Breaking the Mold: Rethinking Influencer Content for Authenticity and Creativity

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Monica: [00:00:00] Hello and welcome back to inside the click, your resource for everything. When it comes to the creator economy, I'm Monica. I'm Michelle. And today we are talking about the evolution of,

Michelle: Technology, the industry. And how you can pivot and not get left behind. Yes.

Monica: Let's get into it.

She feels that as a millennial. whEn she goes to YouTube, she doesn't see people like her. She sees younger people, or she sees older people. She doesn't see like, the 30 something vlogging, whereas , She sees Emma Chamberlain, who's 22, and she loves her content, like, it's super high quality, it's captivating, all that, but she's like, why is it that I'm not finding people like me, like, I'm seeing mommy bloggers that are my age, but not just People that are my age and I thought that was an interesting point.

And then we [00:01:00] started talking about just long form media in general, because she's like, I don't want to post 20 short videos a week. Like that doesn't light me up. I don't get to be creative. I just have to do the checklist of what's trending and all that. I don't want to do that. I want to create stories in long form content.

And then that evolved into talking about how TikTok is running ads right now, telling creators to post content over one minute. And the fact that they're even running ads on that shows kind of where her instinct is right. So I thought that was all super interesting. And then.

We were talking about my little vlog thing that I did and I posted it on TikTok and I wasn't going to post it on Instagram and we were talking about it and we both agreed that Instagram feels so [00:02:00] judgy whereas TikTok you feel like you can post anything and just like see if it lands, if it does, it does, if it doesn't, it doesn't.

Whereas Instagram, just like, you could have the same exact audience, but for some reason there's this universal feeling that Instagram is just judgier, which is not true because I've had just as many negative comments on TikTok as I have on Instagram, but, and I see TikToks about it all the time too, they're like, Why is it that Instagram feels so judgy and I saw some Gen Z to talk on it and they were like, it's because millennials are the Instagrammers and they're judgy and I was like, I guess we kind of set the tone.

I

Michelle: totally agree with that. We shared the thing about Instagram, encouraging creators in person. To post more long form [00:03:00] videos , earlier this week in TLDR, so when I first was seeing that, I kind of think of it as um, TikToks making a play to, I might've said Instagram there. I meant TikTok.

TikToks making a play to like. Get YouTube, which, oh my god, okay, so TikTok's going after Amazon, TikTok's going after YouTube, like, wow, but I do agree with what you're saying, and if you think about it, a lot of Gen Z, they are just a little more, I think, in general, relaxed. Even it's jokes about Gen Z at the workplace, like they expect a ton of money and they don't want to do any work.

And it's funny that it's millennials that are judging that a lot. Something else that I see too, your point about [00:04:00] mommy bloggers are, tend to be like people our age, like mid thirties. And I think that is where millennials are in that, like, weird cross Or like maybe like weird limbo point where the generation before it was like, get married, have a family, blah, blah, blah.

Now the younger generations I think are just fully embracing the fact that like. Life doesn't have to be super traditional, like don't have a set timeline and millennials are in the middle of all of that. So you have a lot of millennials that had kids. It's becomes all about the kids and there's even wanting to show like, okay, I've accomplished this milestone and here's my family and all that.

And I really loved that. Video that you posted and , I'm excited for you to [00:05:00] share more of that where it's just , Like, you take all of these things as learnings and just be in that learning phase and enjoy, , having more experience. Like, even in a sense, having more freedom, but a lot of the times I think that there's some shame in that.

Oh, yeah, there's,

Monica: I need to post my next video on that. And I have not posted it. I posted it to tick tock. I've still not posted it. In Instagram, because I got a little bit more personal in it so to backtrack on the video. So the video is essentially like a vlog style video. And I talk about the transition from your early 30s into your mid 30s.

And What I want that to look like for myself that relates also to what my friends and I have talked about that they [00:06:00] also feel like they're having similar thoughts and then I mash together another video and basically I then. Say, okay, this is how I felt, and this is where I'm going to go, or this is what happened, and this is what I want next.

