Controlling The World's Social Media | Dominic McGregor
Chris Williamson (host), Dominic McGregor (guest)
In this episode of Modern Wisdom, featuring Chris Williamson and Dominic McGregor, Controlling The World's Social Media | Dominic McGregor explores from Meme Empire to Sobriety: Rethinking Social Media and Alcohol Chris Williamson interviews Dominic McGregor, co-founder of Social Chain, about building one of the world’s most powerful social media marketing networks and the ethical implications of that influence.
From Meme Empire to Sobriety: Rethinking Social Media and Alcohol
Chris Williamson interviews Dominic McGregor, co-founder of Social Chain, about building one of the world’s most powerful social media marketing networks and the ethical implications of that influence.
They discuss how Social Chain grew from a student meme page to a 400‑million‑follower media ecosystem, and what it means to create engaging, brand-backed content for young audiences.
The conversation then shifts into the psychological and social costs of social media, especially for young people and influencer culture, and the responsibility creators have around mental health.
In the second half, McGregor shares a candid account of his descent into alcohol and drug abuse at the height of his success, his decision to go sober, and how sobriety radically improved his health, time, and sense of purpose.
Key Takeaways
Owning audiences, not just creating campaigns, is a powerful marketing edge.
Social Chain’s success came from building and buying large theme-based social pages (e. ...
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Treat your social media as a deliberate ‘shop window’ for who you are.
McGregor emphasizes that individuals—especially those building careers or brands—should consciously decide how they want to be perceived online and align their content with that, rather than using platforms passively.
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Influencers and publishers share responsibility for the mental health impact of their content.
Beyond entertaining posts, Social Chain is starting to use its reach to address issues like student suicides and mental health; McGregor argues influencers in particular are setting damaging, unrealistic lifestyle expectations and should develop their own ethical codes.
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Comparison on platforms like Instagram amplifies insecurity and dissatisfaction.
Users often compare the highlight reels of others’ lives with their own ‘blooper reel,’ which, combined with our negativity bias, can fuel chronic feelings of inadequacy and undermine real‑life satisfaction with relationships, meals, holidays, and more.
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High-functioning substance abuse can hide behind success and extroversion.
McGregor describes how early business wins, money, and social status masked a growing dependence on alcohol and drugs—initially for celebration, then as an escape—until his behavior began seriously harming both himself and others.
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Sobriety often requires a full lifestyle redesign, not just removing the substance.
Quitting alcohol ‘cold turkey’ forced McGregor to change his routines, social patterns, and coping strategies; he filled the gap with running, travel, writing, and new hobbies, eventually losing significant weight and gaining mental clarity and time.
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Question your relationship with alcohol in terms of time, mood, and values.
Both speakers suggest auditing how many days are lost to hangovers, whether drinking worsens low moods or undercuts your goals, and if your behavior under the influence aligns with the person you want to be—indicators that sobriety or reduction might be beneficial.
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Notable Quotes
“We had influence, but our influences weren’t our faces.”
— Dominic McGregor
“Social is like a shop window for who you are as a person.”
— Dominic McGregor
“You compare the best of everyone else’s life with the worst of yours.”
— Chris Williamson
“I could deal with hurting myself… but the minute it moved into me doing damage to someone I cared about, I knew I had to stop.”
— Dominic McGregor
“If you can tell me one reason I should have [alcohol] in my body, then maybe I’d reintroduce it.”
— Dominic McGregor
Questions Answered in This Episode
How should large social media publishers formally balance commercial goals with their duty of care to young, vulnerable audiences?
Chris Williamson interviews Dominic McGregor, co-founder of Social Chain, about building one of the world’s most powerful social media marketing networks and the ethical implications of that influence.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
What would a realistic and enforceable ethical code for influencers actually look like in practice?
They discuss how Social Chain grew from a student meme page to a 400‑million‑follower media ecosystem, and what it means to create engaging, brand-backed content for young audiences.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
How can someone practically audit their relationship with alcohol or drugs to decide whether sobriety is worth trying?
The conversation then shifts into the psychological and social costs of social media, especially for young people and influencer culture, and the responsibility creators have around mental health.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
In what ways can social media platforms themselves be redesigned to reduce harmful comparison and addiction while remaining profitable?
In the second half, McGregor shares a candid account of his descent into alcohol and drug abuse at the height of his success, his decision to go sober, and how sobriety radically improved his health, time, and sense of purpose.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Is it possible to ‘reintroduce’ alcohol in a healthy way after addiction, or does genuine recovery for some people require permanent abstinence?
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Transcript Preview
(wind blowing) So Dominic McGregor, welcome to Modern Wisdom. How are you?
Good, thank you. How are you?
Very good, thank you.
Good drive?
Yeah, yeah (laughs) , good drive down from Newcastle to Manchester in the rain. Just typical British weather.
Yeah.
Um, so, (sighs) it's c- it's crazy to come into this office, which is several thousand square feet and looks like a labyrinth, um, with sleeping pods and a bar and a fully functioning kitchen-
Yeah.
... with a chef in, and all the rest of it. And this is where memes are made-
(laughs)
... that, that run around the UK, right?
It's, it's the meme factory, yeah. We, uh, I don't, I don't, I didn't like that title, um, but-
I saw in that article, like-
(laughs) .
Was it on the, was it on The Guardian?
It was The Guardian, yeah. Um, and it just called us the meme factory, which we are. You know, we, uh, we make a lot of, a lot of content here. But, um, yeah, a little bit about us. So we started, um, in the room next door with, like, a white table. It's like the same one that we're on here.
Mm-hmm.
There was, the only thing is there was four of them, one for every single person. And we were sat, and I think these are, like, very similar to the white tables we had.
Mm-hmm.
We, we got them as a li- little bit of a memory. Um, and we, um, were working in the room, starting Social Chain, which is a marketing agency.
Mm-hmm.
And it took us, you know, three or four months to really find out that we were actually in, on to something. And what was different between us and any other marketing agency, is we own big communities.
Mm-hmm.
So we own big social media pages from Student Problems, SPARF, Love Food, uh, BFIT Motivation, uh, and we went and worked with brands on them communities.
So I'm right in saying that you guys have got access to about 400 million people, is that right?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
The total combined reach-
Across Facebook and-
... is about 400 million people?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Across the world.
Which is-
We have followers in, like, Taiwan-
Fucking stupid.
... everywhere.
Like, what? Like, who's got 400 million of anything?
I know.
Like (laughs) it's just crazy.
When you put it into a graphic, it's, like, ridiculous. Like-
It's terrifying.
Yeah.
But f- so, uh, I found out about you guys about two years ago from one of my best mates who actually works for you.
Yep.
And what he explained to me about Social Chain at the time, felt absolutely ground-breaking, that you guys have access to the network.
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