and Joost Elffers (Producer). The book is a timeless classic and the “laws” that were applicable back in the Renaissance are equally applicable today.
The original book as written by Greene could have been title “Machiavelli’s Guide to Being Machiavellian” if Machiavelli were alive today in 2023 and writing on Substack.
As the book was written back in 1999, I wanted to modernize the original laws for social media while retaining its underlying message and style.
My intention is to do a deep-dive into each of these new laws, with the preamble continued in the style of the original author but the newer content more in my own voice.
Here are the 48 Laws of Power, updated for the modern world:
Never out-Tweet the top influencer.
Never trust your Netflix password to your friends, learn how to use shared accounts.
Conceal your proprietary algorithm.
Always say less than necessary - use a good copywriting tool, it'll make you seem concise and witty.
So much depends on your online reputation is everything - guard it with two-factor authentication, a good VPN, and by occasionally buying followers.
Court likes and followers at all costs.
Get Artificial Intelligence to do the work for you, but always take the credit.
Make other people come to you by fine-tuning your SEO.
Win through your memes, never through online argument — Instead, use the block button on trolls.
Influencer Infection: avoid stepping into a negative viral trend.
Learn to keep people subscribed to you and dependent on your content.
Use selective authenticity and relatability to disarm your followers.
When asking for help, appeal to people's sense of online community.
Pose as a thought leader, work as a marketer.
Crush your enemies with savage Twitter roasts.
Use absence from social media to increase FOMO and respect.
Keep others in suspense: cultivate an air of unpredictability on Instagram stories.
Isolation is dangerous - Don't build a personal brand that's too niche - diversity is key.
Don't offend the wrong influencer who can cancel you.
Don’t commit to any one platform, have backups in case you are cancelled.
Play the influencer to catch the influencer - seem relatable to your target audience.
Use the surrender tactic: transform weakness into power by turning your mistakes into memes.
Concentrate your forces by only following influencers in your niche and by cross-promoting.
Play the perfect brand ambassador.
Re-create yourself by rebranding your social media accounts.
Keep your hands clean by avoiding illegal, morally questionable or unethical content.
Play on people's need for emotional connection and validation to create a loyal following.
Enter a new market trend with bold social media campaigns.
Plan your YouTube video all the way to the end.
Make your accomplishments on LinkedIn seem effortless.
Control the discourse: use upvotes and downvotes to influence what is seen and read.
Play to people's fantasies by posting pictures of yourself in exotic locales.
Discover each man's thumbscrew by stalking their social media accounts.
Be royal in your own fashion: Act like a "top influencer" to be treated like one.
Master the art of timing: only post at peak engagement times.
Disdain things you cannot monetize: ignoring them is the best revenge.
Create compelling spectacles on TikTok.
Think as you like but behave like others on LinkedIn.
Stir up controversy to catch attention.
Despise requests for unpaid work.
Avoid stepping on the toes of a great YouTuber by starting an identical vlog.
Strike the algorithm and the views will scatter.
Work on the hearts and minds of others on social media.
Disarm and infuriate on Facebook with call-out culture.
Preach the need for change, but never change your LinkedIn profile too much at once.
Never appear too perfect or too woke on social media.
Do not go past the mark you aimed for; with viral memes, learn when to stop on Instagram.
Assume formlessness to avoid enemies' anger and jealousy on social media but make sure it's on brand.
I will be elaborating further on each of these laws in individual posts under a paywall with my own take on things.
Come back to this blog page later to check for updated links!