Soap Box

Okay, this is going to be a different Soapbox Jr. than you’re used to getting from me, but Dad would often tackle things aside from politics and current events. 

But this Soapbox Jr. is borne from extreme frustration.

The source of my current frustration?

Social media.

Like most things, social media has its good points and bad points.

Dad was an avid Twitter user before the service was re-branded as X, in fact, you might say he was a serial tweeter.

Twitter was often a cesspool, especially after Dad went home and X still has the capacity to be a cesspool, but it seems less septic since Elon Musk bought the company and rebranded it, but that’s not my current frustration.

We launched the CDB’s Facebook page in 2010 when it became obvious that things were trending away from MySpace and things took off quickly.

Facebook used to be a fantastic way to market, allowing us to reach more people even than Dad was on Twitter. You used to be able to launch a new product in the CDB website store on Facebook and get an organic reach that was off the chart.

Organic reach – for those not dependent on social media for marketing – is the amount of people (accounts) reached without having to boost (pay to promote) a particular post.

Now, organic reach has dwindled to where it’s more and more difficult to reach new accounts, or even those who follow your page.

The CDB page has well over two million followers and that is a valuable resource to have at one’s fingertips…

However…

In addition to the dwindling organic reach, a new blight has fallen upon the Book of Face, and absolute epidemic of fake accounts; spammers selling bootleg merchandise, love bandits who solicit followers by flattering them – both males and females - and trying to get a conversation going in the DMs (direct messages), Bitcoin brokers, witch doctors and the Illuminati. 

Yes, you read those last two correctly.

Even more disturbing is the abundance of fake celebrity impersonator accounts.

We have dealt with this to a degree for quite a while, there’s a poor woman named Phyllis out there who several years ago believed she was talking with Dad, and there was no convincing here otherwise. This imposter even put it in her mind that my Mom had cheated on Dad and that Willie Nelson was actually my real father. You couldn’t hear it, but I just let out an annoyed grunt.

We also had a woman show up at our business office gate saying she needed to see Dad, and that she had been talking with him, and loaned him some money because either “Mom” or an alleged manager had taken all of his money, but if this person would just loan him a few thousand dollars, he would be able to pay her back when he got access to his accounts again.

Again, *annoyed grunt*

But you would think that when Dad went home to be with the Lord, there might have been a steep decline in impersonator accounts. 

Not exactly.

The amount of fake Charlie Daniels accounts out there is astounding, and even creepier when they say that they can talk to Dad directly through his private chat page, which somehow links into the afterlife.

But being the type of person that I am, I hate to see people sucked in by scammers of any type, so I try to do my best to be vigilant when it comes to policing the CDB page and protecting Dad’s fans, but it is getting harder and harder to do so.

The scammers largely appear to fall into three categories, the Cryptocurrency brokers, the artist impersonators, who often pop up when we wish a celebrity happy birthday, the love scammers who appear as divorced or widowed “silver fox” male very often retired or active military, or the scantily clad young females who are extremely proud of their posteriors or their beach ball sized chests who are also “am good wman who is trustworthy and loyal.”

So, I’m going to say this once again, if anyone approaches you claiming to be management of an artist, or the artist themselves, just ignore them, or block them. The silver fox or the boobilicous bimbos are not impressed with your profile or your comments, or your smile, or anything else. They are love bandits, pure and simple, and it will not end well.

Facebook is largely to blame for allowing this to continue. I can look at the most recent followers to Dad’s page, and probably 90% of them are obviously scammers, but I could literally spend hours a day trying to police this page, and I will always do my best to shut these scammers down when I can, but the best thing I can do is to let you know that these people are devious and conniving, and warn y’all to not fall into their webs of deception.

I’ve got so many more things that I’m trying to accomplish, and will hopefully start rolling out to fans in the next few weeks, but it’s difficult when I’m constantly having to be Facebook cop.

Just be warned, people. If you go read this on the CDB Facebook page, keep checking the comments to see how many scammers reply to a soapbox warning against scammers. The entertainment value on that should be massive!

Get you popcorn ready!

What do you think?

Let’s all make the day count!

Pray for our troops, our police, the Peace of Jerusalem and our nation.

God Bless America!

#SonyReleaseHonkyTonkAve

#BenghaziAintGoingAway #End22

PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST

Check Out The Charlie Daniels Podcast!

Check out "Geechi Geechi Ya Ya Blues" from Beau Weevils - 'Songs in the Key of E'