Is Influencer The Most Trending Thing Now?

Hi Friends! Hope you had a great Christmas! This week I’m back with something that it was on my mind for a few weeks now.

Do you have what it takes to be an influencer? Or all it is left are endorsements and your self image?

For me, an influencer is someone who spread positivity. Who share stories about failure and encourage people to try their best. To keep trying.

Do you have what it takes to be one of them? I don’t have it. I don’t like my face or everyone else in my business. I enjoy my quiet writing and being at home. I write so people can find some comfort and realize it’s not all fun and games to live in the USA. Not only for immigrants, but for the born and raised American too. If my voice can be used for something good and I will do it!

Do you have the time to be even more on social media than what you already do? There is a fine line between yourself and the world you created to portrait your life. It has to be new and exciting. All the time.
I’ve seen all this frenzy starting. I was part of all those phases, since the beginning of Facebook in 2006, when the status updating was as simple as “Joana— is eating at a nice restaurant today” or posting entire albums on it and adding captions to all 66 pictures.

At that point it was all private, only friends could see what I was up to. The years passed and today we have instant celebrities, on IG, TikTok, Twitter, and all that comes next. Kids who grew up with phones in their hands and now are making tons of money dancing on Social Media.

What is an influencer?

According to a Wired website article an influencer “is anyone who has the power of selling an idea, items or a lifestyle thought their social media accounts”. It started in the early ’90s with the forum website pages on the internet, where people used to get the value of their products and generate interest based on what certain people had to say about them. Today an influencer can be anyone who has enough talent to manage a website with content to create affiliated sales, the so-called affiliated marketing.

There is a lot of different types of influencer in the media these days, for example, beauty bloggers, travel bloggers, Fitness, health, gamers, and others. Their job is to create content and attach their brand to the product, generating income for themselves and whatever it is they are trying to sell. The other branch of influencer is coaching. People who have some type of knowledge and instigate in you the need to be a winner in life. Over and over.

Why does everyone want to be an influencer these days?

In the early 2000s, Paris Hilton created a persona, based on what she knew and thought it was cool to be at that time. A rich heiress, socialite, who was blond, thin, and reckless. Her job was to be famous and to continuously followed by the paparazzi. If you are younger, you probably don’t know that she was the one who started the Selfie. I watched her documentary on youtube, and in 2004, she was already taking photos of herself in a little digital camera.

Making all the faces kids born in 2005 are mimicking today.Paris started this maniac seeking attention. And guess who she was friends with? Kim Kardashian. So whatever they did in 2004/2005, are the reflection of kids today.

Everyone wants a piece of the attention, with all the social media being so open to all kinds of people, it’s easy to get dragged into this “influence world”. People started selling themselves as a brand and with that, endorsing products, clothing, food, restaurants, club, making them look cool among the other humans

Who do they influence?

The unicorn cupcakes with sprinkles gets my attention.I’m sold.

I don’t know who they think they influence, as I’m not a marketing person. What I understand is there is a niche for all kinds of people. People who work out a lot, influence people who want to be fit, people who live off their beauty, influence people who want to be beautiful as them, and people who sell food, influence the chubby kids at heart. I’m a fat kid in my mind and I’m influenced to eat that unicorn cupcake with sprinkles. Get into my belly!

The problem with the influencers, most of the time is that they started acting like celebrities, as soon as they get some status on social media. As their brand grows, so does their ego. They start to pick and choose who they are gonna work with, like a company. Most of the time it’s some bland people, selling necklaces, or some other product. How many times have you seen this image: A blond girl, holding a coffee mug, in a white sweater, in a monotone photo?

The answer is dozens and dozens. Pinterest is full of them. What are they selling? The necklace, the coffee mug, or their boring lifestyle? People lost the hang of their creativity to look and act what it suits the eyes. I’m ok with whatever you do, unless you are biased.

Please don’t be that person.

I’m sorry, but you cannot yell Black Lives Matter, post a black stick-on IG, Justice for Brianna Taylor and George Floyd and continuously erase people of color or Black business because it doesn’t fit your “brand”. Be a better person with the influence you think you have.

The fact that you, as an “influencer” hurt people that I love and that I work with, it’s not gonna pass. There is much talent to be seen beside the pastel monotone, leaning in a granite counter photo.

I’m not an expert in anything, what I feel is like people are losing track of their lives, to be a product of social media. That instigates a lot of younger people and even older people to think they are not up to their standards, when in fact, not everyone wants to live that kind of lifestyle. Some people are just ok with how they live.

Influencer as a career choice.

Being an influencer is now some type of career. Ask anyone younger than 20 years old, and the answer will be the same, they will either want to be a nurse, an influencer, a TikTok star (who wouldn’t since there is a 16-year-old making 100K a month only on endorsements on the platform) or have an account n OnlyFans.

You can do whatever you like, of course, the only advice from the 35-year-old me, who saw the internet transformed to what it is today, is: Don’t forget to be a decent human. Being a decent human doesn’t cost you anything. Even though being trash will keep you giving some good endorsements, don’t forget who is on the other side.

Thanks for reading and let me know in the comments by who and what are you influenced by? I’m influenced by food and travel tips! Can’t have enough of this type of content!

Stay Healthy and be safe!

J.G.Snelly