#influencer

What does it mean to be influenced? According to Google: to affect or alter by indirect or intangible means; to be altered, intangibly. It’s triggers are endless and quite personal. What influences one might fly over the head of another. The chirp of a bird, a moving film, a speech, a song, a breeze, a scream; what I like to call organic influence or unintentional influence. Meaning, the cause for your influence has no intent of influencing you and happens at its own natural timing. Something in your world simply motivates a perspective, an action, a style shift. In the case of influence, the catalyst is not necessarily what matters as much as the choice proceeding. Influence does not exist without a shift in behavior, ideas, perspective or decision. Otherwise, one was not influenced. Even if the influence is to sit still, it was inspired.

Nowadays, influence has literally shapeshifted. What I like to call organic influence exists in real time. Though times have changed and there are new factors at play. Artificial influence, or digital influence, is where I’d like to turn our attention. Here i am referring to the modern day phenomena of engagement sensitive platforms. There is absolutely no way you can speak about it in our current reality without addressing such a bold new competitor for our attention: the algorithm.

When I say “artificial” influence I am not saying that anything that moves you or influences you from the internet is bullshit. Also to be clear, when I say digital influence, this does not refer to just social media. Quite frankly, the internet has given us such remarkable access to resources for education, insight, various perspectives, arguments, debates, art, literature, speeches, tutorials, how-tos, DIYs. I am not for one moment minimizing the absolute blessing that came as a byproduct of technology and the access it allows to a never ending array of information. I am specifically speaking of digital influence in social media spheres. Depending on the platform, the influence is different. Instagram for the quick shots, tiktok for the short videos, facebook for stories, linkedin for career moves. All service us differently, and we serve IT differently, naturally.

In these spheres of influence, there is something at play that we don't find in the wild, or in real life, real time, as we do organic influence. That is the algorithm. If you don't live under a rock (no offense if you do), you know what this is. But I'd like to offer an additional visual:

Picture life as a grid of energy, like gridded paper back in math class only this time, it is all around you. You move through this grid at your own frequency, like a little bobbing orb. In turn, everything, living and made, outside of you operates at its own unique frequency. On this grid, you don't have much control of what comes into your axis nor is it planned for you. Neither you, or the world, know the chaos constantly unfolding ahead. Within this field, all different variables of life interact with you on their own time. Meaning it is quite a miracle for anything to end up in your sphere or axis considering how chaotic and sporadic and LARGE the world really is. Every random thing and person and sound is just close enough to your radar for you to experience it. Life is happening within your radar or axis. Algorithms have mastered what engages with your mental axis. To be an artificial intelligence (which is quite literally is) to know the exact coordinates at which you engage, stay longer, react, are influenced.

In this way, any influence you receive from a digital landscape is quite literally targeting you. This has a ton of benefits as it limits our need to research and seek information as these days, it seems to seek us. But if your life tends to be consumed by the influence of digital content, personalities, opinions, styles ...I would argue that it is time to let in our little friend organic influence, the beauty of life's chaos, and see how you feel. I say this as someone who often gets caught taking artificial influence a bit too literally in moments of uncertainty. I only argue this FROM a personal perspective. If you concern yourself in modern media spheres, the word influence cannot even be stated without you immediately thinking of an influencer.

As someone who is spiritually in tune (as much as I can be) this matters to me. Peeling the surface back, layer by layer, has always been an instinctual tick in how I grip onto my surroundings. I cannot take anything at face value, which can have its benefits. But what happens when a diver swims too deep, forced to swim to the surface too quickly? I think we all know how this ends. I believe if we…I...paid more attention to the natural, quiet influences that have the potential to move us forward in life not only more gracefully, but wildly.

All of this to say is, in a world that demands your attention, know when to take it back. Know not only what influences you, but why. There is so much magic to be found if we just listen. And thats on #influence