To Post or Not to Post

I will be the first person to tell you that I was one of the first people on Instagram way back in 2011. Back in the good ol’ days, everyone posted whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted without any judgment (or maybe I just didn’t care)

Now - social media has its own ecosystem, it’s own economy. It’s become such a fundamental aspect of our lives that many of us don’t know what we would do without it. Not even to see pictures from our friends or people we kinda know - but to get the latest news, see the best memes and keep up to date with the latest trends in music, fashion and entertainment.

And with this brings the daily question: Should I post this?

Is this worth posting? Will people care about this? Does this look good enough?

These are the questions that honestly used to boggle me on a daily basis.

It’s fun to post, to get the likes and comments. It makes us feel good about ourselves and the things we do. It validates us in ways we can’t quite express with words and reminds people that we are still around.

But - I kind of like that to some people, I don’t exist.

If you don’t follow me on LinkedIn, or are one of the 50 subscribers to this newsletter, you’d really only see me post once a year.

Once a year, I collect all the moments that I think have impacted me most in the last 365 days, and I post them in one carousel on Instagram. But why do I do it?

I like that no one really knows what I’m up to. I like not having the expectations of random people where 90% have no real impact on my life. I like the fact that no one really knows the tattoos I have, the food that I eat or the clothes that I wear. I like that barely anyone has any idea of my thoughts, my dreams, my goals and my aspirations.

But I still make that post once a year.

Maybe I do it for validation. Maybe I do it just to remind people that I’m alive. Maybe I do it to show those around me what they might get if they decided to check in every now and again.

Maybe I do it for me. To remind myself where I come from and where I’m going. To look back later to see how my year went, as the years just seem to fly by.

That being said, I always toy with the idea of becoming an influencer (ahem excuse me - creator). I always think, maybe I should post more so my family sees what I’m up to. I always think about the millions of ways I would monetize my audience if I had one.

But what type of audience would I have? What would be my niche? Would people find my content interesting if it’s just about my life? Do I want to grow an audience? Am I prepared for what comes with that?

It’s always: to post or not to post?

Maybe one day I will.

Thanks for reading this edition of Two Steps Ahead. See you in 2 weeks.
- Max