Why Do People Want to Be Internet Famous for Nothing?

I don’t understand why everyone with a blog or Youtube channel has this need to be some famous guru/life coach nowadays. The amount of times I’ve seen these ridiculous ads on Youtube, “how you too can rent a mansion and cars to convince people that you’re successful. Doesn’t that sound fantastic?” Or those Odyssey Online articles where people cobble together these essays convincing people they have everything figured out when it comes to interpersonal relationships. “If you want your friends to think you also have it all figured out just share this article on your Facebook page. Don’t worry they only read the title so it’s not a problem if the actual article contains incongruent ideas and unsubstantiated claims. Just keep that between you and the unqualified writer.” The self-promotion and branding that people deem more important than real intrinsic value is ridiculous.

I do think that people can gain valuable insights from other people’s observations but as a person who writes every week there’s a massive problem with the intent of some articles. There’s pressure every time I write to make the highest quality article I can (which I realize is mediocre at best). And even though I didn’t start this to get validation from other people, you inevitably look at how many people read your article or click your links. It’s cool when people read your stuff, it feels good. I can understand how you can be tempted to make them a little more clickable. Maybe make the article a little more interesting and a little less honest. Maybe you give advice you’re not really qualified to give. Maybe portraying your current situation in a different light can make a more compelling story. I see how easy it is to move in that direction, especially if you started blogging with the idea you’d get famous.

The fact of the matter is, if you are writing or producing content for any other reason than you like to do it, this isn’t going to be fun. Either you realize it’s way harder than you thought and give up or you’re going to sell out and write ridiculous click-bait headlines paying a fortune for Google adwords or Facebook advertisements. Even then you might not get this “fame” you’re after. There are so many blogs out there and there’s more started everyday. Yours needs to stand out, but let it stand out for the right reasons. If you’re not willing to put in the work to make the actual content of your writing or whatever you’re putting out there substantial, honestly fuck you. If you’re recycling other people’s work because you need “content” where does that lead? Do you start plagiarizing? Do you start lying about your success or credentials? What does it say about you?

If you think back to around 2007 “Mind of Mencia” was one of the biggest shows in the country. It was started by stand-up comic Carlos Mencia after he achieved considerable fame in comedy. It was a hit, the biggest sketch comedy show since the “Chapelle Show”. And for about two years all was good...enter the internet. As soon as Youtube and other internet platforms began establishing themselves some interesting things started coming out about Carlos Mencia. First we found out that his real name is Ned Holness, which isn’t a huge deal many people change their names for showbiz. Then we found out that some of his sketches from the show had near identical premises as other sketch shows. Which was a little unnerving but there are surely writers who should have figured that out. But it really started falling apart when he got called out by other comedians, especially heavy hitters like Bill Cosby, George Lopez, and Joe Rogan about stealing other comedians jokes. His show got cancelled, people stopped coming to his shows, and he fell off the map. The problem here is that he never put in the work to practice getting good at his craft, being funny. He recycled other people’s ideas and skated by. Now under the microscope, he doesn’t have the skills to rebuild himself as a comedian.

There’s no substitute for actually writing and organizing your thoughts. Creating a consistent stream of thought, where all your facts and opinions align while still being enjoyable to read is really hard (I know, I’m still not there yet, just look at this abomination). But if you practice every week you will get better and eventually something you write or produce will be better than mediocre and you can build off of that. But if you don’t put the work in people are going to find out you’re full of shit.

I see this happening very soon in this age of self-promotion. If you want to be famous, get good enough at something to justify being famous. With the internet and such an unparalleled ability to communicate it’s not really a matter of if people will find out you’re lying, it’s a matter of when do they start to care that you’re lying. Just produce honestly and put the work in. If you’re talented enough or hardworking enough, good things will happen. Portray yourself honestly and you can’t help but be original. If you’re not reaching the “success” you wanted maybe your measure of success is unrealistic or, unfortunately, you’re not that interesting.