So it includes things like, well, it only includes two personal things. One personal thing was, I say, like, my timelines were disrupted, not just because of the pandemic, but because I moved out of my boyfriend's house during the pandemic. And then I quit my dream job at LTK, like two major things that I did not predict, did not necessarily, like, intend for until, I was in the thick of it.

When I started both of those things, I never thought that I would move on from them. anD I'm like, that's not that personal. , it's not like people who know me don't know that [00:07:00] about me, but for some reason it just feels like everyone's talking about vulnerability on Tik TOK and on Instagram.

No one is, they are because I follow those accounts. So like, it's totally like a thing that's just kind of a not true. Belief that lives there, but it's so interesting how these 2 platforms cultivated 2 different mindsets.

Michelle: With that, so with Instagram, right? We've had it for so long.

So I feel like you just are connected with people from a lot of different walks of life. Yeah. Whereas Tik Tok, you can just make it and it's like, okay, no, I'm not following that person that I haven't seen since high school, whatever. So that could also be leading to feeling like that is that [00:08:00] on Instagram, you do have that more, I don't want to say like personal, but it's kind of like this like deep cut.

Audience, whereas on TikTok, it's kind of this new, fresh thing. And on top of that, you still have the fact that the younger generation is really the one that's all over it and they are just more, carefree.

Monica: And to your point, I would say there's the people who have just kind of been around for forever, like the random person from high school.

Although I completely what's the word squashed a, limiting belief around like those people like that far back, because one of my best friends from high school told me that sister in law listens to the podcast and is like. Always talking at dinner how she's just so excited about how far I've come and blah blah Like my friend's [00:09:00] sister in law like that far removed where it's like sometimes you assume those are the people that are Judging you from afar and it's like no belief squashed.

That's not true. Some people just want to be happy for other people, right? but So there's that and then there's the complete opposite where it's new people you just met. And I don't know if this is a millennial thing or just a. Life thing now that Instagram exists, but I feel like when you meet people, they immediately go on Instagram, , before they even, like, know who you are, if you even know you're going to be friends with that person.

And so I feel like it's like that too, because it's like. Okay, I talked to this person for three minutes, but now they're following me on Instagram and now everything that they're going to think about me is going to be because of Instagram, not because of our conversation that we had.

Like, do you ever have that where , you go to a dinner and the person three [00:10:00] chairs down from you, you have a Instagram request from them?

Yes, but

Michelle: then sometimes I just like, let it ride

Monica: like,

Michelle: I think right now I have 30 Instagram requests. Okay,

Monica: so you just let them sit. Yeah. Well, because you have private. So my, since mine's public, it's like, welcome to the club and the same thing iN dating, I saw a new follower thing pop up and it was someone who I had exchanged numbers with like two years ago and never met in real life.

And I know that like the follower thing can sync to your contacts and it like automatically does that, so I'm sure that's what happened because there's no way this person even knows my last name. So, I'm sure it was just like, the contacts from contact sync, but still, it's like, on the dating apps on Bumble, the person's bio will be [00:11:00] like, follow me on Instagram instead and, like, talk .

Through DMs. I've never done that. I've never slid into someone's DMs before, um, no, I take that back I have slid into someone's DM before but because they're they were a mutual friend and my friend told me to reach out But I've never blindly because someone said in their Bumble profile I don't check this go to my Instagram DMs, but then that shows how Instagram was saying the highest traffic of Instagram is because people are literally using it for just replacement to texting.

Isn't it sketchy though? Like, why would you, well, like, I know you're not going to put your phone number on Bumble, obviously, but why would you need to talk to someone through Instagram DMs instead of through the app?

Michelle: Yes. [00:12:00] I, so one thing though, using DMs instead of texts one of my very good friends who I met uh, maybe like almost two years ago, we go to the same gym and so we just like met through that and we first started following each other on Instagram and now we get our nails done every few weeks together.

And so we've been like sending nail stuff back and forth, but we make plans and talk through Instagram. Like I don't actually have her number.

Monica: What?

Michelle: It's just like. Yeah, I could get it, but then also, well, she also has an Android and I know that with the texting, it's always a huge pain.

