When I attended an influencer panel this past week I was able to catch some advice and insight into a relatively new profession which has been growing immensely. Of what was said, many of the guests spoke on the authenticity of their content and how it lead them to their success. It speaks to possibly the worst piece of advice one can give, just be yourself.
Firstly, I think the strength of the internet is that it gives one a chance to be even better than themselves. Think of the many times you’ve edited an important text and how that same amenity would be useful in real-world conversation. With every online account there is a skew towards how that person wants to be seen, how they can embellish their best and omit the worst.
I believe that if we were asked to think of our genuine selves, the first thing we picture is happiness. I also believe when thinking of our true selves we often don’t consider our present selves. Unless you are someone who has fully achieved self-realization, you are like the rest of us, watching a movie starring ourselves and trying to put together the pieces.
My point is, people are complicated — they will do their best to avoid showing the aspects of themselves that they dislike, even if it’s part of their genuine self. But this case isn’t airtight, which is where many find their success.
What makes fans or followers who stick around are those who can relate to you. In many ways, relating to others is the currency of social media and the internet culture we live in. In the fight for being real, being authentic, being unique, our end goal is to align with others’ personalities. With the depth that each individual can have, they walk a tightrope between being completely genuine and tempering their person to be more universally understood.
My perspective on this comes from two comedic bits I found in High School. George Carlin’s piece on simplifying language and Bo Burnham’s satirical take on live songs, titled Repeat Stuff. Back when I was a ‘music nazi’ as I call it, I would always criticize pop music’s lyrics for their formulaic approach to emotion. When I listen to John Legend’s song All of Me, I only see a love song which is void of any context or specificity. As Bo points to in his song, I cannot imagine the person John describes because it could be any person. Maybe that is the message behind the song and I am just being cynical, but I cant help but think that its those details which give life to any work of art.
So where does this put us in the world of social media? Do I post like no one will ever see? Or do I make my post just #relateable enough to maximize connecting with everyone who sees it? In all honesty, I have no clue. But my advice would be to envision the group of people you want to see your content and work for them first. The second would be to dig deeper with each post. Always try new things and your audience will learn more and more about yourself, too.
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