Saw this Tweet today from Jared Wilson and couldn’t agree more.
1) How did "Influencer" become a job title?
2) Write your own stuff
3) Popularity does not frequently entail originality, quality, & integrity.
4) Write your own stuff
5) Also: write. your. own. stuff https://t.co/8yCXjmilRH— Jared C. Wilson (@jaredcwilson) February 1, 2019
For some context, you’ll see that it was a response to a Tweet linking to recent news on another influencer facing accusations of plagiarism.
These examples demonstrate that self-help pablum is indistinguishable from other self-help pablum. https://t.co/WNhV7yXY5e
— 𝐎. 𝐀𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐍𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞 (@TheAlanNoble) February 1, 2019
The Internet makes it so much easier to share content nowadays, which I think is generally a good thing, especially if we’re talking about real news, helpful advice and information, great writing or production.
But it has also created an ecosystem where anyone can be a celebrity in no time.
Here’s the fastest way to do it: share regurgitated content, brand it as your own, and rake in likes, a big following, and wider digital reach. Voila! you’re a digital middle man, and boy is there money in this business. Laziness can be rewarded nowadays. (Don’t believe it? Here’s another example.)
Here’s very bad advice, (because it will require you to work): Create. Write. Publish. Experiment. Don’t just share (or worse, just consume).
In the words of Jared Wilson, Write Your Own Stuff. You probably won’t get instant followers, viral fame, nor a decent readership on day one. But it’s the road less travelled, and those who take it are usually more rewarded in the end.