Wednesday, May 3, 2017

My Take on Social Media

Namastè!

Top o'the morning to ye!

I had an interesting thought this morning.

I'm in the midst of a few reviews, and reviews involve pics. The products I'll be writing about are toys, things my littlest bear is currently running around with whilst doing his toddler things. I find his antics adorable. Alas, Kids Namastè are notoriously camera shy at times and it's hard to get "that" photo.

Like millions of other moms, I have that Instagram. You'll find food pics, quotes, and photos of interesting stuff that I opt to share.

What you won't find is perfection.

(Except the hashtag.)

My presence in social media is just like my food--organic. By that, I mean this: I'll naturally choose the best shots, but I won't stress or go to great extremes for those double taps.

I'm not a clebrity. I'm not a model. I'm a mom with a blog.

I focus far more on the grammar, spelling, and syntax in my blogs than I ever would on getting a "perfect" photo. The only reason I have that Instagram, is to allow my tribe a glimpse of my world (if they're so inclined to see) and stay relatable. When I first started writing, one of my partners told me, "Tay-tay, you seem mythical. You gotta bring some more personality."

Naturally I was a little taken aback. I write, and I have some (incredible) readers, so how was I "mythical"? Every blog post is something straight from me. These are really my ideas and experiences. What's mythical?!

I hate social media. I hate the pressure to be perfect and the way it tends to suck people into a cyclone of popularity contests and unreal expectations. I didn't see how I, who boast all of 40 Facebook friends and a petite 12 followers on Instagram, would even make a ripple there.

"Well, you don't post enough pics and you don't use names. People need a little more of you or your blog will sink."

Oh.

I'm not really keen to hold an entire press conference on my kid's outfit of the day or give a riveting account of how my face mask is saving my life. I pretty much just wanna write. That's my contribution to positive mommy'ing.

As an introvert myself, I love reading. When I'm in the thick for the long days and sleepless nights of this motherhood thing, it's not likely I'll call someone. I hate the phone. However I will grab my tablet or phone and read until my eyes are heavy. The moms behind my favorite blogs  (besides my own, obviously) are my friends. My pen sisters! They reassure me. Make me laugh. Make me think. And most of the time they do so with just their words. Their pictures, if they have them, are just icing on the cake.

That was my initial approach.

...then the epiphany.

I can absolutely evoke the same solidarity. I can share myself without compromising my commitment to staying true to myself. (I'm an introverted, shy, silly gyal--after I'm around people I need a nap to recharge.)

I'll never ever be that ratio-monger (988K followers BUT only follows back 200) and I'll never skew my life to make it better for likes or worse for sympathy. I set out to write, and if social media is a part of that I'll play along. I just won't play myself. I'm not here to be a perfect cookie cutter image or guru--I'm just here to share my experiences for the other happily Imperfect moms out there.

Namastè!

-- Tayè K. ♡

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