“Like so many things, it is not what's on the outside, but inside that counts”
- Merchant, Aladdin
“Wait. I want to post this on my insta-story.”
“I saw this on Instagram and let’s go here too.”
“This was viral on TikTok, let’s make it too.”
Those sentences are some clips of our daily life nowadays. Especially after the soaring high use of Instagram and TikTok. Many are “busy” making content for their profile. Due to the popularity of social media, anyone can be a full-time “content creator”. Compared to 10 years ago, life as a blogger was not much appreciated because it doesn’t seem to be a profitable job and it couldn’t be described as a job. But here we are now, where childhood dream job is no longer to be an astronaut, or a teacher, but to be a YouTuber or an influencer. Well basically, all job is equally good, but we need to aware that what we see is not the whole thing about that job, especially content creator.
Well, actually the content creator is not a new job description since the magazine we used to read, TV programs we watch, or even the flyers you received are created by a content creator. It’s just the form of content that is new and we don’t have the specific job description for it yet. We can call a magazine article creator a magazine editor. For TV shows, we can call the creator as the producer or advertiser for flyers makers. We started to call people who create content on the internet as a blogger around 8 years ago and people who posted a video on YouTube are called YouTuber. All these job naming is just a name for a person who creates content for other people to read, hear, or watch with a more holistic perspective. The distinctive difference between the new content creator and the previous one is the working hours and independence. As for editors, producers, etc they are dependent on a company or brand and have specific working hours. While the new type of content creator is usually self-employed, more on freestyle, and has no specific working hours.
Many think that being a content creator is just the happiest and easiest job on earth. All it takes is to make your content viral and voila! You can get instant popularity. But, there is no way in this world that success can happen in the snap of your hand. All needs hard work and few times of trial and error. (Well, sometimes lucks played some part in someone’s career, but not everyone got the same luck) I was once helped my friend’s brother in running his studio and content creation business. Our client at that time is e-commerce for outdoor activities. So, we went to the mountain to create content. I enjoyed outdoor activities and moreover, this is my first-time experience hiking plus spend the night at the mountain, so I’m very excited about this content making. But, on the way up, I realized this content creation is not easy as what I usually see on social media. To make a 15-second video I had to hike up for more than 3 hours, not taking any bath, get wet due to rain, and most of all I can’t go to the toilet as there was none. In sum, there is no such easy thing in this world, you’ve to work for it.
Besides work hard, time also plays a part in your success. Who would know that YouTubers that started their channel 12 years ago would gain the spotlight like they received now? If you look at it carefully, many of them have started their career 10 years ago and just got the time to shine. More about time and timing, you can read it here. I’ve made a post about it on my previous JCP Features, so you can check it out there.
Actually, being a content creator is not just making any content. They have to carefully think about what they should make because there are thousands, even millions type of people that will look at their content and make a judgment of it. Their reputation is at stake. As you know, there were many issues with public figures or content creators regarding hateful comments. Many of them got hurt badly and many of them chose to end their precious life.
A few months ago, there are many content creators out there that reminds their followers that what they share is just a surface of their life and just like you and me they are not perfect. Like an iceberg, what we see on the internet is just the tip of their life. They choose the best part of their life or what they do and share it on the internet. Everyone has their own problem and mistakes, so they don’t need to add more of them. Mostly, the aim to create content is to give entertainment, hope, or information. As a semi-content creator, I also just wanted to share the good things here, since life is not easy for everyone. Personally, my aim is to encourage others and share the good stuff with all. We are all the same human beings and we are given the same abilities. It’s just you need to take action to make it happened. I watched one of the TEDx Talks videos titled “Stop Looking for Your Passion”. She said that it’s okay that you don’t have passion but do something. She encouraged us to work and take some action whatever it is.
Everyone already has their own problems and crazy life, so why sharing the negativity or discouraging content? We always see other’s grass is greener, but we don’t know how the others make that grass green. So, comparing your life with others is not really a bad thing to do, but you must know that great things don't happen instantly. Everyone has their own pace and there is an endless way how people achieved what they aim for.
2021 is on the way to the end of the first half, yet I’m still doing my 2020 monthly project (surely my time management didn’t get any improvement). It might have heard like an excuse, but being a part-time content creator is damn hard! See, being a content creator need persistence and consistency, which not everyone can have. In the last month of 2020, I learned how to live a content life. Not about being online all the time and sharing content, but how to fully enjoy life. Obviously, 2020 is not the best year ever, but there is always joy in everything. I started to post my daily activities during the Advent weeks in 2018. At first, I wanted to show how great it was spending Christmas in a winter country, but then I got to reflect that there is always a grateful thing every day, especially during the year-end. Then I continued the ritual up until now.
As I enter my 20s, I started to reflect back on my life more. I started to read self-improvement books or contents (like TEDx), or I started to analyze the main idea of the movie or drama that I watched (should I become a movie columnist?). Basically, I started to pay more attention to little details around my surroundings and fill in my mind and heart with positivity. After I got some insights, I have the urge to share them. Both offline and online. I started simple, by sharing it with my friends. Sometimes I shared it on my blog, but mainly on my Instagram, where I can reach more people I know personally but cannot be reached offline.
Just like what ‘The Aladdin’ movie (the older version) portrayed, he once didn’t want to buy the lamp because of its appearance. But the merchant said, “like so many things, it is not what's on the outside, but inside that counts”. And that lamp turns out to be a magic lamp! So, appearance is not everything, but what’s inside that counts.
This is my last post for JCP Features. I’ll prepare more thorough content in the future and share positivity with all of you. In the second half of my 20s, I’ve decided to restructure my life and I will take that as a chance to share more good stuff. It took me a long time to brainstorm and deliberate for this post. Even though I know that there aren’t many people who read my blog, but I had to finish what I started. Anyways, thank you to everyone who read this post and I’m signing out for now.
XOXO,
Further reading:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CQaBpe7Fxuz/
(currently the most relatable account on my timeline)
TEDx Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MBaFL7sCb8
https://www.sheknows.com/entertainment/articles/1137037/things-about-aladdin-you-notice-as-an-adult/
