We have kept our ear to the ground on what fuels social media platforms and it’s not all happy cows, cute and cuddly puppies and kitties, or dancing videos that get attention any more. It’s quite the opposite that gets the most clicks, views, and often goes viral. What enrages the user, wins.
Many of our clients are looking to use social media to generate interest in their org or business. The trouble is that the algorithm has changed to not grab attention unless it evokes deep emotions.
For example, our friends at Wydaho Coffee Roasters in Driggs, Idaho (just 15 minutes from here) had a viral moment, but not an ideal one. There was a pro-life group, Students for Life that decided to gather at their coffee shop in August 2026, announcing their intentions on the Teton Valley Community page on Facebook. The owners Jim and Mary Sheehan saw the post and commented that they preferred they gathered elsewhere because their business didn’t align with their stance. The group gathered anyway and the day they sat down at the shop Jim asked them to leave. The group lead, Kristan Hawkins recorded a video of him asking them to leave. During the heated exchange, Sheehan defended his right to decide which groups meet at his business, asking, “If the KKK called me and asked me to host an event, would I have to do that?” This moment in time was captured and shared millions of times over with opinions on both sides of the political spectrum.
A Backlashed Response
Jim and Mary received death threats, a barrage of negative reviews on their business listings, trolling comments, phony coffee orders, phone calls, and doxed with their home address published. Yeah, most definitely not the viral moment anyone hopes for.
They pulled their social media accounts and their website down for a few days because of the backlash.
An Epic Supportive Community
After a few days, Jim responded to what happened on social media, loyal patrons continued to support them, and before they knew it the wave of support came flooding in. Orders from all over the country, people driving many miles to say “hello” and say “thank you” at their shop. They stood by their beliefs and despite the backlash initially, the coffee shop recovered in a big way. They now have an illustrated sticker and shirt that says “My Coffee, My Choice,” illustrated by Katie Ingram, a local tattoo artist. A percentage of the proceeds from the shirts and stickers go to Idahoans United for Women & Families is the campaign behind the Reproductive Freedom & Privacy Act, the initiative Idahoans put on the November ballot.
Hatred Motivates Clicks, views, and comments
We have evidence from a variety of sources that hate speech, divisive political speech and misinformation on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and many other social media apps are affecting societies around the world.
“When we live in an information environment that is full of angry, hateful, polarizing content it erodes our civic trust, it erodes our faith in each other, it erodes our ability to want to care for each other, the version of Facebook that exists today is tearing our societies apart and causing ethnic violence around the world.”
– Frances Haugen, whistleblower from Facebook
“And one of the consequences of how Facebook is picking out that content today is it is — optimizing for content that gets engagement, or reaction. But its own research is showing that content that is hateful, that is divisive, that is polarizing, it’s easier to inspire people to anger than it is to other emotions.”
– Frances Haugen, whistleblower from Facebook
Transcend Ideas’ Stance on this moment in time
Many of our clients look at their insights (clicks, views, comments, follows) and want the algorithm to take hold of their posts and make them “go viral”. How is that possible when the algorithm favors negativity and rage baiting content? We have our stance on this…
What a time to be alive, in a world buzzing by us at lightning speed. We are all trying our darndest to keep it together, stay informed, and build and grow relationships with our loved ones and our community, grow a business, and solve problems together.
Social media is not an arena that equates to the success of a business or an organization. We don’t recommend that every single business seek out a viral moment like Wydaho Coffee Roasters found themselves in. What Jim and Mary got right was staying consistent. Try your best not to solely motivate your posts by clicks or views but by impact and solving problems, staying true to yourself, selling products and services, and making human connections.
Let’s get coffee and get to the REAL work together.
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