WHAT’S GOOD, Y’ALL? Over the past five months, I’ve become clear about who I am online and comfortable with expressing myself. I’ve built the illustrious personal brand. As a result, I’ve gone from 8,500 followers on Instagram to 131k since April. I’m not promising you the same experience. I just want to share the insights that have guided my journey.

DISCLAIMER: I’m not about to make my follower count my entire personality. This email is about finding yourself. Not about growing your followers.

SCENE & SEQUEL

This creative exercise might change your life. It's called Scene & Sequel. It's a process used to unlock creativity and story through relentless observation.

Here's how it works.

Start with your Scene. Write down everything you are observing. Just facts. Don't add story or color. Be prescriptive. You can do this for brands, clients, and yourself. Here's what my Scene looks like for my personal brand:

Keep going for as long as you want.

Next, bring in your Sequel. This is where you connect these facts with the patterns of your observation to craft a story. Here's what my Sequel looks like:

Ta-dah. That is Scene & Sequel, and it has become a tool I constantly reach for on my creative journey.

NIK GOODNER vs. @nikgoodner

"I'm not Walt Disney." — Walt Disney.

Social media once worked to connect real people to other real people. However, in 2020, the TikTok For You Page went viral — everything changed. Our algorithms went from showing our friend's vacation photos to pumping strangers into our feeds.

This fundamental shift created a new type of social media and accelerated the creator industry, opening it up to millions of people. But we lost something. We went from connecting with others to performing for others.

And, instead of shaking my fist at the clouds and demanding we get back to the old ways. I've embraced this new reality.

How?

I've always felt this nagging push to be "raw and real" online. And some of my favorite social media gurus have made a lot of money slinging the same old proverb of "just be yourself."

But as I turn to history, I find this gem from Walt Disney:

"I'm not Walt Disney. I do a lot of things Walt Disney would not do. Walt Disney does not smoke. I smoke. Walt Disney does not drink. I drink." — Walt Disney

I used to preach, "Be real; be raw." However, my perception has changed as social media has changed.

I don't think that everyone deserves all of you. Especially the people on the internet who only get a 30-second clip of you while scrolling on the toilet.

To those people, I am a character.

I try to bring as much of me as I can to the character I'm playing online. But I also reserve other parts for my friends and family who need to know the real me.

This insight has become a liberation for me. Because @nikgoodner can do the things Nik Goodner can't. @nikgoodner can hear mean, nasty comments while I take a nap. @nikgoodner stare down the lens and hit record when I would rather hide behind the camera.

Social media is entering its Hollywood Era. Creators are becoming more like actors. The role you play in your personal brand needs to be close to you, but understand it will never be all of you.

Q. WHAT’S GUIDING YOUR CONTENT CREATION PROCESS?

A: In January, I got fed up with how my social media feed looked. I would scroll and see the same deluge of motivational content, how-to guides, and content creators creating content about how to be a content creator.

Then, I looked at my own posts. I realized I was guilty of the same crimes. I had become a cog in the content creation process with very little differentiation from everyone else.

That’s when I decided I no longer wanted this life. I only wanted to create work that I would find interesting. I abandoned the notion of “what would my audience like to see” or “how can I add the most value to my feed.”

I set out to entertain people, hoping they might be educated.

I traded the “You got this” post for “Look at this cool thing with me.” And, when I stopped creating for other people and using the tricks gurus told me would reach more people, I found a better way to express myself that was interesting and not just repeating the same BS as everyone else.

AROUND THE INTERNET

• Stop Making Pointless Videos with YCImaging: Another look at personal branding on YouTube
  

• The introvert's Guide to Creating Video Content with Creative Boom: guess what? Being an introvert might be an asset.
  

• Does Screen Time Help or Hinder Creativity? with It’s That Nice: Look at the keys to creative productivity.