So I'm like, we could just be on internet and talking on Instagram anyway. Like you could do it on a plane or whatever, versus like sending a text. So, I know Chris thinks it's so weird, but I'm like, it [00:13:00] works,

Monica: it's fine, I mean like,

Michelle: we send each other memes all the time, like, it,

Monica: but, it's like I'm having conversations with my friends on three different platforms at the same time it's, it's really no different than that.

I think it's just. When you think about the actual phone number not being a part of the equation, do you think there will ever be a time where this is getting existential now, a little bit, but where a phone number won't be needed? , At what point does what you're doing with your friend, only needing to exchange an Instagram handle become, you do that now with me?

30 percent of the people in your life, and then now you do that with 80 percent of the people in your life. And then at what point is a phone number not needed? At what point does Apple even just change phone numbers to a

Michelle: handle? Well, when everyone first switched to cell phones and then [00:14:00] people they were like, Oh, well, I'm still going to have my home phone, even though they like.

Didn't use it, but my parents actually still have a landline.

Monica: Do they have

Michelle: an older house? No, but that's kind of recent. They

Monica: moved. Yeah. Because my parents do because they're, they have like no cell service in their house.

Michelle: Oh, that's right. Yeah. Cause the walls are so thick and brick. Yeah.

Monica: Like those old school firewalls, I guess in there,

Michelle: but I agree with that.

Why right now are we all holding on to phone numbers? , especially because with the, and I think that it's going away soon with the apple, like you need a blue bubbles and it's green if they're not, but I think that does make a difference. , the fact [00:15:00] that I could , communicate, because even when we were traveling a few weeks ago, and I was talking to her, , just through Instagram app when we were in the air.

But in my head, I was like, yeah, like if we had each other's numbers, I wouldn't be able to text her because text is on cellular and I was on wifi.

Monica: Yeah. You would have to do WhatsApp, which is a whole nother, it's like, I hate WhatsApp. I know I have it on my phone. And if someone tells me, I'm just like, no.

And I say this as someone who's parents spend half the year in Europe and are like, why don't you have WhatsApp? I'm like. No, I know

Michelle: It's such a pain my my fantasy football league is through whatsapp And I'm always like I'll get the notification and be like, okay Yeah, I'll look at this in a little bit and then I forget

Monica: that was my problem.

So it's just like I'm not [00:16:00] doing it Yeah,

Michelle: oh man. I don't know Technology is weird. I mean, Did you see that other thing that's coming out like that pin? It's like the AI pin. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So that is another weird thing where . You don't even have a UI, and it just operates on, , gestures.

Monica: Weird. Are you gonna get the meta glasses? I don't know. They are cute, only well, I say that because they're just Ray Bans, but I feel like Ray Bans are just cute. Like, they're flattering on everyone. Yeah, they're like standard.

Michelle: Yeah.

Monica: Yeah, now that I'm out of my glasses journey, I honestly sometimes miss my glasses.

Sometimes it just like, you just need to put some glasses on.

Michelle: I really like them, except the only thing is I do wish that I could see without them. And I don't even have a bad prescription.

Monica: Yeah, no, the [00:17:00] weirdest experience. I think of my life. I can for sure say was the first day I woke up after LASIK and could see.

, and I just opened my eyes and I was like, But it's also so weird. So I've worn glasses since I was in 5th grade, contacts since I was in 6th grade my eyesight truly terrible. Like, I couldn't, , my nightstand would be blurry from bed. So that's what I've been used to for the majority of my life that I can remember.

I think by day five, I had forgotten that I don't need glasses. The transition happened that fast. The first four days it was always like Whoa. And then all of a sudden I was just like. This is normal. And I was like, how could I have done something so inconvenient for so long and have forgotten about it that fast?

Michelle: It's the same thing with phones. , can you imagine how [00:18:00] you use, and we grew up during the transition of this, but I can't imagine, , back when I lived in New York. Being like calling on a landline. Okay, I will meet you

Monica: at this

Michelle: restaurant at six o'clock and then you just have to get

Monica: there. Yeah, it's wild.

Even like GPS, like maps. When I went to college in LA, every few people would have the GPS thing that like chunky like that and you would literally take it and then if someone else was driving, you would put it in another car because you're like, how in the world are we going to get around LA without printing?

