From Social Media Copycat to Curator

For the first two months of 2024, I’ve been doing a palette cleanser when it comes to my taste, style, and content consumed. I’ve cut my social media usage to an absolute minimum. I’ve only been on to post my brand campaigns and of course my highly anticipated birthday photos (Aquarius season was EVERYTHING).

I think anyone who is frequently active on social media should have these breaks, but especially content creators.

My mentor once told me that if you want to be the source, you must be mindful of where your inspiration comes from. It can’t just be the Instagram feeds or your “for you page” showing you what has already been consumed in large amounts online. You can’t just copy what everyone else is doing and expect to get attention and respect when you only duplicate and you’re not trying to create something unique to you.

If you want to be the source, you need to source from diverse places beyond where everyone else pulls from. Otherwise, your taste and perspective become an amalgamation of niche social media content. We need something different - not more of the same. The desire to mimic is strong, so when you constantly see the same things, you assume that must be for you. Of course, it's fine to try similar creative approaches, but carefully consider your sources if you aim to be the source.

You should cultivate a rich collection of experiences and influences. I was listening to a podcast on developing personal taste recently too that I'll share here.

 How To Discover Your Own Taste - The Ezra Klein Show

It discussed how algorithms don't always introduce you to new perspectives. If you don't actively seek out fresh inspirations, you stay trapped in a bubble- an algorithmic hole.

That's why I decided to take a break from social media. I dramatically cut my time on apps and it feels liberating. I'm not mindlessly scrolling as much. Instead, I'm going into the world more, consuming different media, and appreciating life's beauty since I'm not comparing myself to curated feeds all day.

Sidenote: The two apps I’ve been using to cut down my social media time are AppBlock & ClearSpace. With AppBlock you can create your schedules for apps on your phone and ClearSpace makes you do a breathing exercise, read a quote, and then set a time limit for the session before getting on an app. I use that one just for TikTok because I would constantly open TikTok throughout the day whenever just because and get sucked in.

The pressure I felt around social media posting has lifted. I’m just here to share my work. Whatever that is. Do your best with your work and market it, yes of course, but it’s not this big scary thing to have on a pedestal because that stops you from taking creative risks if you’re always worried about how it’ll be perceived. Your creations show you genuinely what matters to you and what you are about. Forget what the world is telling you to care about or is relevant, what’s relevant to you?

There’s nothing wrong with using smart marketing and sales techniques, but let that be the sauce on top don’t let that be what the main dish is. Sales and marketing hacks are constantly changing, but authentic content that is a reflection of you and your brand is timeless.

Here’s a framework for being the source and skillfully creating the content that matters to you aka developing your creative voice:

• Pause from overstimulation and comparison.

• Audit what's influencing you.

• Expand your inspirations.

• Taste-test your authenticity.

• Hone your unique voice.

You can develop originality and fulfillment as a creator with these steps.

The key is proactively curating your influences and checking in with your intuition. This builds creative integrity beyond chasing shortcuts.

When you stay true to yourself you’ll always win. Feel free to respond to this email and let’s chat!

Authentically yours,

Diamond

P.S. If you’re not already feel free to follow me on IG or TikTok @yourcoilyness and check out my stan store for more resources!