Social media is an albatross.
Sorry. Iām feeling more curmudgeon-like than usual. Allow me to explain.
Writing is just about all I enjoy in the āprofessional world.ā Itās one of the few things in the professional world that doesnāt feel like work even when it is, in fact, work.
What often does feel like work is social media. Unfortunately itās not something you can skip. Increasingly, a writerās success on social media dictates whether or not they get to tell the stories theyāre passionate about in the first place. (As if the writing world needed yet another gatekeeper.)
Itās not as if I never engaged with social media and donāt know what to do with it. There was even a time in which I prayed regularly to the God of ālike, comment, and subscribe.ā Years ago, I regularly uploaded silly videos to YouTube back when I fancied myself a comedy writer in the making.
More recently, Iād read articles on how to decide which hashtags to upload to your Instagram post to get the most engagement. Out of nowhere Iād start posting daily, crafting my posts just so, and making sure to include as many hashtags as I could.
Eventually, I puttered out. The focus on social media took time away from what I actually cared aboutāāwriting, filming, and taking photosāāand wasnāt adding an ounce of meaning to my work. Besides, the last thing I want to do at the end of the day is stare at my phone posting and engaging on social media.
So I started to care less or not at all about carefully crafting and curating what I posted. I wanted to be able to post whatever struck me as interesting or amusing in the moment without worrying about how it clashed with everything else. Worse, I wanted to be able to not post without worrying about how it might negatively impact my career.
I have goals in my life and I know itās rare that someone meet their goals without having to do a lot of shit they didnāt want to do. So, thatās how I often rationalize investing time into social media.
āIf this is what gets me the book deal or makes XYZ happen, fine,ā I tell myself in between anger headaches.
Iāve had various agents and publishers over the years take interest in different book proposals of mine, only to be scared away by my lack of social media following (or the fact that I was writing about, say, Germany and not Paris). Usually Iād engage in a period of kvetching about it wĢ¶iĢ¶tĢ¶hĢ¶ Ģ¶mĢ¶yĢ¶ Ģ¶wĢ¶iĢ¶fĢ¶eĢ¶ to my wife and move on.
Recently, it happened again. The book idea was great, Iām told, but the social media following isā¦ not great.
So Iāve come to a crossroads where I either accept that I need to care about my social media following or I continue to thumb my nose at the whole endeavor as my manuscripts, book ideas, and dreams rot away. Presented with those two options, Iām sucking it up and going with the latter. Iām going to consciously try to grow my social media following. (This is why we need a shoot-me-in-the-head emoji.)
What does this mean in practice? For one, it means I have a fucking TikTok now, which is not a thing I ever thought Iād say. (To be fair, thereās a passionate community of Yiddishists there and thatās pretty great.)
In general it means Iāll be spending a lot more time on social media in the coming months. Iām filming recipes for TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. Iām posting photos of what Iām cooking. And soon, since Iām fortunate enough to be able to travel again, youāll see more from the road (more accurately, the rails and trails).
Part of what Iāve always loathed about spending time on social media is the implication that it might give off the vibe that Iām trying to be an influencer of sorts. I donāt know what the time limit is, but it seems anyone who spends a significant portion of their time posting and dealing with hashtags, it means theyāre trying to be an influencer. I donāt know, maybe Iām wrong. I often am about such things.
Anywhozzles, itās important to me that you know thatās not what Iām trying to do. What Iām trying to do is tell interesting stories. Iāll try to let that seep into my social media output as much as the format allows. But please know I have noble intentions with my increased posting. Iām not trying to live my life for the āgram.
Basically, this was a long-winded way of saying: Please like, comment, and subscribe.
Words
Late last month, my feature on how social media is impacting challah braiding published with TASTE. I know Iāve said this before, but this was an especially fun piece to work. Plus, challah is the best. So go read it.
Videos
Iāve got a couple new recipe videos up on my YouTube. first, weāve got a panzanella with challah and feta. This is basically one of the few salads I actually look forward to. And then today I uploaded a recipe for potato kugel with paprika, carrots, and zucchini. If you have recipe requests, Iāll happily take them. Otherwise, youāre going to keep getting my interpretations of shtetl food with the occasional Greek twist because thatās just what I know.