All the maps map quest. Oh, my gosh. I put it in the GPS to go to the grocery store. I'm gonna go to the grocery store with my eyes closed and I still put it in the GPS.

Michelle: Well, and I also, like, even if I'm not [00:19:00] using the apps, I still have the Google maps pulled up, , on my screen, because even if I'm somewhere where I don't know exactly where I am, I like seeing the direction in the road, .

Are the corner of my eye and I thought to myself, like, how do people do this before you just have to watch the road intently and , look at it swerving in front of you. Yeah, it's weird.

Monica: The other day I was driving home and. The car in front of me was one of those cruise cars, the self driving Ubers um, obviously different company, but the ride share, the self driving car ride share, and it was trying to merge and I was so stressed.

Watching this car try to merge, mainly because I knew it was a self driving car. I think if I hadn't known, I would have just been like, okay, they're taking their time trying to merge, but [00:20:00] watching the whole thing, I was just like, I hate just knowing that this is happening right now, but I'm sure in 10 years, it's going to be the most normal thing in the world.

thEy did pull out of Dallas. The week that I saw that car was like days before they were supposed to go live from testing and then they pulled out because I guess. It hit

Michelle: someone. Oh my gosh. Our friends, when they were in Arizona, they did they did like the self driving car. I don't know what company they used, but they filmed it and , at the end of the ride, right before they got out, they were like, Thank you!

have

Monica: It's like when you're at the airport and you go through security and they say, have a good flight. And you're like, you too. How many times someone tells them have a good flight? I

Michelle: [00:21:00] know, but I'm still waiting for the company. That's going to, like, thinking about influencers and , what's going to .

The next in this space. Still waiting for the company that's like, someone can take a picture of themselves and it gives all of the links and then it just puts it out

Monica: there. While law is really freaking close,

Michelle: but they're like not. So, yeah, I signed up on their platform. I did like it, but you can just tell they're a very skeleton team.

Because I got an email. That was like, we're helping top creators like you and like, I've never even shared anything. I have 0 made from them.

Monica: But I think [00:22:00] part of the problem too, is the bigger companies. Don't even know that voila is doing this because if they did wouldn't they be like, okay, we got to do that, too Yes,

Michelle: or they would just go to acquire them,

Monica: right?

So I feel like there's like a lack of knowledge that this exists.

Michelle: Yeah, this is one of the reasons Why we both like rodeo so much because in some ways when you use affiliate links, it's a little bit of a race to the bottom. Like you got to make sure that you're still bringing in the money, that the lights are still on, everything's still working.

And so more innovation gets tossed to the wayside. And so that's why I think that platforms like rodeo, where they're really just, they're raising the money [00:23:00] and they're just getting people to be engaged on the platform. And that's how they're paying out. That removes a lot of that, like, I think underlying tension that a lot of companies in this space just naturally have, because.

Of how the business model is.

Monica: Yeah, and there's always going to be a disruptor that comes in. And I feel like they are going to be that. I don't really see anyone else right now who's trying to be a disruptor. Everyone else feels to me like they're just trying to keep up or recreate in their own version.

But they're not trying to disrupt the industry.

Michelle: Yes. It's disrupting the current construct versus , putting the whole thing to the ground, yeah, and doing something completely different.

Monica: Exactly, yeah. So I think that's going to be really exciting to watch in the next year. [00:24:00] Because it's needed.

I think a fresh perspective and shake up of the industry is definitely needed. Definitely needed. And yes, , we've talked about how different platforms have popped up and become very successful in the last year, but they're not shaking things up. They're just. Doing their own spin on things, and I think we need the shake

Michelle: up.

Yeah, I think they're doing things that are Interesting and different within what already exists. Yeah

Monica: Think that we're overdue on bringing the creative back into Content creation. Yeah. I feel like

we've gone too far on focusing on. Easily converting items and we talk about analytics and how you pay attention to that and you pivot and you stick to what converts, but I [00:25:00] think because of Amazon and Walmart, people have gone too heavy in that. And so they know that a 20 pair of leggings is going to convert because it's a basic and you just need it and whatever it's personal style is.

