In this JEN_AI episode:
We try taking social media seriously and almost manage it
I vibecode an app to trash-talk my Instagram (& tell me how to fix it)
How To Build a Personal Brand, incl. tips from real human LinkedIn experts
The 13 Things I Wish I’d Known about using clickbait online to make money
Plus: the #1 tune trending on socials isn’t what you’d expect
This is JEN_AI Challenge #17: Social Media Makeover
// What is JEN_AI?
We’ve all had ideas for a killer app or startup or project (tv show? fashion item? dream event?) that died in our heads given zero time, zero funding, zero clue - and zero mental energy - to make it real.
JEN_AI is an experimental lab, newsletter / podcast / vlog and AI-enabled person (me) turning raw imagination into both physical & digital realness. I’m Jenni Munroe, a recently-ex-Google / DeepMind generative artificial intelligence (‘GenAI’) experimentalist and I’ve been hooked on human+AI creativity since 2010.
I know everyone is sick of AI, and of basically hearing “use AI or get fired,” delivered in the same breath as “AI will replace everyone anyway.” But. AI is here - and I believe we should all get some benefits from it.
Each JEN_AI episode I challenge myself (and you too, if you want to) to build something by mashing up the latest AI tools with both new & retro tech, culture and media. This is a sandbox and community for dangerous dreams - and figuring out what it means to be human in the age of AI.
// Social Mediation
"If you are still at 100 followers in 2026, we need to talk."
I had other plans for this episode - but escaping from phone screens to printed zines will have to wait til next time.
I realised I did actually need a social media intervention. But not a detox, the opposite: it was (reluctantly) time to dive in. Deep.
When I started JEN_AI last year on maternity leave it was mostly a space for myself; to mentally step away from 24/7 mom-life (even if a half-asleep kid was pulling my hair at the same time) and play with the latest AI tools, journal my reflections and laugh at my own lame jokes. I shared my experiments with supportive friends or at talks/workshops but didn’t really push for growth online.
But now I’ve taken voluntary redundancy from Google, I want to see if I can make JEN_AI something real. To see if I can make a life out of building out crazy ideas through AI+human experiments, and encouraging people to try their own.
There’s just one problem: Pre-quitting, I used to pitch talks/workshops as a Google employee. Now I need “social credibility”. Sigh. And maybe 🙈: - so do you.
And that means we need to find a way to - authentically, minimally - exist in the hellscape that is Social Media.
// How To Build A Personal Brand
“I destroyed my social media algorithm so you don’t have to - and learned X ways to gain Y Followers $$$” 🤢
I did what any normal person would do to sort out their online social presence:
followed social media “expert” influencers
asked ChatGPT, Claude & Google Gemini for advice
spoke to 1) a bestie on LinkedIn’s brand+social team and 2) a LinkedIn Top Voice
..and vibecoded a borderline-abusive sassy AI glow-up app to roast my Instagram attempts (in Google Gemini’s AI Studio):
If you want the actual prompt I used, comment “engagement bait” below. (don’t comment that - another lame joke - happy to share the prompt/app tho)
Skip ahead if you don’t want tips.
Here’s a selection of the advice AI+humans gave me about starting out on social media for real:
Be more discoverable. Duh. Post things! Many more people will see what’s posted on LinkedIn, Instagram & (if using Substack) Substack Notes vs. just sites/ newsletters/ podcasts/ nothing.
Share something of value. Nobody cares about you until after they care about you.
Post consistently, not constantly. Pick a posting habit you can sustain.
Lead with a hook in the first few words. This is the only thing most people will ever see. Don’t ever start with “Hey guys..” (whoops)
End every post with one clear next action. e.g. “DM me for X“ or “Join Y at mylink.com”. Without a CTA (Call To Action), engagement and conversion both collapse.
Don’t just broadcast, be social. Add decent comments on top accounts you like, do mutual recommendations, collaborative content. More people will find you and Community > Followers anyday anyway.
Also: Stop using vague clever titles and use keywords and hooks with a clear value statement instead (over. my. dead. body.)
// Locked-in on LinkedIn
DON’T hide from LinkedIn, DO THIS to your profile instead:
Headline is the most valuable real estate. Don’t waste it on just a generic job title (e.g. “Product Manager”). Say what you do & mention some proof of credibility. think: keywords
“About” section: needs a clear summary hook in the first few lines. The rest is truncated and invisible to 80% of viewers.
Background banner = a billboard, not decoration. Include text so people get what you do and what they should do next. Stick to your personal visual brand (see below)
Featured section = your portfolio. Pin your 3-4 best things at the top that showcase what you do. People often don’t reach below what’s featured.
