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Be an Authentic Leader!
For one of this week's class discussions, we talked about people posting staged photos on Instagram and other social media sites. In an article written by Rebecca Pearson in The Telegraph, in November 2015, the model and blogger talks about her ugly experiences with Instagram. She says that her photos were staged and had to be perfect in order to get as many "Likes" as possible so clients would book her for modeling jobs.
She goes on to show the readers four of her most popular Instagram photos and tell the truth behind each one, how she spent a half hour taking hundreds of shots to get the perfect one, how she had to use tricks to hide her blemishes, and how she had to pretend to enjoy doing or drinking things she never would've enjoyed in real life. Another model she talks about in this article would starve herself for days to get the perfect, "happy" shot for Instagram. Honestly, the article is sad.
And this isn't a commentary on the modeling industry or body dysmorphia in young women today. It's about social media and the way it's turning into a shallow popularity contest. My favorite quotation from this article is, "[Instagram] has mutated into a behemoth of self-promotion where the more likes a person has, the more prestige and earning-power they can command." Now, I don't have an Instagram account (mostly because I could see this happening from the outside), but I've noticed other social media platforms following suit. For instance, there are a lot of people on Facebook who only post the best status updates and photos to look like they're living the perfect life, and it's causing other people to feel bad about their own lives and to try to compete with these staged lives.
I think this shows how shallow and judgmental people are, and the lengths people will go to maintain a fake image of themselves to impress others. It's sad that this aspect of society is seeping into social media, which is supposed to be a place to connect with family and friends and to make new connections.
As a company, or even as a person who is maintaining a personal brand, I think it's important to stay authentic. That's the only way to make real connections and to not stress yourself out or lose your identity (as a person or a brand). In his TED Talk in 2009 entitled "The tribes we lead," author, entrepreneur, and marketer Seth Godin said that people today are influenced by leaders, and a leader is someone who goes against the status quo and gathers people who need a group to belong to. So, if you want to be a good, successful social media leader, I'd tell you to go against the norm of being staged and fake, and be genuine. It'll help you make real connections with people who share your interests and who want to be connected. If you're a business, it'll help you find followers who are genuinely interested in your industry. Quality is more important than quantity.