POSSE and AI
Speaking to my brother in law this morning, we discussed writing and publishing online. I mentioned POSSE - Publish (on your) Site, Syndicate Everywhere. So below are a few quick thoughts on the matter.
Why?
Owning your content is the first and best reason. If it's on your own website, then it becomes the primary, searchable repositary for your writing. If anyone wants to find out more - they go to your website. If a platform shuts down, changes their algorithm, no longer aligns with your beliefs - you can stop writing there, but all your content is still in a location of your choosing: your website.
How?
The POSSE website has a nice how to. But it doesn't cover how to syndicate everywhere from a platform like Ghost, for example.
Now, Ghost has a plugin for Buffer which can handle that part for you. Having a quick look at the documenation makes it look like it's not the easiest or most straight forward if you don't want to spend time wiring together many services...
But honestly, there's an opportunity here when it comes to generative AI and LLMs. I understand that people feel the need to play the social media game - especially where business is involved. So the following flow might actually fulfill quite a few needs:
- Write your content, how you want it, on your own site.
- Create a series of prompts, one (or more) for each socila media you want to post to
- Put your content into your LLM of choice, with the prompt, and get it to spit out the algorithm optimised version of your post.
- Go and manually post it on that network.
This unlocks something nice: your writing/thoughts are no longer influenced by the incentives of the platform on which your posting - let the genAI handle that. It's even a little poetic - let the genAI algorithm optimise posts so that the social media algorithm picks it up.
For fun here's this post optimised for a few networks
X
Prompt:
below is a post i've written on my website using my own voice and writing style. Optimise it so that it suits the X(twitter) algorithm and preferred writing style:
Output: Option 1: Thread format (performs best)
Tweet 1 (hook): Had a chat with my brother-in-law about writing online and it reminded me why I swear by POSSE: Publish on your Own Site, Syndicate Everywhere. Here's the workflow I'm using now 🧵
Tweet 2: Why bother? → You own your content → Your site becomes the searchable home for your work → Platforms die, algorithms shift, values change → Your writing stays exactly where you put it
Tweet 3: The problem: syndicating from something like Ghost isn't straightforward. Yes there's a Buffer plugin. But wiring together multiple services is a time sink most people won't do.
Tweet 4: Here's where AI actually makes sense:
Write what you want, your way, on your site Create prompts for each platform Feed your post + prompt to an LLM Let it spit out the algorithm-optimized version Post manually
Tweet 5: The nice unlock? Your actual thinking isn't shaped by platform incentives anymore. Let the AI algorithm optimize for the social media algorithm. There's something poetic about that.
Option 2: Single post (if you prefer) POSSE = Publish on your Own Site, Syndicate Everywhere Write on your site. Own your content. Then let AI reformat it for each platform. Your thinking stays uncontaminated by algorithm incentives. Let the AI algorithm optimize for the social media algorithm. Poetic, really.
Instagram:
Prompt:
below is a post i've written on my website using my own voice and writing style. Optimise it so that it suits the Instagram algorithm and preferred writing style:
Output: Caption: Had a great chat with my brother-in-law about writing online, and it reminded me of something powerful: POSSE.
Publish on your Own Site, Syndicate Everywhere.
Here's why it matters 👇
Own your content. Your website becomes home base. Platforms change, algorithms shift, companies shut down—but your words stay where YOU put them.
The how? Write what you want, how you want, on your site first. Then repurpose for each platform.
Here's the interesting bit: AI can actually help here.
→ Write authentically on your own site → Use an LLM to adapt it for each platform's style → Post the optimised version
There's something almost poetic about it—letting AI handle the algorithm game so your original voice stays untouched.
Your thoughts aren't shaped by platform incentives anymore. The robots talk to each other. You just... write.
What's your approach to content ownership?
Hashtags (add in first comment): #ContentStrategy #POSSE #IndieWeb #CreatorEconomy #DigitalOwnership #ContentCreator #WritingCommunity #PersonalBrand #BloggingTips #AITools
Prompt:
below is a post i've written on my website using my own voice and writing style. Optimise it so that it suits the LinkedIn algorithm and preferred writing style:
Output: Had a great conversation with my brother-in-law this morning about writing online. We discussed something called POSSE: Publish on your Own Site, Syndicate Everywhere.
Here's the core idea:
Own your content first.
When you publish on your own website, it becomes the primary, searchable home for your writing. If anyone wants to learn more about you, they go there.
And if a platform shuts down? Changes their algorithm? No longer aligns with your values? You can walk away. Your content stays exactly where you put it.
The practical challenge
Tools like Ghost have integrations with Buffer to help automate distribution. But honestly, wiring together multiple services isn't always straightforward.
Here's where it gets interesting
There's an opportunity with generative AI:
→ Write your content how you want it, on your own site → Create prompts tailored to each platform → Let an LLM generate the algorithm-optimized version → Post manually to each network
Why this matters:
Your original thinking stays pure. Uninfluenced by platform incentives.
There's something almost poetic about it: let the AI algorithm optimize your posts so the social media algorithm picks them up.
Your authentic voice lives on your site. The optimized version plays the distribution game.
What's your approach to content ownership and distribution?