// Insta-glam
If you are trying to grow a personal brand on Instagram, THIS is the best thing for your profile:
Name field = searchable keywords, not just your name. Again, include what people search: e.g. “Jane Smith | Product Designer · Figma + AI”
Bio formula: who you help + what you make + proof / credibility + next step. e.g. I help solopreneurs build brands · 12k readers / weekly · ↓ Get brand audit ↓
Then one link, not a site of links. (controversial!) Send people straight to your highest-value destination (portfolio / shop / newsletter..). Link sites dilute intent & every extra click loses people.
Pick a visual “brand” and stick with it. A set of fonts, colours, styles, fave camera angles, locations, whatever - all of it.
Pin 3 posts that tell your story in 3 seconds. Visitors see this top row first. Make them: (1) what you do, (2) proof you can do it, (3) what they get if they follow you.
Story Highlights should be a menu. Build 4-5 with a consistent cover look: e.g.
ABOUT·WORK·PROCESS·LOVE (intro / best examples / behind the scenes / testimonials)These work harder than any single post.
// What They Don’t Tell You About (anti)Social Mediums
Well, whether or not I needed a smartphone detox before this challenge, I DEFINITELY need one now. My goodness. I jumped down the content creator snake-eating-its-own-tail hellhole. Hours disappearing into soulless lists of hooks, sales funnel “growth systems,” and increasingly identical videos explaining how to become increasingly identical human robots for $.
Apparently going viral is now less an art and more a kind of “industrial process engineering”. Copy what’s trending. Repeat. Optimise. “Steal like an artist” but with zero artistry and automated replies in your DMs.
And let’s be real: in 2026, the goal of many social media accounts is ultimately to convert viewers → $. Buy me. Buy this. Buy my course about buying my course. Which is fair enough, but it does slightly change the vibe from “friends hanging out online” to “QVC hosted by emotionally available ring lights.”
For many people, social media is no longer a social network. It’s speed-TV. Tiny personalised channels broadcasting directly into the limited-attention economy. And every creator is one Big Tech Algorithm update away from either a financial breakthrough or a nervous breakdown.
Part of why I haven’t pushed harder to grow online is, of course, the desire to pull away from this addictive dystopia. And that’s even before AI panic, deepfakes, and brain rot. Add in cling-film-thin boundaries between public and private life, weird parasocial dynamics, and the occasional stalker horror story, and it’s understandable why some people back away from the whole internet like Homer Simpson disappearing into a hedge. Plus, I’m mildly worried about getting lynched for promoting increasingly unpopular AI.
But. Personal brand matters. Probably even more now, in a labour market getting a serious shake-up. One way to get past the cringe of being visible online is to make sure your “brand” isn’t really about self-promotion. The difference is: providing value. Otherwise, as one creator put it: “It’s like playing jazz flute in a food hall. No one cares that it’s impressive. They’re hungry.”
And I think I’m ready for that shift now. Going from “reclaiming my sense of self” as a parent / corporate drone / an NPC in geopolitics to “here’s something useful, funny, interesting, or encouraging that might genuinely help someone else.” Moving from self-promotion to service, and helping others build their dreams and ideas too. Watch this space.
Ironically, I spent more time this week reconnecting with actual friends than optimising social media strategy. So I’ve yet to implement half the advice i was given above. Watch out world, more to come. My Instagram grew >30%, but it was by adding people I know.
Followers are nice, but community is better. I’d rather nurture real relationships and build something that feels like finding your people than endlessly chasing strangers through an algorithmic casino.
I’ve seen advice from creators that adding more people you know is a route that “limits your growth” and friends aren’t “the right audience”. But in this ‘loneliness epidemic’, what we need more than an audience is real community. People we trust, lifting each other up and lovingly tearing us down to earth.
We’d be fools to take social media - or ourselves - too seriously.
// Soundtrack
“Human Nature - Ambient” by Stayunseen (the #1 top trending track on Instagram at the time of writing: an ambient/ vocals-free remix of Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature” - a song about wanting to connect and in doing so being pushed further away (via MJ’s growing fame at the time - less of an issue for most of us). A remix that may or may not have rights to use the original. There might have been something to say about that but alas - for this track there are no words)
Playlist: The JEN_AI Mixtape
// Thanks + how to get the good stuff
You can listen in podcast form on Apple podcasts or Spotify, watch the videos on YouTube or autoplaying on Substack (apologies), check out the playlist, or read this newsletter, which is also available in the Substack app or via email straight to your inbox if you’ve subscribed.
A big thanks to Yuval Passov (a LinkedIn Top Voice, fellow Substacker and Founder Advocate at Google) for a chat on navigating media, AI, wellness & more, and also thanks and love to a treasured bestie from LinkedIn who gave me a few general pointers in the right direction. She knows who she is but I don’t want to get her in too much trouble ;)
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Thanks for being part of this social experiment.
Jenni aka JEN_AI x
