My “content creator” era: it starts badly, but then gets better (?) 🤔
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For maybe the past two months, I've been looking for clients on platforms like Threads and Instagram. I think lots of people are “frantically active” on these networks these days, so there's a better chance they'll reply to collaboration pitches, make connections, and keep me from sitting here talking to myself in my little web bubble 🫡.
And what has caught my attention most is how social media works. (Disclaimer: Vivian is about to talk about social media as if she'd been living in the 9th century until now.)
1. Community… or an individualism in disguise?
These platforms seem communal at their core because they help us connect with others—something we could hardly have imagined just a few years ago XD. But the more I think about it, the more their logic seems individualistic (with exceptions). You can see it in this pattern: people comment on or support others, but hoping, somewhere in the back of their minds, that those same people will comment on and support them in return.
It becomes an exchange driven by self-interest that can get addictive. On one hand, you start posting to please people and get them to like you (quite literally); on the other, instead of appreciating what others create, it turns into a game of comparison and competition… I've experienced this myself in tiny, almost innocent moments, so… yeah 🫡.
And as someone who, until recently, was almost completely unfamiliar with these dynamics, this is how I've come to understand them: it's like something biting its own tail—a circular economy of time, energy, and attention. That's exactly why it's important to be careful, set personal boundaries, and keep our main goal in mind, so we don't get distracted from the ultimate reason we do this: to create just because.
2. The other side of “content.”
Still, there's another side to what we can gain from social media, depending on how we use it:
You can find inspiration and ideas you wouldn't easily come across elsewhere, which is amazing. You can also get much faster answers to questions about your field from people with real expertise, and get better feedback on what's happening in your community or niche.
3. What social media can offer a creative freelancer like mua.
As a junior™ 🤏🏽 video editor and designer, it's important to understand that these days it's not enough to be good at what you do—you also have to come across as trustworthy. One way to do that (not the only way, I hope) is to build a social media profile that reflects what you say you are. And, well, I say I'm creative and that I design videos, so it makes sense that showing my work could lead to more or better opportunities.
9. Side quests everywhere 😫
Here's the emotional plot twist in this novela: what you do turns into a triptych: 1) what you create for yourself, 2) what you create for social media, and 3) what you create for your clients.
And making the panel devoted to clients or social media a thousand times bigger than the one devoted to creating for yourself feels a little at odds with the whole idea of creativity.
Balance is essential. That's why I'm here, writing this post. I don't want to lose the habit of writing, creating, drawing, and putting things together visually, just because.
Still, it seems that in situations like this, spending more time on marketing at the beginning is something you have to accept. And sometimes I want to believe that sharing thoughts or art can help others along their own personal and creative journeys, without it turning into put-downs or pointless comparisons.
Honestly, I'm grateful I decided to put myself out there on social media, because I've met wonderful people and collaborated with different creators. I'm still a long way from reaching my goals for my work, but I'm moving forward little by little. Step by step, click by click, key by key… well, you get the idea.
By the way, random fact: it's nice to post short thoughts on Threads. At first, I couldn't write a post with fewer than 99 words, but I think I've got the hang of it now: I write 98.
Statement™
I don't want to depend on social media or keep checking likes as if my life and worth depended on them. I want to leave little creative messages there, simply to leave a record of myself somewhere on the web, just like I do here. I think this might help the people I'd like to work with see me as someone they can trust, someone who gives 100% to everything she does creatively, despite the limits on time and energy we all have.
I think a creative life like mine deserves to be seen, but I shouldn't depend on what other people say about it. I should keep creating as if nobody were there to like it—just me.
