HOW TO MAKE PEOPLE JELLY OF YOU WITH SOCIAL MEDIA
It seems like there's a party every weekend
I recently saw Steve Martin lecture on stand-up comedy. You just have to be yourself, he said, only showcase your worst side. If you saw a sign that said “Employees Must Wash Hands” in a restroom and thought, “boy, am I glad I’m not an employee!” your worst side effect of sharing that ironic experience would have you draw a greater connection to and laughter from the audience.
Here’s the takeaway: stand-up is not really about the object of, relating to, performing, or being a monologue of jokes, gags, or satirical comments. Stand-up is about you.
The same goes for social media. You don’t need to show the most glamorous image or tell of the shiniest new toy to draw interest or even to make people a little jelly of your social life. Your everyday doings for the ‘gram, being the object of your photographic eye, only ever look as cool as you do.
I’ll give you a for instance. I visited the renaissance fair to improve my social life. The experience was, you might say, a glimpse into the past. People noticed my Instagram story which to me is cool because it proved that the fair itself, once upon a time within the realm of geekdom, is currently enjoying a renaissance. I snagged an Instagrammable moment there, not by preening or posing fake modesty. I actually had fun, and it showed.
There is a classic dogma that a cause must be greater than or equal to its effect. The metaphysical ideal comes from renaissance proofs of yours truly putting the cool in uncool. It is easy to conceive and may be difficult not to conceive that simply soaking in a cold bath you can heat the water at most to your body temperature. Likewise, you can sweep a shock of thick, unbrushed hair in an updo to rock and roll, not so much out of bed with the look of a sleepyhead as a punk, effecting the nonchalance of rebels without a cause. Or alternatively, give arty sidelights to misadventure on the cluttered scene of your creative writing desk. You thought it would be easy peasy lemon squeezy, but it turned out difficult difficult lemon difficult. Don’t even worry about it. I’ve got you covered. Follow my lead from here on down through the below passage to look effortlessly cool, capture the moment, and make your rivals jealous to boot.