For the past week I have been “on the road”, criss-crossing to blogging conferences and influencer events, deep diving into conversations. From Canada’s west coast to the Eastern in the USA, and back to dabble in the middle of Canada, where I find myself dripping in humidity, with a moment to contemplate and sort my thoughts.
Three events. Three different brands. Three different conversations.
But all saying similar things.
When I first entered the influencer industry, almost 3 years ago, it was fresh and shiny. There was excitement, and opportunity. A wild west style approach where if you had a shovel and a pack horse you could determine your future just by setting forth on it.
This attitude maintained for some time. New things were being done, concepts defined, creativity was bursting. With it, of course, came opportunity and success.
The conversation is different now, even if the words are yet being said, something has changed.
Our generation of blogger is losing its grasp. We are looking tired and crinkled around the edges, and not just because we are aging. It is time for us to re-invent, AGAIN, and mature into something else new and valuable.
We think we are experts, but the window to what we see is small, and not as significant as it used to be. Our vanity statistics are meaning less and less. There are new words we need to learn, and new ideas and concepts. We are old dogs, and it is time to see if we can learn some new tricks.
This is the point in time where we need to stand back on that ledge and decide if we do, in fact, what to leap back into the abyss. Do we want to know? Can our brains handle change? Are we okay with being something different and adapting to this new space?
Or is it time for us to change our participation? Or just be content with a lesser role, in this new, exotic space?
The underlying pulse of the industry is thrumming, but the top side conversation has not yet accepted talking about it in polite company. We are still saying “be this” or “do that” and you will have your success.
Perhaps we should be standing father back, redefining what that success will be?
I laughed when I saw this Amy Shumer video. I laughed because it was true, to all of us, in any industry. If we continue to base our value on what it WAS, eventually we will realize we can no longer maintain that level.
Perhaps we are becoming “less F*&kable”, and perhaps that is ok.
Maybe being “F*&kable” isn’t all that matters in this new space?
There is a change in the air folks… a swift wind blows, and we need to start listening. Maturity has its pros and cons, and I, for one, am going to embrace the positives and celebrate the things I need to let go of, allow them to pass along to a younger crowd. I will admit my wrinkles, acknowledge what I don’t know, and embrace what I do.
Yes, perhaps I am an old dog, but every old dog knows a thing or two, and needs a few puppies to keep her on her toes.
I have one more conference to attend, and will share a wrap up on all 3 after I have come out of my travel haze. But, I have a feeling that I know what I will be sharing next week, even before I sit down with this new group of leaders. I have an idea of what is coming, and where my place in it will be. . . if it will be.