Social currency is real, but fleeting

Happy New Year! And what a wonderful year it is already. 

2021 was also a wonderful year. A year of relearning and getting reacquainted with the awesomeness within many of us. I learned a lot of lessons during 2021, some more painful than others. But all (together) made for a turning point in my life and career. Below I highlight three lessons I learned and plan to properly implement in 2022: 

Social currency is real, but fleeting 

In 2021 we saw the quest for social currency heighten. It was sold to us in droves, by numerous people on various platforms. We were told how rich we could get if we had x number of followers. Everything was dumbed down, almost to the simplest nonsensical form. Let me rephrase. Most things were reduced to the littlest components, to the point where the information and context was useless by sensible people. I use the word sensible to describe people who could tell lemons from limes. 

It is my view that this led many to do and say things online that were just, well, shocking (you should see my shocked face). It often went to a coin toss of ‘do I compromise my dignity or do I go for social currency?’ You may have seen the coin drop in many instances. Because social currency seemed to have won in 2021 for many of us. 

I know the importance of social currency, we cannot deny it. The issue concerns how far we are willing to go to get it. To have the followers, the views, likes and reshares. I am not prepared to go so far that I can’t wind myself back in. Or worse, I lose myself to the elusive “it” whatever “it” is - the numbers, the feeling, the gifts, the money etc. I am not willing to throw the coin up or go with the tide. Why do you ask? Because social currency is fleeting. 

Black is back

My friend sent me a message and a link to see a post made by someone that was similar to hers (she believes it was stolen without credit) that person’s post was gaining traction. Why oh why, does this seem to happen to so many Black women? I had a similar situation with the Stylist Magazine editor who took my content from Linkedin, wrote a whole article and didn’t bother to credit me. I have had that same article copied by other people on Linkedin (including connections) for their websites and no mention of my name. 

Like my friend, I pondered. And I held back for a large part of 2021 because I was so tired of people stealing my posts, articles, video content, ideas and using them to gain traction (no credit given). Especially creators with bigger social currencies (see above). I wrestled with the dilemma and found no common ground. I stopped writing, I stopped social media for a while and pondered. 

And it occurred to me that for some people, Black is back as a race of people from which to take things for their galleries, articles, posts, videos, you name it. We saw it on Tik Tok, where Black content creators were not being compensated like their counterparts, or even worse, being copied by their counterparts and getting no credit. 

One of the most horrible things I believe you can do to a Black creator (however small) is to copy them and give no credit. I can hear the chorus now - what is with the Black references? Well, if you haven’t noticed, I am Black, I live my life as Black and my lived experience is therefore Black! Now that that is settled, let me continue. 

In 2021, I found that Black was back, but not in the way many of us had hoped after 2020. No great visible gains were achieved, but I am sure a lot has changed. What we are experiencing is delayed gratification (that is what I am calling it). A delay in experiencing the fruits of 2020’s labour. 

As for me, I have decided to get back to writing, some posting and generally creating content. I am much better at writing articles than I am at posting. I never said I was great at it, I just like it. 

Change is not what we want, but maybe we need

You may have heard the phrase, ‘people don’t like change’. I disagree. People don’t like the process of change, for the most part we love the outcome, we don’t like the inbetween. If we could magically get from point A to B, without having to experience the middle, we would all jump for joy and change would abound. 

So, we talk about wanting things to change for the better, everywhere you go (no, really), there is talk about wanting changes to be made. But we shirk when the change process begins and quickly look for the escape hatch to extricate ourselves from the inbetween. I had experiences like that in 2021, many times I tried to find the escape hatch and things slowed for me. The turning point in my career and life (generally) came when I decided to stop looking for the escape hatch and sit with the process. I like to describe it like driving in a car. I decided that I was going to go at full speed, both hands on the wheel and I was not going to stop or try to jump out of the moving vehicle. 

It was just what I needed. Not what I wanted, if I am honest. Shortly, the journey became so much fun that I wondered why on earth I never drove like this before.

So there you have it, three lessons I have learned in 2021 that I have decided to share with you. Three great insights I hope have left you better than they found you. Have a wonderful 2022. 

[This is an article I wrote in 2022 and published on Linkedin]