Navigating the Digital Content Maze in 2023: Authenticity, Aspirations, and Challenges
Navigating the Digital Content Maze in 2023 means I’m always online. Modern technologies have connected us like never before. Like soul reapers in the Series Bleach, how we wield this technology controls the shape of it. Our online personas are a part of us, but they take on a life of their own. Unlike the terrible MMO called Life, you can control your narrative and who you are to a certain extent.
This doesn’t mean that these technologies don’t have their drawbacks. Due to the nature of my work, I’m always online. I live my entire life behind my monitor and keyboard. On top of managing my work, I feel the constant pressure to update all of my social accounts. While twenty years ago it was hard to get any information it’s no secret that our modern world has the opposite problem. Navigating the Digital Content Maze in 2023 means you deal with information overload.
Information Overload: More Than Merely an Influx Issue
Everyone knows the problems of information overload. Deciphering the truth and taking action is hard now that we have all this information at our fingertips. How it affects our younger generations is more than just having too much input. Like the Black Mirror Episode Nosedive, we have a social credit score. No longer do I have to wonder if I’m low on the social ladder I have an objective measurement.
Perhaps due to my Asian-American upbringing, but I’ve never felt “good enough”. This is only amplified by the modern world. I thought I was decently skilled in a lot of areas. I make, music, art, and videos, but online there is an overwhelming amount of amazing content. I’m struggling to break through the noise and find my voice. The one escape I have in Gaming is tainted by Skill Based Matchmaking. I guess you’re never allowed to feel like you’re enough anymore.
Modern influencers tell you that if you’re not where they are in life, you’re not working hard enough. They sell you courses, products, lies, and a dream. They say stuff about the Law of Attraction and how they’re special in the universe. Then they say you’re not good enough and you’re not working hard. Information overload is more than an input issue because once it gets in your brain it rots like a cesspool.
Trapped in the Rat Maze You Have to Join the Race
Navigating the Digital Content Maze in 2023 leaves you with almost no choice but to join the race. Not only are we pressured to consume products, but make products out of ourselves. How much sharing is too much? Sometimes I feel like I’m putting myself out there on a pirate plank. There are times when you can keep it too real. This blog post contains my real thoughts and emotions, but I doubt it will be received well.
My Plans to Make it as a content creator mean playing the META. You have to do what it takes to Play to Win. Even if it means being corny or phony on LinkedIn. The toxic positivity on that site makes me gag a little. But like the good rat I am I feel like I have to join that race. The funny thing about Rats and Humans is that we have more motivation to run away from things we don’t want than to strive towards things that we do.
What Do I Want, What I’m Afraid of
I think one of my nightmares is waking up in another ten years not having accomplished any of my goals. I’m almost thirty now and the only goal I’ve accomplished is moving to Japan, and that hasn’t gone that well. I don’t even know what I want to run towards anymore. Do I want to be a content creator? I like making content, but I don’t feel like it’s valuable enough that I can make a living doing it.
It gets confusing because I want to “make it” so I can spend more time focusing on improving and leveling up my content, but I read a book by Rick Rubin that states that wanting to create to “make it” is inherently flawed. I think the deeper root of why I want to be a content creator is to honestly express myself. I’ve felt like a passenger in the whole experience we call life. I’ve never valued my feelings, thoughts, or opinions outside of my blog posts and videos. This is compounded by the feeling that no matter how much content I put out it gets lost into an algorithm of nothingness. Even when one video, post, or piece of content does better than the next the goalpost just moves. It’s like the SBMM of life.
I did make this section of my Blog to log what I’ve been doing to try and attain some level of success so here’s what I’ve done in the past week.
I’ve Been Writing More
In the grand scheme of things, it’s not that expensive to run a blog. You don’t have to pay, but with the amount of plugins and posts I have on my website https://mylaidbacklife.com I can’t run the free version of WordPress. Still, it’s a BI-Yearly fee of around 200 dollars, and seeing that I’ve had no returns from hosting it, most people would have given up by now. Still, it’s nice to have a web space that’s truly my own. If I do end up building an audience it’s nice to have a space that’s truly mine. The website needs an update/rework, but for now, it will suffice. Eventually, I would be able to host a page of digital or physical products but for now, it will be the place where you can find all my content… that is if I remember to upload it.
I’ve been writing more as a way for me to keep track of anything that’s happened. I don’t share everything, but I keep a detailed grid log on one of my favorite products OneNote. It stays in the cloud and updates across all of my devices. It helps to keep my life and mind organized.
Starting Point
Writing a blog post becomes a lot easier when you have some notes and more concrete evidence of what happened during the day. I then sometimes feed my notes through ChatGPT’s and then personalize and modify the text. There are times when I don’t as I like to let my authentic thoughts and voice flow onto the page. Blog posts are probably the worst way to get and keep attention in 2023 with short-form content and equally short attention spans. But I find I’m better at writing than being in a video. I live in my head a lot, I spend more time there than I do gaming.
Blog Posts Put Out Recently
- The Truth about Starting a Gaming Channel in 2023
- The Beautiful Nightmare of Coming Down From a High
- Tokyo Arcades
Not every OneNote page is turned into a blog post page, but I find that it helps to get over the blank page problem. However as an artist I feel it is important to experiment with this format and perhaps put other forms of writing such as poems and fictional stories on here now and then.
Videos I’ve Edited
I not only filmed the content here but I edited it as well. I know that I can get better at all aspects when it comes to filmmaking, but it’s also good to produce videos at your current skill level. Not having a gimbal it was hard to get the shots I wanted, I feel like the transitions and shots are a little boring and I could have used a larger variety of on-location shots. Below are my pros and cons for the video.
What’s good about this video?
- Some shots are pretty nice
- Camera is unstable
- Background Track changes often
- Camera angles and movement keep the space interesting
What’s Bad
- I didn’t take the B-Roll of Akihabara. I should really capture what I think is interesting at different focal lengths
- Need to get over my fear of recording things and other people
- Would be nice to have people camera interaction.
- Need to know what ISOs to use
- Color Grading Is Basic
- Need to find out if sound mixing is good
- Can see warp stabilizer in the footage
- Should have stuck to 1 white balance
Starting to Make Car Videos
I’ve noticed successful YouTube Channels stick to one type of content so I’m starting to split my posts into different channels.
Freelance Work
When I’m doing Freelance work I can’t help but feel imposter syndrome. I’m nowhere close to becoming a YouTube Partner myself, yet people come to me for Video Editing and Social Media Management advice. If life were like a ranked game I’d consider myself a gold player giving advice to bronze players. Still, if you’ve never ever uploaded or edited a video I guess I’ve picked up some knowledge and if I can pass that on and get compensated a little for it it will be a good thing.
Although I know how much time it takes to edit even the most simple video edits I feel bad receiving payment at the same time.
I need to start studying motion graphics. I have some knowledge, but I’d like to make channel opening’s closing and custom transition graphics.
