In the marketing world, virality is a performance metric.
To some, virality epitomizes the online experience. Influencers’ whole careers and lives have been completely transformed off of one viral post (see: Monet McMichael). For many, virality is used to measure how successful or lackthereof their content is. For me, it’s the complete opposite. I enjoy making content at my own pace, at my leisure, regarding subjects that are interesting to me. I don’t do it for the vanity metrics. Maybe it’s because of my big ass mouth, but I do go viral often. I am a very opinionated person; my creativity and critiques are the very things that have landed me jobs, opportunities and gotten me in rooms I couldn’t have ever imagined to be in. I don’t consider myself to be an “influencer,” I am usually just being me.
What happens when the magic that makes you and your gifts seen is the same magic that exposes you?
Going viral is an experience. You never really know what side of the internet you’re going to land on; you can end up with people who are your most adamant supporters, who are going to defend and empathize with you, or you can end up in hell with the alt-right incels and the scum of the internet. I view going viral as an opportunity to direct traffic. It’s essentially a traffic wreck that you can handle either one of two ways: (1) direct traffic to merge into the lane you want them to go, or (2) leave the mess in the middle of the street for everyone to drive by and stare at the wreckage. I prefer the former, but sometimes I have to take the latter.
I tend to go viral often. Especially on Twitter, which is a testament to my writing skills and English degree. Twitter is where I have the most fun; I’m my most authentic self there. I can easily drop a line or two of my thoughts and then leave the platform and go on about my day. Minimal engagement, maximal efficiency, just the way I like it. Before Twitter was acquired by a billionaire hellbent on destroying it, it was truly one of my favorite places to park on the internet. I’d get my world news, current political happenings and pop culture news right from one app.
Now it’s become a bit of a wasteland, where haters run rampant and a lot of negativity seems to dwell and fester. That’s the internet and social media in a nutshell, tbh.
I still love using Twitter to tweet my sporadic thoughts, but now I’m looking to redirect my traffic and words into a different lane (this blog for instance), where I can house my thoughts and have more direct control over who my audience is and what they see. The past two weeks on the internet have been pretty much a whirlwind for me. It started from me tweeting a cute video about Offset, a rapper from the Migos who is undergoing a huge rebrand at the moment. I used the word “rebrand” to describe his emergence from being just a third member from the Migos to his own brand. It caused so much discourse that I had to mute and almost delete the tweet! As much as I love discourse, it became volatile and weird very quickly. The tweet garnered almost 10M impressions and I started receiving weird messages from people, including people doxxing me, sending me death threats and arguing with me. All over a tweet about Offset. Pretty insane, if you ask me.
From there, it just got weirder. I went viral talking about the mystery and haunts of Lake Lanier, a former story about how I accidentally was involved in a murder investigation, and then a story about how I recently had a former client try to steal my identity and username FairyBrandMuva. At first, the former client seemed like a sweet, genuine person, but then she showed her true colors by booking a consultation with me, trying to befriend and work for me, and then filed a trademark over my username FAIRYBRANDMUVA. It truly was scary hours for me because I’ve never had that many “problematic” things go viral in such a short span of time. I don’t enjoy confrontation, especially when the internet is my place of work and creative safe space.
Thankfully, I’ve built such a strong community that when I do go viral for something semi-problematic, I have a dedicated community who will back me up. For instance, regarding the former client who many have now dubbed the “FairyBrandThief,” so many people who were familiar with me and my brand came to my defense and called her out for her extremely weird and disgusting behavior. One thing I can’t stand is a thief and someone who does not operate with integrity. To have someone who camouflaged themselves as an admirer and supporter of me and my brand, to then turn around and steal from me was not only disheartening, but it was pretty damning to her character. It never feels good to have a public dispute, but that situation going viral was necessary to warn other creatives about behavior like that.
I’m not here to complain about going viral, that’s the essence of the internet. I’ve made the internet my digital office for the last decade and have been around the block long enough to know that things are bound to go viral. The internet can be and is a beautiful place, where virality brings exposure to creatives you’d otherwise never meet or cross paths with in real life. I’m a very lowkey person and I enjoy being behind the scenes. Most of my work is done from the comfort of my home office, sitting in front of my computer screen.
The internet is where I’ve gained exposure to my work, clients have found me, friendships have been made and connections have been forged. However, the internet is also where people like FairyBrandThief lurk in the shadows, monitor you and wait and watch your every move. It’s where haters are made, obsession and parasocial relationships are formed. It is interesting when virality happens to me because it happens so often and is actually the opposite of what I want. Not because I have anything to hide, but it takes the security blanket off of me.
When I become the subject instead of my work, it makes me uncomfortable to be that publicly vulnerable and exposed. It’s like going to sleep with no covers; you have nothing shielding you between yourself and whatever imminent threat lies under the bed. I know that it’s a part of the job and having a well-known brand, but it never makes me feel any less vulnerable when it happens. There’s nothing you can do to stop it (unless you just stop posting on the internet completely) but it never gets easier having people you don’t know dissect you, your content/words, your character, even your looks and pick them apart.
The goal post looks a little different when you’re not a person that’s swayed by vanity metrics, likes, follows or comments.
On a deeper note, every time I go viral it brings me back to feelings about being seen versus being in the background. No matter how much I attempt to shy behind my work and the creativity, it seems like I am always thrust to the front. I’m an empath, who is very sensitive to energy and easily overstimulated. None of which makes is a good combo for someone who makes a living on the internet. I’ve been praying a lot about the confidence of allowing myself to be seen and standing ten toes in my gifts. I’ve always been the type of person to let my work speak for me, but I know that with new levels come new devils. If I truly want my platform and business to grow to the level I want it to then I know I can’t hide in the shadows forever.
But it’s so cozy back here, so idk?
I said that 2024 would be my year of re-emergence. 2023 was a head down kinda year. Next year, I’m outside. My prayer is always to cover me from the obstacles that are seen and unseen and I know that if I want my brand, platform and business to grow, there’s going to be uncomfortable moments and haters lurking in the wings. There’s going to be people who watch me, who don’t wish me well and who don’t want to see me grow. There will be those from my past who will bring up the past in an attempt to keep me right where they are. More importantly, there will also be those who love me, support me, celebrate my wins and wish me well. I choose to focus on them.
Cheers to us coming out of our shells and allowing the right people to see us and experience our magic.