115,000 to 1 (Redux)

This week is kind of just a rant.

I feel like I’m a person who is a lot of talk and not a lot of action. I’ve talked for years about how I hate social media and still probably 6-7 years on from when I first came to the realization I’m just as addicted as ever.

My 5th ever post on DSTLLD was how there are 115,000 — give or take a few — people employed by social media companies whose sole purpose it is to get you to spend more time looking at your phone. Your willpower doesn’t stand a chance.

If I, armed with all the knowledge I have about the addictiveness and harms of social media, still can’t break free of the cycle of wasting hours a day what option is left?

Scorched earth.

I’m fairly confident the only way to actually avoid these temptations is to entirely delete your accounts, lest you get sucked back in 6 months from now, even with the best intentions.

I think I need to reread Cal Newport’s Digital Minimalism.

“But Blake you’ve been talking about this for so long why haven’t you done it yet?”

Honestly, good question.

I have this weird dream that one day I’m gonna “make it” with some sort of online business and require a social following or online brand to get it done. I saw a post yesterday — ironic I know — about the way to succeed online now is what the guy termed “digital gravity”. Essentially having enough content “digital mass” online that people associate with you or your brand that they trust you and purchase from you.

That sounds like my nightmare. Creating an endless slog of “stuff” just to maybe one day get noticed.

It’s like the online equivalent of a needy guy. “Please, I need validation from the world, be my girlfriend (or buy my thing).”

I can say, thankfully, that I’m in a place in my life where I give 0 f*cks about validation from the internet.

So the reason I haven’t gotten rid of my accounts is because I know that by doing so I’m making life exponentially harder to build something online.

That said, after 3 years of writing this there are only about 65 of you that actually read the newsletter every week. So I’m not doing much in the way of growing things very well even with the accounts around. Writing that out feels weirdly like taking the towel off, embarrassing.

I enjoy writing and I’m proud of the writing I do, I just hate the requirements necessary to bring in eyeballs. Pay money for distribution or spend hours making content in service of Silicon Valley’s algorithms. I’ve got better shit to do.

Check back in next year when I write the same post because I still haven’t had the courage to delete my accounts and regain months or years of my life.

/end rant

Words I Wish I Wrote

Links & Learnings

• Why storytelling matters.

• Here is what women don’t know about men.

• A really slick business card.

Psst… DSTLLD has a podcast now, too. I know — like the world needs another podcast, right? But here’s the thing: if you can tolerate my written rambles, you’ll probably find my in-person yammering… well, moderately tolerable. It’s basically me and a guest chatting about the same offbeat stuff you read here, except now you get to hear me stumble over big words in real time. I’m not saying it’s the greatest thing in the universe (trust me, I’ve listened to it), but if you like DSTLLD, there’s a good chance you won’t hate it. Win-win! Subscribe or follow on your favourite podcast platform:

• Youtube

• Spotify

• Apple

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