Oh hello darling, and as I am sure you have realised, it is July. With July comes a new month of content and with it the anniversary of this very website. This month, I want to reflect on the world of content creation, and my anniversary.
At the beginning of my journey, way back in 2016, I don't think that content creation was something that was taken seriously, brands were only just waking up to the importance and power of Instagram. Influencers were not really a thing, and the idea of paying people to promote items and services didn't exist on social media.
Jump a massive leap to 2020 and the content marketing industry is a MULTI-BILLION POUND industry, and we have seen one of the largest changes in the way we are marketed too. We all have a mini multichannel advertising tool in our hands and its crazy.
I am always open with my content and tell you when I am working with brands, when things are being paid for and if things were sent to me. The biggest difference is probably all the free pairs of earrings I have been sent, which trust me I am thrilled about. Yet my account is not really about the surface details of life, but instead has allowed me to use my difference in appearance from the norm to elevate my words to higher levels.
This means accounts across the world have more influence and power than ever before. Yet why are so many influencers simply promoting brands, and not using their reach to make social changes, help causes and create a better world for all of us?
The protests of early June against the shocking and disgusting police brutality against Black people sent tremors through the social media landscape. Thousands of people posted the pointless black squares that jammed feeds for days in an exercise of performative allyship that left me feeling sour.
This display of optical allyship (a term coined by Latham Thomas, @glowmaven ) showed that the majority of white users of Instagram wanted to show that they cared but did nothing to disrupt the ruling power, and in essence, did less than nothing. People who are actively engaging in difficult conversations don't need to tell you they're doing it, because they're too busy doing it.
The message to take away here is that content creators can have a massive influence, but only when they break free from their own Echo Chamber. The Echo Chamber is accounts with followers exactly like the user, which means they are basically creating no change. To break free, Influencers, Content creators, Activists, all need to bring home truths, uncomfortable conversations and make people REALLY THINK. We have so much power, but I feel that so much is being wasted.
Heading to my 4th anniversary, I am proud of all that I do, but want to work harder, and continue to speak up, and I urge you to do the same. If you have a platform, use your voice and do your best to change the society and world you live in.
Thank you for joining me today my darlings, I will be back next week where I will continue the conversation surrounding content creation and my anniversary.
Shot by Rachel Pechey