Kind of coming to an end right now because the people with the biggest influencer platforms Every single day they post Lululemon leggings and a Walmart sweatshirt Every single day in a different color and their Stanley mug every single day and they're doing it because it converts But I think what I like about rodeo the most is You're still getting paid even if that item doesn't convert and that's going to be such a source resource for people to get inspiration again.

I have friends who tell me like I deleted the LTK consumer app [00:26:00] because I get no ideas from it because it's just leggings and sweatshirts and Stanley mugs. And whenever they say that I'm like completely agree what I've done with the app is I only look at the LTK Europe. Creators or LTK Australia, because those influencers are still posting personal style.

And even the Instagram account, I don't follow the normal LTK consumer Instagram account, because if I see one more Walmart sweatshirt, I will scream. And if you go to the Europe one, even the LTK Korea, all of those. Every photo is a different, unique style, and I think people are going to start to want that again because it's all cycles, right?

And fashion is all cycles. It's almost a miracle that athleisure has kind of lasted as long as it has. [00:27:00] Mainly because the pandemic probably Gave it three more extra years in its life cycle, but there's just no creativity anymore. It's like, Oh, I know if I post the Stanley mug, it's going to convert.

I even think

Michelle: outside of just the clothing items that people are posting this is where you can swing too far one way and lose your identity. And I know we've talked a lot about like storylines and stuff, but even if you think about some of these influencers. All they do is post items.

I don't just want to see, and maybe this is just me, but I don't just want to see a shopping feed. Like I want other parts of their life. Cause it is this entertaining and aspirational, whatever component. And if you're [00:28:00] only optimizing based on like, okay, well, clearly I need to make money.

And so I need to have every single post has a link and then these are the best performing links. You lose a lot of the, what is the subliminal yeah, like the subliminal appeal and even some of that longterm staying power.

Monica: Yeah. And also okay. Let's say. You're posting an Abercrombie skirt.

But you've only shown me how to style that skirt once because now you've moved on to 20 other new skirts that needs to be bought. Why not share that skirt and over the next few weeks show the different ways that you've worn that skirt. That is value because realistically you do know that people aren't gonna buy By every single [00:29:00] skirt that you post, so why not provide the value?

And I think this is where the de influencing movement really comes in. It's like, why are we pushing new all the time? Like, on track with the same cadence that . Fast fashion releases things. I think the influencing goes a little too far sometimes and being like, there shouldn't be influencers.

They shouldn't be allowed to do this. I'm like, that's like saying there shouldn't be catalogs and there shouldn't be, let's not take it too far. There's always going to be a consumer. It's a capitalist world. We're going to be shopping and there's nothing wrong with that. But I do think that people are getting burnt out on.

The creators who really do just get on stories every day and show all the new things that needs to be bought that aren't, and this is where it goes back to, [00:30:00] they're not even new things. They're like, I just got a brand new pair of leggings and it's literally the same exact pair of leggings that they talk about week after week or like that.

Freaking Lululemon belt bag. I swear I want to burn that down because There was a part of last year, you could not escape that freaking belt bag and everyone acted like they were the ones that had the inside scoop on the belt bag. Everyone's like, I found their back in stock. I found their back in stock.

I found their back in stock. They're back in stock because Lululemon is a massive company with a massive production line that they know that they can. Mess with,, in stock, out of stock. The belt bag is always going to exist. And we don't need ten of them. Yeah. And then, [00:31:00] you get these creators who reach out and they're like, The Lululemon belt bag always converts so well for me, and now it's not.

There must be something broken. And it's like, or you've maxed out sharing about that item because you've talked about it three times a day for the last 360 days. . Yes, it converted high before, but it's not going to convert high forever, right? And I feel like some people are just so resistant and just think oh the belt bag is my ticket item And it's like for right now but not forever and you have to be willing to pivot once things start to evolved

Michelle: and The interesting thing is I can understand Someone being like, this [00:32:00] always works for me, high conversion, whatever.

But that is where you do need to apply that layer of critical thinking. With your audience, you can not just push the same exact things and assume that everyone also wants to buy five of them. Yeah. Yeah, that's a really good point. They're probably just like leaning back because they're like.

