Course Correction

In this day and age, we are completely outnumbered. The rate of content coming out is too much for anyone person to handle. And that's the kind of the point now. I kind of incidentally picked this photo because it had Gary Vee in it, a pioneer in the social media and internet space. One of Gary's main ideas is that it's an attention economy. Your attention is valuable so everyone that is trying to make money is going to be trying to get your attention. The more content that comes out, the greater the opportunity that it will grab your attention. That's one factor anyway, the competition for your focus.

Another reason for an increase in the rate of content is technology. The ability to produce content is getting easier by the day. Cameras built into phones, voice to text capabilities in multiple forms, cheaper and free software for editing, probably even some sprouting of AI to help with this process are all expediting the time it takes to talk into a device and have it reaching potentially millions of people in a matter of minutes, on top of all the mainstream content sources that have been around for decades in TV, movies, and books.

Speaking of "mainstream", what was once a large problem has taken another shape. Mainstream was usually content created for the masses so it didn't always hit with everyone, just the estimated largest majority or most popular. Now, though, content can be very specific, and there can be unless streams of content on one particular topic. What once was a problem having barely anything to consuming regarding a specific niche, in some cases there may be too many options to keep up.

The role of the consumer is the driving factor in a free economy and because of that, a majority of the population has been conditioned to be that role. What do you buy next? What do you watch next? It's basic human nature, so no one is to blame. It's just good to take a step back and see the situation. If you're always consuming, you're most likely never getting ahead. And it's hard not too just keep consuming, there's essentially limitless options, if one thing doesn't strike your interest or you get bored with it, on to the next one.

Fundamentally it makes sense, you ultimately are only providing someone else value if you are always consuming. And if you're not producing value, then you're doomed to be trapped under this constant deluge of things to consume, needing to work for someone else to help you pay for all this consumption. And if you're content (hah) with that, that is absolutely fine. Everyone's situation is different. It really comes down to your goals and where you want to end up.

I have found myself thinking about this quite a bit for a while now, and I want to make the shift from the role of the consumer to role of the producer. I've been devising various approaches to making that switch and this is one of the ways to start that process. This is something I produced rather than consumed.