Most people try to grow their accounts through **mutual follows and engagement pods**, but after the initial buzz, the vast majority quit because the returns are too low and they see almost no payoff.

The core driver of social media success has never been money—it's **having something you genuinely want to say and a real urge to share it**. Whether that's systematizing your professional expertise or turning everyday moments into engaging content, as long as you find it interesting yourself and want others to see it, that intrinsic motivation can sustain you for the long haul.

If you're purely chasing monetization—especially eyeing Elon Musk's X platform ad revenue splits or those pitiful platform subsidies—most people burn out before three months. During the early cold-start phase, low exposure, poor engagement, and near-zero income are the norm. Without passion as fuel, you'll quickly think "this sucks" and ghost.

The current trend of "raising AI shrimp" (AI agent account automation) follows the exact same logic.

On the surface, it sells people a fantasy of "making money while you sleep" and "AI auto-posting with daily follower gains," but in reality, most people just become victims getting harvested:

- Course sellers cash in on information gaps
- Deployment/shrimp-raising contractors earn technical service fees
- Cloud providers offering compute power and token calls get the lion's share
- Various "shrimp communities" and "beginner's guides" harvest people's anxiety and FOMO

What about accounts actually using AI for mass content spinning, mutual follows, and automated posting?

Many have already been flagged and shadowbanned or suspended by platforms (Xiaohongshu explicitly cracked down on AI-managed accounts). That initial follower surge and metrics? Likely just artificial inflation with a fleeting monetization window.

Bottom line:

**You think you're making money from the platform, but the platform and all these "shovel sellers" are actually making money off you.**

Accounts that truly go the distance and keep getting better almost always share one thing: **the creator fell in love with the work first, not the money it could bring.**

Money is the result, not the starting point.

Passion is the only reliable fuel that gets you through the cold start, through the algorithm's constant ups and downs, and through the dry revenue spells.

Want to do social media?

Ask yourself this first:

**If it earned zero dollars, would I still feel the urge to post something every week?**

If the answer is "yes," you probably have a real shot.

If the answer is "mostly for the money," you're just another passing visitor.