A day in the life of a stationery influencer
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One day a few months ago, I thought very deeply about becoming a stationery/planner and/or book influencer for the sake of getting free products (told you, sis is always on a budget). When I sat and thought of the content from influencers that I liked most, what kept coming back to me was those unrealistic day-in-the-life videos that they all share. You know those cool ones that people share on Instagram or TikTok where their lives look perfectly timed?
5:00 am: Wake up but don’t check phone
5:03 am: Meditate
5:15 am: Write in my gratitude journal
5:30 am: Drink hot water with lemon to channel my serenity for the day
6:00 am: Reach for my phone, but read first as I am limiting my time on social media
BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, you get the point. Not sure how I thought that would work as a stationery/planner and/or book influencer unless I did Jazzercise (tell me you grew up in the ’90s without telling me) on a stack of notebooks or free-lined paper. Nonetheless, I read a new article in The New York Times What Daily Routine Videos Actually Show Us, and there were so many gems. This article even highlighted Elizabeth Holmes and elements of her private schedule that became public, and the article also speaks to what is wrong with these videos.
Schedules, like to-do lists, are aspirational; they rarely represent how we actually spend our time.
So yes, perhaps I will not become a stationery/paper and/or book influencer who shares my daily life, but I will think of something else. I also stand by the idea of being a paper influencer and doing yoga on paper for videos. It seems erotically on-trend to me.
Also, in the interesting world of being an influencer, I read this article about how college-aged women are using a platform called 28 Row, which can help them launch their influencer careers. I also attempted to watch the new Netflix Documentary, Hype House, which follows a collective of influencers who live in a house. Hype House is where many of the big influencers of today like Charli D’Amelio got their start. Hype House is also a rival house to the now-defunct Collab Crib, which mainly featured black influencers.
Last note on Influencers, Forbes released their list of the highest-earning TikTok Influencers and man, money, money, money galore. Charli D’Amelio is worth $17.5M and ranked #1 on the list, while Kourtney Kardashian’s too young bestie Addison Rae (I know I’m not alone in having a confused face at this friendship) is worth $8.5M.
Influencer culture as a whole is both weird and fascinating. I sometimes think that my digital marketing career will eventually shift as influencers continue to influence. They drive things like lead generation, revenue for brands, etc., more than a good chunk of the traditional marketing vehicles. If you think of it that way, I can understand why they are paid so much if you think about it. The following of one influencer can do the work of a four people marketing team. They can generate leads, web traffic, get people to purchase your products, and influence the minds of consumers. Interesting thought, right? Let me know what your thoughts are in the comments or by email.
LAST THING REALLY THOUGH: Do you find it weird or interesting how influencers are now famous like celebrities? If you think about it, a good chunk of the celebrities of our generation are famous for strange things like sex tapes (Kardashian’s came to mind because of Addison), who they date, having fans on social media, or being a Peleton trainer like Cody Rigsby who made it to Dancing with the Stars.
Things I thought were worth sharing this week:
I am continuing to advocate for you to follow my cozy. playlist on Spotify. It’s perfect, I promise.
New York Times released their annual 52 Places to Go list, making me miss travel. They changed the focus of this year’s list and made it a list of places that changed the world and a list of locations around the globe where travelers can be part of the solution.
My sister Chasity stays working, and I couldn’t be any more proud of her. Here is her latest article for Sweet July, In Work and Life, Carmeon Hamilton Aims to Find Beauty In Every Moment, and it’s so good. Be sure to read it and subscribe to Chasity’s newsletter, Wine with Chas.
If you know me, you know that Amber Mark’s single, “Love Me Right,” has been my favorite song for almost four years. WHAT A PERFECT SONG? Amber has a tone and voice that I love so much, and I can NOT wait for her debut album Three Dimensions Deep which will be released on January 28th. Amber shared one of the new songs, “Most Men,” on Colors, and it is love from the album. Watch it below:
So many articles about parenting have been popping up in my orbit, and I’m not sure if it’s a sign to tell me my beautiful babies are in my future or what, but here are some of the articles that I found to be pretty interesting:
“A lot of people want to wait until they pay down that debt and have a more secure job before they have children. In some ways, that calculus, it’s not a story of something radically new there, it’s a story of continuing economic uncertainty. It’s been like that for a while now.” / Professor Percheski
“I believe women are often stigmatized for not having children because we’re still often and mainly viewed as a ‘reproducers’ even though we’re so much more than our ability to have children or not.”
“Their ultimate message is this: being #childfree is a woman's right and personal decision, just as choosing motherhood is. It's time for society to pay attention to the reasons behind this choice, without judgement.”
A few other articles worth sharing:
HBR: Job Crafting Can Help Digital Gig Workers Build Resilience
Okayplayer: Ari Lennox & Summer Walker: The Yin & Yang of R&B
Bitch Media: Very OnlineThe Terrifying Scale of the Online Gossip Economy
New York Magazine: Why Did Keisha Lance Bottoms Quit?
That’s it for this week!
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