Influenceable

It's not just about influencers, it's about how we learn to create on the web.

Recently, I found a video on my phone that my 8-year-old daughter recorded.

It starts with her saying, "Hi, my name is Tegan and today I'm going to show you how to do a backbend, the splits, and a cartwheel."

Then she gets interrupted by her little brother and the video ends.

Holding a phone photo by freestocks on Unsplash

My first reaction was that she was very confident on camera and I loved that she was showing people how to do the gymnastics that she learned over the summer.

Then I realized she was imitating the YouTube videos she's watched where young girls teach gymnastic moves. She fell in love with Anna McNulty in particular.

That got me thinking.

Are we just replicating what we see on each platform?

My daughter is only 8 and it's natural for her to imitate what she sees. That's how we learn and it's perfectly healthy.

However, I realized that most of my content online is heavily inspired by others in the space.

For example, my farm's YouTube channel is very similar to other permaculture or gardening channels.

But beyond video, I think many of us start to absorb what's “expected” of us on each platform.

On Twitter/X, you had to be witty. Facebook was for sharing life moments, like weddings, births, and travel.

Instagram was for inspirational and aspirational visuals.

Pinterest too, but with more recipes.

A website would automatically have similar navigation and an about and contact page. Probably a blog, too.

Even Substack had a vibe and certain essay styles were better received.

The platform you chose would dictate how you showed up. From what you said to how you presented it.

We are being influenced, not just by influencers, but by platforms to reproduce what’s working.

How much of what we share is really from us?

We've been trained by the algorithms of each of these platforms to do certain things to succeed.

We see what's working in other people's content and then mimic it.

Maybe it's because it worked once and then we start seeing it everywhere. Suddenly it feels like that's the only acceptable way of showing up on a given platform.

The norms reinforce themselves.

Then we might start to ask ourselves if we're really showing up with our own creativity, or just an echo of someone else's?

There's nothing wrong with playing by the algorithm's rules. It helps you get more exposure for your message, that's for sure.

But at the end of the day, I like to think that those of us who choose to create content online have some say in how it lands.

Maybe even in how we chose to deliver it.

Certainly, we can choose our platforms. But sometimes there's just more momentum on one platform or another, for your particular topic or business.

So you can conform and try to let a little uniqueness shine through, for your own satisfaction. And maybe it will shift the norms of these platforms, too.

One can only hope.

I want to know…

Do you feel the influences around you shaping how you create?

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About Nathalie and the Momentum Memo

Nathalie Lussier is a writer, technologist, and regenerative farmer. Ten years ago she founded AccessAlly, a WordPress course and membership solution, which she recently exited.

She publishes The Momentum Memo which features nature analogies to make sense of the modern world of business and creativity.