What happens when we shift our creative energy away from algorithms? Come see how publishing on Substack is different and what my community says changed for them...
Personally, when I walked away from social media, it pointed out how many voices I had competing for attention in my mind.
I realized that I had been farming my voice out (as a copywriter, ghost writer, strategist) and that the nature of my full-time work up until that point had pretty much been working AGAINST me finding my own capital-V Voice.
Leaving social media behind showed me how much noise was on the line when it came to finding my instincts, trusting my intuition, etc. I realized that the the overwhelm of Instagram and Facebook WAS THE POINT. That social media was hoping to make me dissociate from what was good for me in order to make me buy things, join things, get attached/addicted/reliant on things.
A few years later, when I began to realize I needed to find a way to get the word out about my newsletter, I created an Instagram account just for The Editing Spectrum, and it's been a slow crawl. I often feel like I'm holding a wild hyena at bay; I use it to test some storytelling features and then I set it down for a few weeks. I feel like I'm finding a way to "handle" Instagram as a tool in my business, but not as a centralized mechanism I rely on. And I have no intentions of it being a way to communicate about my personal life, feelings, choices or for external validation. Essentially: I use Instagram as a special interest billboard, and so far, it's not clobbering me or my voice or my creativity. Substack is where I center my creative energy because it's where there's a regenerative feedback loop.
"Without the noise of algorithms and trends, you’ll discover what you truly want to say." So true! And, oddly, this has made me *want* to venture back onto social media with a shifted mindset from "how am I supposed to use this platform?" to "how can I build & nurture the relationships I have there (and then invite folks to the conversations I'm starting on substack)?"
I feel you on this! It takes so much awareness for me on Instagram to be like, NOPE I AM IN CHARGE OF YOU. And when I do that, I stay in flow and connected to what is nourishing. The desire to share what matters to you becomes both strategic and nourishing. What a concept right? :)
It wasn’t just other people’s noise that got me to leave social media—it was even more fundamentally that I didn’t like who I was on there. I was more sarcastic, more ready to turn to quick responses without thinking about how they might ripple out and hurt somebody. I say this a lot but maybe never enough: my humanity is more important to me than any success social media might help bring. Thanks for this, Amanda!
I still have some active social media accounts. A few of my readers here have come from Facebook. And you know, I had not thought about all the messages I get from FB and wanting to click on them. I'm going to shut them off right now.
Personally, when I walked away from social media, it pointed out how many voices I had competing for attention in my mind.
I realized that I had been farming my voice out (as a copywriter, ghost writer, strategist) and that the nature of my full-time work up until that point had pretty much been working AGAINST me finding my own capital-V Voice.
Leaving social media behind showed me how much noise was on the line when it came to finding my instincts, trusting my intuition, etc. I realized that the the overwhelm of Instagram and Facebook WAS THE POINT. That social media was hoping to make me dissociate from what was good for me in order to make me buy things, join things, get attached/addicted/reliant on things.
A few years later, when I began to realize I needed to find a way to get the word out about my newsletter, I created an Instagram account just for The Editing Spectrum, and it's been a slow crawl. I often feel like I'm holding a wild hyena at bay; I use it to test some storytelling features and then I set it down for a few weeks. I feel like I'm finding a way to "handle" Instagram as a tool in my business, but not as a centralized mechanism I rely on. And I have no intentions of it being a way to communicate about my personal life, feelings, choices or for external validation. Essentially: I use Instagram as a special interest billboard, and so far, it's not clobbering me or my voice or my creativity. Substack is where I center my creative energy because it's where there's a regenerative feedback loop.
Worth repeating, LOL…
“Substack is where I center my creative energy because it's where there's a regenerative feedback loop.”
Exactly why I’m here too. Thanks Amanda!
"Without the noise of algorithms and trends, you’ll discover what you truly want to say." So true! And, oddly, this has made me *want* to venture back onto social media with a shifted mindset from "how am I supposed to use this platform?" to "how can I build & nurture the relationships I have there (and then invite folks to the conversations I'm starting on substack)?"
I feel you on this! It takes so much awareness for me on Instagram to be like, NOPE I AM IN CHARGE OF YOU. And when I do that, I stay in flow and connected to what is nourishing. The desire to share what matters to you becomes both strategic and nourishing. What a concept right? :)
Ohh, I love that! The desire to share what matters to me can be "both strategic and nourishing."
It wasn’t just other people’s noise that got me to leave social media—it was even more fundamentally that I didn’t like who I was on there. I was more sarcastic, more ready to turn to quick responses without thinking about how they might ripple out and hurt somebody. I say this a lot but maybe never enough: my humanity is more important to me than any success social media might help bring. Thanks for this, Amanda!
I still have some active social media accounts. A few of my readers here have come from Facebook. And you know, I had not thought about all the messages I get from FB and wanting to click on them. I'm going to shut them off right now.