I'm going to start posting online content for the first time in a couple of days, and im scared.. do you have any advice? So I'm going to be doing politics, and I know that comes with a lot of harassment. I'm just really asking if there's anything you wish someone told you before you started putting your stuff out there 😅
I appreciate the ask, so I mulled it for a while. Making content has been a wild ride for me. I’m an aging teacher and I’m surely not a natural to any of this.
I boiled it down to five things. There are more, but I’d have had an easier time of it had I known these.
1. You paint for the back row.
Common expression in drag. It means this.
You never know your whole audience. (Especially on the internet.) Attention is scarce. (Especially on the internet.). You always say it louder and more obvious. Louder. Bigger. Clearer. As a creator, you inevitably get in your own head. That has value! You love the intricacies and the subtleties and the joys of this one effect or this one line. That’ll give you life - but your audience isn’t looking for subtlety. You earn that careful attention, and you’d best get used to yelling for it.
The attention economy thrives on volume. My queue is set to ten things a day. Minimum.
Maybe they miss. Maybe they land. There’s no time to meditate on each missed joke or script or image. You just keep tossing up shots.
It’s wonderful to have the time and space to make the most elevated stuff you can. You have to work hard for that time.
I’ve always loved Lil Nas X. I deified him when that Kent State gun girl came at him, and he said he was gonna fuck her dad. He went from appreciated to god level that day.
You can’t appease your critics. They’ll never appreciate your kindness. You can’t convert them. You can troll them back if it gives you life. That’s it. You can block or you can have a laugh. The trolls out here give no quarter; they should expect none from you.
4. Real critique is private.
Maybe some people will have real concerns about your content! Their opinions might well be valid.
On the other hand, they might be nasty little clout chasers looking to get eyes on their own stuff by launching attack campaigns. They’re out of ideas, they’re mediocre, and Big Dramatic Callout is an easy script. It’s been done a million times before, after all.
Easy tell. If they care for real, they’ll say it where no one else can hear. That’s real. Big public callout? Be skeptical. Frustrated people do the Big Callout, but it’s chapter one of the Clout Chaser Handbook as well.
That equation - “real critique is private” - reverses when people wanna tell you they love your stuff.
Many people are nice and they are shy! It is also natural for people to communicate privately. Enjoy the support and praise.
That said, some people may also want things from you. Attention. Resources. Collabs. Bragging rights. Parasocial attachment.
Is this praise real or not? Well, if it’s all in your DMs, best to be skeptical. Your best supporters will say it out loud, in front of everyone. That’s where it counts.
I hope that helps. Best of luck on your content creation!
prguitarman
jbbartram-illu
pixelskylines
