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Don’t Feed the Algorithms
Make and share art that feeds your soul
When it comes to making things, we often ask the wrong questions. We wonder what kind of content we should make. We try to determine what type of post or picture will get the most engagement. We ask, does this have a chance to go viral?
We live in the most creative time in human history. More people have access to the tools to make art and distribution channels to share that art than ever before. But what are we doing with those tools?
Are we making stuff that matters, or are we just feeding content to the rapacious algorithms?
I get it. We all need to pay our bills. But simply making content for algorithms to boost our visibility is a game we can never win in the long term.
We live in a world with access to an infinite amount of information. Every day, we consume massive amounts of media. Most of what we consume is fleeting — cultural junk food that we forget once we scroll onto the next post.
If you want to make art that makes a difference in the world, you need to start with an audience of one. You need to make art that feeds your soul. If you aren’t excited about what you’re making, why would anyone else ever care about it?
