When you get involved in social media, you see a lot of articles that you “must read”, concepts you “must know”, and things you “must do.”
And they are pretty much true. If you want to compete, you need to know what everyone knows.
It takes effort to take off, that’s when planes spend most fuel.
But once they are soaring, they can turn the autopilot on.
This is why I no longer read almost anything about Gen Y, social media, blogging and many other burned topics.
Not because they are useless. They are not.
But their purpose is to help you take off, not to make you fly higher or faster.
Why do people keep debating these topics over and over then?
Because it feels safe. Everyone knows what they are talking about, they all feel smart.
But it won’t help. That flight will end at some point, the fuel is limited.
I can bet that most of this blog’s readers have also taken off. And this is why I think they should reevaluate their relationship with these topics by now.
It’s easy talk about what a successful take off you did once you are in the air. What’s hard is to take off again.
Read something else, be ignorant once again, let the autopilot do its thing.
Stop talking about what you already know.
After all, it’s more profitable to have many planes in the air than one spaceship on the moon.
{ 1 trackback }
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
Also, I find the problem with reading too much on the same topic is that you start to question whether your thoughts are yours anymore. I used to spend hours each day reading blogs on feminism. While, yes, I learned a bunch, I also became someone who was spewing out facts instead of taking the time to formulate my opinion on it.
Plus, when we put so much emphasize on other people’s blogs as the source of our facts, we take away from our own knowledge. We put the blog author’s opinion on a topic higher than ours (usually) and that makes us susceptible to becoming way too impressionable. One does not become an expert on a topic merely by reading all the opinions on a subject. One can only become an expert by actually getting their hands dirty in the topic… a person who thinks otherwise is delusional. You only know if something actually works when you see it work. That’s common sense.
Plus, when we put so much emphasize on other people’s blogs as the source of our facts, we take away from our own knowledge.
One of the best things I’ve heard in a while Jamie. + 1000 points to you. =) Ciao!
+1000 points!? OMG! YES!
Yes, reading means to spark, not to state. That’s up for us to do. Religion, anyone?
I was just talking to Corbett over at FreePursuits.com about this yesterday.
There is this vaguely defined but definitely present group loosely defined as ‘lifestyle designers’ that also includes a fair number of ‘location independent’ folk that are, essentially, beating the same drumes over and over.
Don’t get me wrong! The rhythm is nice, and there is a lot of skill there, but at some point it just gets tiresome to hear the same old beat over and over, even if the beat is different than what everyone else is marching to.
I think the blogs that will survive and continue to thrive will be the ones that set themselves apart from everyone else…rather than one more post about ‘what lifestyle design can do for you’ or ‘tips on productivity,’ we’ll begin to see a lot of new, innovative stances and mixed topics, straddling the line between lifestyle design and completely different fields.
I’m hoping to see more people within this sphere take the reigns and explode off in different directions. I’m afraid that before that happens, though, many will lose interest and drop off the radar.
Your predictions combined with your grasp of reality is both exciting and depressing. I believe you’re right, disappointment will beat new challenges.
Love The Take Off, Not The Flight. I don’t need to say much more. Wise, wise words, my friend.
However the two are necessary, the two need each other. You can take off and crash … the flight is important to also recognize. In this case, in terms of social media I hear what you’re saying and I agree with you. But often in other situations, the flight and journey can be just as important.
Depends on how long the flight is. Social media is a Los Angeles to San Francisco sort of flight.
You´re right that it feels safe and comfortable to just go on visiting the same old playing field… but of course, life will be a lot more interesting if you move on and accept that you´ve grown out of it.
I think it is then pretty much okay to keep on talking about it – because you KNOW about what you´re talking and this experience may be valuable to others – but for your personal development it is surely important to take things to the next level.
Some people would rather plummet and die before going for the challenge. You just keep embracing novelty, that’s where growth is at.
Great topic Carlos, and wonderful writing! Very wise. I do agree with you, and this doesn’t just apply to social media. It can be applicable to many other fields, and I think you can become complacent in many of these areas. You can start to feel like there is nothing new to debate, and at that point you really have to recognize that you have to continue challenging yourself. If you don’t keep challenging yourself, then you simply won’t advance. I think it goes for any field.
However, I’d also say there are some fields where there is so much to learn and understand that you can continue reading about it forever, literally. I’m interested in international human rights, development, and social enterprise. I find myself never getting complacent, never fully understanding — because there is so much more to learn.
Social media, however, you reach an impasse. At that point you need to find a way to approach the topic in a new way that challenges you and your readers.
Agreed, it depends on the flight’s length. Like I told Grace, social media is a Los Angeles to San Francisco sort of flight.
Do you think it’s an issue of the readers wanting to feel safe? Or is it a result of writers trying to reach the largest audience?
The takeoff is broad. It applies to more people and can relate to those with the lowest level of experience.
The flight isn’t as broad. It’s for the people who have already taken off…and it’s niche focused. Professionals from any field might be able to take off using similar methods, but the flight requires different methods for each individual professional.
I think everyone wants to read, learn and engage in conversation…but it’s tough to venture into the conversations that aren’t as “safe” when all the writers are starting safe conversations.
David
Scribnia.com
You touch many points David. I think it comes down to being useful for people getting started. When you say large audience, that’s what it includes, new people that aren’t aware of the important concepts.
So, our goal is to start more dangerous conversations now. I know you can lead the way and I’ll try too.
Atta boy, Carlos! Another way to look at it: too many flight instructors, not enough pilots. Get out there and fly, people!
So many plane analogies, who would have thought?
Hi Carlos,
On the money again.
So much time and energy are spent debating terms and ideas. I am sick of reading about life hacks, minimalism, lifestyle design, digital nomads, etc.
Imagine if we had the Internet before the telephone was invented. Then we would have;
telephoneEnableCorporation.com
TalkingOverWires.com
TalkingToFriends2.0
speakingoverdistances.com
communicationindependence.com
Is technology is changing the world, YES. Should we spend three hours a day learning how to be more productive, NO.
Your are completely correct. It is time for me to stop reading so many blogs!
Good brands! That could definitely be a fun web page: site names for older breakthroughs.