Okay, I know that this has worked. I know that this has worked and conversion has steadily gone down. And now it's noticeable that it's a drop, but they're like, well, why isn't this working? And you try to blame other things. But in reality, just think about if you were following someone that kept posting the same exact

Monica: thing.

Exactly. And what someone with a more creative approach would do would be like, okay, this belt bag has been [00:33:00] doing really well. Now it's not. It has been a long time. What is it about a belt bag that excited people? The convenience. It was good for walking the dog. It was good for running errands. Okay, what is the next bag that I've been seeing and poking around that I can now test out and then share with my audience?

Maybe it's a backpack. Maybe the Longchamp backpack is The Gen Z kids are saying Vera Bradley is about to come back. Take it one step further, take the pieces of what made that successful for you, and then be the first to talk about the next thing, or not even the next thing, just the next thing for you that you think that would excite your audience.

Because Transcribed by https: otter. ai I don't know. I, it's not laziness, but I think it's a lack of, I, is it planning? I think it's the [00:34:00] critical thinking part. I think it's looking at it so literally and being like the belt that works. It has to be this belt bag rather than it has to be a bag that's at this price point and convenient for, errands, dog walking, hiking, et cetera.

I think it's the critical thinking, thinking outside

Michelle: the box. Well, and another thing too is even thinking about the example that you gave with the skirt and how to style it different ways with the belt bag. It's like, okay, so that's a bag. But then how can you also show utility around that? So, for example, I don't really actually, I don't really see any influencers posting about.

So I have, , a lot of little bags and. I have a little key, or not key, a little card holder. Yeah. Because I did use a bigger wallet before, [00:35:00] but I was like, well, that can't fit in everything and I just want to be able to throw it in, whatever. You could literally be like, okay, so you have this small bag, are you stuck with a big wallet right now?

Well, here's a few different options there. And then you've taken that item that you already know performs well, but you've shown how to add more value to that.

Monica: Exactly. And then it's no longer just about you pushing this belt bag. You're talking other things. It's just kind of in the background now and people are still going to buy things that are in the background.

But it's just like when you just slam it in people's faces. Every single day, it's like, come on. And then you're blaming on an external things. There is nothing that drives me more nuts than when people assume. Immediately, it's everyone else's fault because what you do [00:36:00] is perfect. And I feel like there's a lot of creators who do that.

And the creators who succeed are the ones who are open to those new ideas. If during the pandemic, if a lot of the LTK creators had not listened to LTK say, Hey, I know you're a fashion blogger, but we are home and we don't know how long you're going to be home. I know it doesn't come naturally to you, but just try to do a little bit more of home now, a lot more of home.

If those creators hadn't done that, it would have really held them back. And there were people who were just like, hard, no, that's not my brand. But the ones who were open to strategy and pivots, those are the ones. Who succeeded and again, I cannot say this enough, but strategy is not sending an influencer a [00:37:00] screenshot of their analytics strategy is like what we just said about the belt bag.

Or what we said about the skirts strategy cannot be copy pasted to 10 people. Strategy is also not a screenshot of your analytics. I will die on this hill.

Michelle: I think that sometimes people get very hesitant because this is their livelihood.

And if they know that something worked in the past, It's like, well, why don't I just do the same thing because that has worked before. And I do think that if you're just thinking about a creator really trying to maximize their earnings, we know that Facebook reach has gone down. Facebook is much less effective.

If that is really what you know, and that has worked in [00:38:00] the past, of course, it's going to be hard for you to adjust. But you do that. Yeah. It's that critical thinking piece, not only in the content that you post, but in how you're displaying that content across platforms and really trying to connect with your audience.

Yeah.

Monica: Because think about every brand that files for bankruptcy, the brand was performing a certain way. They started to dip. They decided that they were going to keep doing what they were doing anyway. And then they file for bankruptcy. So,, to your point about how you said, , from someone when it's their livelihood, they're more resistant to pivot.

So, as a business, read 1 article in the Wall Street Journal. And about a retailer going bankrupt, and it's usually pretty clear the steps that happened. In order to lead to that,

Michelle: [00:39:00] yeah, well, have you I watched this on the plane. To Kauai. Have you seen the movie Blackberry?

