Marketing yourself. Showing off what you have created to the world and who you as a creator are. It sounds empowering in theory. But it can be a cruel world out there, people stretching themselves thin, watering their own personalities down for popularity and wealth.
The internet rewards consistency, visibility, and engagement. And not the proposal kind, although that does usually bring in a lot of views.
When I think about being an influencer I think about creativity and connection, what will bring us all together. However, most of the time only thinking about it in that way will not get you far in a micro-influencer world.
Views, shares, likes. The metrics. That is what will successfully pull someone higher in the world of the internet. It makes me sit back and roll my eyes because it should not be like that. But it is. It is how everything is.
Seriously. Everything is based on metrics.
Curating yourself online is something that I have noticed takes away the genuine nature of who you are as a person, that is. Curating a version of yourself that the general public will gravitate towards and like.
It can be a very harmful system. People stretching themselves thin trying to figure out what version of them fits with their performance best. It is a dangerous cycle. When a version stops performing well and engagement dies down, you shift and keep curating.
Over time it is less of who YOU are and more what works for engagement purposes.
Metrics come into play because of the way platforms promote and show content. Algorithims. They analyze what people engage with and feed more of that content to you. Creators often must adapt to the algorithm.
It is all a metrics game. A big boring game that I personally do not care for. But maybe you do. It’s like stocks, frustrating and boring and nobody taught me how to do it correctly.
Moral of the story is we post, the platform measures it, the algorithm changes, we change to adapt to that algorithm. And sometimes that change comes at a cost.
Quick example is brand partnerships. Promoting a product you genuinely like can feel natural, but what about the ones that do not. When money is attached the line between authenticity and advertisement starts to blur.
No longer are you simply sharing a product you enjoy, but you are now in sales selling something you may not believe in.
Even Tate McRae, with her controversial Olympics ad that created almost immediate backlash. The reaction shows how quickly something can feel inauthentic or out of touch. One decision for one campaign and your identity is up for the public to debate.
Do not worry about Tate though guys, she is still Canada down.
It does make you wonder how much of what we see online is real and how much of it is a curated performance.
The more your content aligns with the ideal measurables, the less likely your content is going to hold true authenticity. In this online world strategy and calculations is what drives engagement.
The biggest challenge in this system is finding out how to exist without letting it define you completely.
Because you are human with real thoughts, opinions, and feelings. Not a curation of whatever the world wants you to be.
So, ask yourself, are you curating your content or curating yourself?
Regardless I hope it is successful for you whatever path you go down.
Good luck!
Ciao
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