Smoke and Mirrors
#SOCIAL DECEPTION
Online presence is basically a necessity in this day and age no matter what you specialize in. It is crucial for the creative field that's for sure, with entertainment so readily available. However with this need to be seen and spotted on the world wide web I feel somehow we have lost track of what is really important. As the world changes, technology advances and the 'new app' arrives to change our life for the better or worse we must adapt. It is in these advancements we have been deceived. With Social Media controlling our every move and the old high school popularity contest sneaking back into our lives (after we all thought we could put those days behind us). We find our selves living in a world revolving around how many followers we have, how many likes we get and on the whole how popular we are.
#THE FINE LINE
This popularity is important, we all know that. You are a ready made audience for anyone investing in your talents. But with this need to have more followers than our competition have we lost sight of what is actually important? We spend all this time working on building our social media presence, and it's no longer just with hashtags. There is the whole follow for follow culture that exists, and then when we think it's safe we unfollow these people to make us look seemingly more popular than we actual are . I even read somewhere on Facebook that there is a way to increase your star meter on IMDb. What happened to organically building a fan base? Yes it requires more work, but with that it also requires more talent. The later being a key ingredient in sustaining a career in this industry over a large portion of time.
#PERFECT BALANCE
What you choose to focus on is clearly a personal preference. I am not here to tell you what will make you successful and what wont. As a whole I get the feeling we spend far too much of our focus trying to be popular over working on our craft. 'Instafame' has become a legitimate pathway to this success, but success and sustainability are two very different things. Your 20k follows might get you a job but when you suck in that role and have not brought back a return for the people who cast you, how many more doors will open up for you purely on popularity? This mentality will not last forever in our industry, it is a business after all, and when the money stops coming in so does your work. That is to say do not completely disregard Social Media, that is here to say. Find that balance and what works for you, personally the Social Media game is something I have been trying to work on since starting Revolving Door. My preferred outlet is Instagram, though juggling multiple accounts can be tricky. I also don't play the follow for follow game but instead try take advantage of the Hashtags opening my posts to wider audiences. Hopefully I am creating a product people want to see more of and in turn learn more about me, helping grow a very active and connected following. I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic. :)