It was act I like those types of things, , like acting documentaries. Okay. But it's exactly what happened with Blackberry, where the iPhone came out.

Monica: Oh, I definitely thought you were talking about, like, blackberries. And I was like, oh, I wonder if, , that was, like, a pet name for, , a bear. I don't know.

, you have no idea how far away. My brain was going because when you said documentary, I was like, Oh, it must've been like this obscure actor from like the thirties who like nickname was Blackberry. I don't know. There were so many scenarios that [00:40:00] happened in my brain that all did not have to do with a Blackberry.

No, it's so black. I was picturing, I'm a visual person, literally, I , had a visual of what a cover to that would be like, and it was like, Pacific Northwest, , dark.

Michelle: Oh my gosh. Wow. Well actually, I do think that they were based out of the Pacific Northwest. Probably. Yeah. no, but so, Blackberry was documented.

The technology company blackberries downfalls where they were so obsessed with a keyboard. Yeah. And then that keyboard though, I know miss it, but they did not evolve. And they basically refused to. And no one really has blackberries today. I feel like I

Monica: [00:41:00] would buy one. I would buy one the second a blackberry would come out.

I miss blackberries. The battery life was so good. In college, I could literally go three days without charging it.

Michelle: Blackberry still exists

Monica: today. Oh, really? Yes! Well, actually, that's true because I saw a thing with Obama and he was saying how almost his whole presidency, he had a Blackberry where , Michelle and the girls all had iPhones.

And he was like, I want an iPhone. And they finally got him an iPhone with no texting, no apps, no nothing, couldn't take pictures. , it was literally just a brick.

Michelle: Oh, my God, but I

Monica: guess, wow,

Michelle: no, but those all of those companies, even what. Blockbuster. Yeah. Um, The camera. Oh,

Monica: Kodak. Yeah. Fuji Films making a comeback.

I literally saw a tick tock yesterday where a girl was [00:42:00] like, if you want to you want to talk to a guy. That you see at a bar, here's what you do. She pulls out her Fujifilm disposable camera out of her phone. She's like 23. And she's like, you go ask him to take a picture. And, the picture probably won't come out.

But that's your opener. But yeah, she just whipped that thing out. Like we all have disposable cameras in our bag.

Michelle: You used to have a camera and your phone and it had to all fit in your bag. And a whole, oh my god. Love.

And you can make a comeback, even if things are going a little sideways right now, because I think this year is going to

Monica: be crazy. I think you just have to, again, be willing to pivot, be willing to think outside the box, be willing to ask for help. That's usually the hardest. And then I would say not just ask for help, be discerning in who you're asking for help. So what that looks like is asking if it's a [00:43:00] peer, someone who is doing something well that you're admiring, not someone who is either doing something that you would never do or like not knowledgeable about the space. When it comes to a resource within the industry, Go to someone who has helped other people and you know who the other people they've helped are and why and how.

Not every platform, like, okay, so we have like LTK, Collective, ShopMy, all that. Not every platform is necessarily going to know how to give you strategy. So you kind of need to do your research on who has account managers there that can actually go. Help you versus just kind of tell you what you already know.

Like you do have to be discerning in that. And it does take a little bit more [00:44:00] research to do, but you can't just ask, it's like anything in life. You can't just ask. Someone for advice on something that you would not, like, respect them for when it comes to that

Michelle: topic. Yeah. And this is also even going back to the first thing that you just said.

You can look at the different platforms and see who has creators like you. Yeah. Yeah.

Monica: Yeah. Because, for example, if you go and ask. Mayfleaf for support. They're going to be able to give strategy on a very specific type of Business model versus LTK is going to give you a different business model that more likely will lean LTK app versus ShopMy will have their own version and Collective Voice will have their [00:45:00] own version.

So be discerning and don't just like say, because this is a company that exists. They're the experts.

Michelle: Well, our DMs are always open. You can DM us. You don't need to text us. And rate, review, share with your network. Yeah. So we can keep giving you. More insights like this on the creator economy. Thanks everyone.

Bye.