Striving for authenticity in an overcrowded market
When I was a bit younger, I wanted to be a YouTuber. Yes, I know. Shocker. I looked up to my idols for advice. The key to success, according to them, was to be yourself.
When I started writing on Medium, I saw all of the posts that litter the front page about how to gain followers fast. The success stories. The tips and tricks. The dos and don’ts. The biggest point everyone drove home: be yourself.
How authentic can one be?
I recognize that there is a need for individuality, for something that sets you apart from the rest. Maybe it’s a unique point of view, or a writing style, or even the content niche you get yourself into.
However, it’s undeniable that we also need to fit in. The algorithm favors certain tags and titles, and people gravitate to certain types of content. If you have a cooking YouTube channel and upload a gaming video, it will likely not get many views. If you want to be a writer but decide to Yoda all of your sentences, your stories no one will put up with.
The worst part of it all is that mainstream content kills creativity. It kills voice.
So, how authentic can one be? There isn’t an exact answer to this. You need to find a balance between learning what is trendy and doing your own thing.
In conclusion…
The advice I was given was to be innovative, not to fall into the clichès. The advice I give you is to be smart about it. All of those how-to’s, top-10’s, and get-rich-quick stories are in your front page for a reason.
I wish you luck, because it’s rough.
