Message over Medium

When I first started creating, making videos, it was driven by message. I had things to say. I had just been through a really trying mental health period and I was very socially conscious and wanting to be socially active and if you have that desire at the time I did, the medium of choice is clear; it is social media, it is Facebook and Instagram and YouTube, and then TikTok and so on. These are the mediums by which you can reach the masses.

But what I think happened and what happens still to myself and many others is that I got lost a bit in the medium and the metrics of the medium. The rewards of the medium gained greater importance than the messages. And then at some point instead of the medium serving the message, the message began serving the medium: “Oh yes this message is a trending topic, it will perform well.”

It's a hard place to be and I want to say that I'll do it differently now, but the pushes and pulls of this particular medium are strong, the incentives are strong, and when your livelihood becomes intertwined with those incentives, then it becomes scary to act in disregard of them, and from the view of your professional peers you would look silly to not prioritize growth, relevance, and monetization.

I don't know the answer but I think reminding myself and maybe you of this predicament is a good step towards addressing it. If you are in the same place, I want you to know it’s something we all struggle with, at least most that I know. I applaud you and myself for having the courage to prioritize messages when we do.

Wish you well,

Naser

P.S.
If you haven’t already check out my latest podcast with a fellow Persian travel creator, Oros: