#adveritsement

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The Internet Before Influencers

I have been trying to log in to my old MySpace account for years to no avail. I missed the boat when all they required was your birthday and whatever else a few years ago. But recently I felt the need to reminisce. Mercury is in retrograde after all. And, if you don’t know what that means - if you’ve been revisiting ex’s, old memories, old patterns, or old internet profiles - you know EXACTLY what mercury retrograde is. 

I remember when the internet and social media were still growing. I grew up in the transition period of computers and not having computers. The earliest form of remote communication that I saw outside of letters, were pagers. I was in some cars that had CD players, but also other cars that only had cassette players. Any time my family and I went out, they made sure that we had their cell phone number or someone’s home number memorized in case we got lost. I still have friends’ phone numbers memorized to this day. Some of them have even kept the same numbers which is pretty cool. 

Anyway, when social media was growing, the cool thing was MySpace. Facebook was for older people at the time. MySpace was for younger people. Everyone knew how to code their own background and you could include music - if you know you know. I remember having moving stars on my background. 

The environment that it created was, to me anyway, a free space where I could express myself. I could express myself with music, and with the background. Then, I was able to write my own posts or share photos. I met some amazing people through MySpace that I never would have met otherwise. Lately I’ve been finding myself missing this space on the internet. Everyone was just free form expressing themselves, for the most part. The focus seemed to be to get to know each other, or connect in another way, outside of in person. It was looked upon as a positive, to have the ability to connect with other people in this way. Outside of, and before MySpace, I used AIM/IM through my EMAIL. Again - if you know you know. So, to me, and to many others, having MySpace was a big deal. But, again, the focus was, or seemed to be, on just connecting with other people. Of course, there was cyberbullying and the like going on, but at least the spaces I existed in, connection was the focus. Most of my personal connections were sparked by music. I remember talking to people at the time who were trying to use MySpace and other types of social media to become famous and to get noticed, similar to now. But, the difference is, I also remember talking and connecting with several of those people, before they became well known. Within those exchanges, I had no idea they would become well known. They probably didn’t know either. But, that didn’t seem to matter. Now, it seems as if there’s division between people who are considered celebrities and the rest of us. 

Within all of THAT, there are so many people shaking their butts and showing off almost their whole body all over the internet these days. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for empowerment and I fully support whatever it is that people what to do in the way of that. However, it seems like the internet went from this space of connection, creativity and sharing to, shaking naked bodies for the world to see and not much more than that. Now people can become an influencer. which, the connotation of that word is something that hasn’t ever really sat right with me. What are you influencing? The masses? And what are you influencing them to do? Why? If you’re reading this and you’ve made it this far, thank you, but by now you might be wondering - what’s the big deal with using that word? Well, the big deal, is that influencers, are typically people who encourage those who “follow” them (that’s a whole other barrel of monkeys to get into) to buy certain things. Influencers almost seem to have it altogether - it appears as if they make lots of money, they’re usually absolutely gorgeous or strikingly handsome - it is rare that they are not considered, by societal standards “good looking.” And, they have sponsorships, where companies pay them to show off their product and they get money or free product in return. To me this is a double edged sword, because I think it is absolutely amazing that people can make money using the internet, especially social media, and at the same time enjoy their lives and have fun doing it. The other edge, however, is the fact that people have become walking advertisements. Think about that and let it sink in - people have become walking advertisements. Take a picture in this smoothie shop or coffee shop, and we’ll pay you, or give you free product. It’s a fantastic thing and a lot of people seem to really enjoy what they do. There are some people I know and “follow” personally, and I really enjoy their content, I enjoy what they put out, and I think it’s great. But, there are some things that just don’t sit right with me, and it seems that the shift with social media has narrowed itself down to, people wanting to become “influencers,” get sponsors and whatever else comes with that, and just do that for a living. The other inner piece to this, is that influencers receive a lot of attention. I have a theory that humans are so starved for genuine, authentic attention and connection, that this is why we lean on the internet, and all have this desire to become an influencer. Everyone wants to be seen. 

There’s an excellent quote out there, that talks about, “if the service is free, you are the product.” Which is true, in a lot of ways (I also have no idea who said this so if you know, please share). But, anyway, I’m not sure if what I’m saying is making sense, and maybe it doesn’t have to. Overall what I’m trying to say, is there is SO MUCH information out there. There are so many beautiful people in this world, just minding their own, trying to get by and do their thing, and many of those people are influencers. But man, when I was in the middle of coding my MySpace profile, if you would have told me that people would be making money shaking their butt on the internet, and using that as their primary center of content, I would have told you that you’re crazy and you’ve absolutely lost your mind.

“The internet and online communication is the window into your world. But real life, in person communication/connection is the door.” -Rasheed Ogunlaru

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Marky Mark modeling for Calvin Klein

STUD MUFFIN.

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