Chasing the media dragon: The raison d'être

@wwaycorrigan

[For an audio/vlog version of this story, click here.]

'There is only one thing worse in the world than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.'

Media man? Mediocre man?

That's one of Oscar Wilde's many maxims. Most of us do, of course, prefer to be known than not known. To be a somebody rather than a nobody.

This has its ebbs and flows, though. Sometimes we wish the whole world knew what we were up to while on other occasions we'd prefer to be anonymous.

Nonetheless, the desire to be a somebody usually dominates, particularly for those of us still on the make. This is even more so for those whose way of earning a living is all about engaging with the masses — the more, the merrier. Or, better put, with greater reach comes the possibility of greater recognition and, perhaps, greater riches.

In today's technology-rich, highly interconnected world obtaining a greater reach, getting oneself known, has never been easier to attempt. Anyone with even just basic computer/internet knowledge can give it a go in a matter of minutes. Artificial intelligence is making this even easier. The challenge is in finding a winning way of going from zero to hero; hero in terms of desired reach, that is.

Yet, the technology and global interconnectedness helps are also hindrances. Because mostly anyone can get themselves out there, the result is a crowded and noisy virtual space. So getting seen and heard is difficult.

Added to this is the fact that we are creatures of habit. It generally takes considerable effort to get people to buy into a new alternative if the benefits of doing so aren't immediately obvious.

Established power

In the media sphere, the one that I find most alluring, some content creators can go viral, propelling a nobody to a somebody in no time at all. Some of those have staying power. Others become forgotten about as quickly as they became known about. One-hit wonders, as it goes.

When it comes to current affairs media, traditional outlets have, on the whole, held their own in this we-can-all-be-journalists age. Money, of course, still talks. Having deep-ish pockets allows the bigger players to stay in the game for much longer and ensure their content takes precedence over that of others.

Also at play is the fact that many believe what they hear and read when it comes from a recognised, official/traditional source. An independent blogger or podcaster can't be trusted as much as the establishment or a long-standing media group with many employees.

My view is that it's better to be sceptical of all until unequivocally proven otherwise. Thus, one should always be sceptical!

I say all this as, in case you weren't aware, a current blogger and lapsed podcaster. I have skin in the game.

And while I can't speak for all independent bloggers/podcasters, I believe most who go down such a path hope to get some financial reward from it, whether directly or indirectly.

In terms of directly, I still have misplaced hopes that Google AdSense will come good for me after all these years of using the service. (I'm still, um, reeling, from that absurd six-year suspension. If I hadn't lost that time I may have reached AdSense's 70-euro payment threshold by now.)

'What is the point of blogging if views are paltry and there appears to be no real benefit to it anymore?'

Revenue from automatically created ads aside, I became an independent content creator seeing it as a means to an end, that it would be an indirect route to some financial reward. This and the idea that it would keep my name out there after leaving full-time paid work in already-established media.

To a certain extent, it has served this purpose. Whether or not it is still a net benefit to me in this regard is open to debate.

Pointless

As alluded to earlier, independent content creation, particularly that which focuses on current affairs/opinion, is struggling to stay relevant in the war on fake news/misinformation.

If one's source is a blog, even if the information is true, the instant reaction by many is to rubbish it. If it hasn't been given the seal of approval by the BBC Verify team or the equivalent, then it can't be trusted. Remember, you can always trust organisations such as the BBC, even when they present opinions as undisputed facts. (If you've made it this far with this not-to-be-trusted content, I'll refer you to my 2023 piece, Living with unsettled and unsettling questions.)

So bloggers who by now aren't already well established can forget about ever making it. Unless, that is, they tap into a niche market that has money-making potential. The same goes for podcasters. If we reached peak blogging about ten years ago, we're surely at peak podcasting now. If you're an independent podcaster who hasn't yet returned a profit, you're as well to forget about those dreams of avarice.

OK, money motivates but it's not always the main driver. If it were, I would have stopped writing this blog years ago.

One, however, still gets a brief high off the hits, infrequent as they are. The randomness of these hits still baffles me, too. 'Why did this blog story get more views than that one?' Whatever the reason, while overall views of my Google blog have actually shown an increase, views on individual stories have decreased considerably over the last couple of years or so.

So it does beg the question, 'What's the point?' Wouldn't I be better off focusing my efforts on some decently paid job rather than wasting time writing blogs? The simple answer is yes.

OK, a paid job and continuing to blog aren't mutually exclusive. I can do and have done both.

But, again, what is the point of blogging if views are paltry and there appears to be no real benefit to it anymore?

Slaying the dragon

Well, there is a cathartic element to writing. And even if my reach is minuscule, somebody might relate to and/or get something out of the odd entry I publish.

There's also the feeling of still being a somebody, a free-thinking somebody at that. Blogging, plus the occasional letter to the editor, gives me the platform to express myself, even if next to nobody is taking notice.

Now, if I were to take my thespian talents to the next level, becoming something of a star — but one with a modest carbon footprint, of course — blogging would become surplus to requirements. I would have found an alternative ego-boosting dragon, if only fleetingly — the boost from it doesn't last long.

And then we're back to 'What's the point?' Why concern myself with trying to be a media man, be that media of the new, social or traditional kind, or allow myself to be lured by the siren call of a super extra?

The answer? Well, when the media dragon has appeared to be almost completely out of reach, it's at such times I've felt the least enthused about my circumstances.

Perhaps what's needed is one final fling that will allow me to slay this dragon once and for all.

Then, a life of relative solitude, away from the media madness, content as a nobody.
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Forever friends

‘Better the devil you know than the one you don’t.’ 

When it comes to women, perhaps the majority of the time it’s better no devil at all. But we all have needs to satisfy – can’t live with them, can’t live without them and all that. 

We have, though, become a little bit tired of meeting new women and building from scratch in terms of friendships and/or relationships. Perhaps the country we’re in with its blasé attitude in a number of quarters towards those lesser-spotted friendships/relationships is playing its part in our less than enthusiastic desire to go in search of new ones (see ‘Colombia’s False Friends’ http://bit.ly/LbcE9V). 

Also, while being close to your family is generally something to be encouraged, sometimes in these parts that proximity can be a little bit claustrophobic in a sense, making it difficult to build outside friendships.

Family as friends - not always a good mix.

In terms of both sexes, we do, of course, have some very good Colombian friends here to bolster our expat buddies but our policy now resembles at times a-what-we-have-we-hold strategy. That may seem like quite an unsociable approach but, as a rule, it takes us time to build good, trustworthy friendships. 

We have a lot of acquaintances and people whose company we enjoy from time to time – but those who make it onto the "true friends list" are few. Now, there’s nothing startling in this, it’s human nature really. 

What’s more, generally speaking, men tend to be able to build a larger base of loose friends compared to women but can very often be quite solitary when it comes to having tighter bonds.

Building genuine, trusting friendships can last a lifetime. Therefore, as a race we tend to gravitate towards familiar, similar characters – people we feel we can relate to better. This is not to say that these kinds of individuals will become true friends but there is perhaps a higher chance that they will.

Wilde knows best.

This brings us on to what exactly the definition of a true friend is. For us, it’s somebody who is honest and trustworthy, somebody who you can confide in and vice versa. 

Obviously, it has to be somebody whose company you enjoy, but this does not mean that you have to be in agreement with him/her all the time. Indeed, as the Greek writer Plutarch put it, ‘I don’t need a friend who changes when I change and nods when I nod; my shadow does that much better.’ 

Sometimes a person being honest with you is not always nice but in the majority of occasions it’s usually for the better. To further hammer home the point, ‘true friends stab you in the front’, as Oscar Wilde mused. They shouldn’t always be attacking you, though, needless to state.

Friendships should also be able to survive over distance and time. A good sign of being a true friend with someone is when you don’t see them for an extended period yet when you do eventually meet it’s like you had never been apart.

A similar fate awaits some false friends.

Now, it shouldn’t have to be said that being a true friend with somebody must be reciprocal in order for it to really work. It’s a two-way street where there is giving and taking throughout.

In a similar way, if a business person has a loyal customer, he/she should show signs of appreciating that loyalty in a tangible way. Alas, this doesn’t always happen (see ‘Doing Business in SA’ http://bit.ly/LVpK8p and ‘Bogotá’s simple pleasures’ http://bit.ly/Uzc3lk for more).

In our lives, we inevitably encounter characters who we wish we didn’t have to – be it at work, social events or whatever. You need to be able to park those kinds of people, though; to leave them in your mental outhouse so to speak. Don’t dwell on them or let them occupy you – this is easier written than realised, of course, but it can be done. Cut the deadwood and the negative influences from your life.

So as 2013 gets up and running, we’re going to continue to strive to surround ourselves with people we can trust. 

We are aware, however, that not everybody who is willing to stab us in the front is a true friend. It’s good to keep that in mind.