Be a net creator

Black Mirror, London

Since the internet came about, I've been dumbly consuming content like everyone else. On the whole though I've managed to be a net creator.

If you totalled up the time you spend contenting content vs consuming it, what's that look like?

For me I've always been a net creator. That's just the way I've been wired. I'm not saying that all of my content is worthy of accolades, I just like to be productive and create stuff. I get bored if I'm not writing, thinking, taking photos or creating digital art. Always experimenting. Way back in the day I was a moderator of a now dead minidisc forum, even then back in the day I guess that was creating - around 3k posts on that forum. I also used to trade minidisc mixes, building and curating playlists. Loved that back in the day.

Roll forward to the smartphone era, and wow am I going kinda crazy on content creation. 7k+ images on flickr, 3k+ images on instagram stories, loads of daily insta stories, blogs, Picsart, LinkedIn, youtube, tweets. LOADSA CONTENT! Where the hell does it all go and what's the point? Well mainly it goes into walled gardens that are the big internet companies, who then sell ads. I've alwasy been careful to have a back up of all of my pics and vids, so I'm not a slave to these companies.

I create content for me first, if other's happen to like it then all good.

So that's the real point. I just love creating new content. Trying new styles, apps and platforms. I'll continue to do so as I find the freedom in creativity one of the most positive things a human can do. Being a net consumer is soul destroying. Get out there, live life, look around, enjoy the moment and always be creating.

Black Mirror, Train

Why are commuters so miserable? Men in Black International

This big old advert is currently in London Waterloo. The idea is that you sit in the booth and get a picture from one of the agents. I didn't really hang around to find out. What I did observe is that most commuters we just blanking these guys like they didn't exist. Now I'm no raving MIB fan, but why not stop for a laugh.

I'm assuming people are just too busy, self conscious, or miserable.

I wish people unleashed a bit more fun in themselves and had a bit of a laugh. Commuting is soulless enough as it is!

Maslow's Heierarchy of Needs - Social Belonging

Maslow's Heierarchy of Needs

I've been thinking a bit this morning as I've woken up about Maslow's hierarchy of needs and where I am on the pyramid. I've definitely got the basics covered.

• Physiological needs
• Safety needs

Totally nailed if I'm honest. I can eat and sleep, I'm warm and I feel safe.
The next three I think is where I can work on:

• Social belonging
• Self-esteem
• Self-actualization

I don't know exactly how I would work on them or what I need to do to get to self-actualization. It's worth me pondering these over the next few days and weeks. Maybe then I can draw some conclusions on how to improve my life.

 Social Belonging : According to Maslow, humans need to feel a sense of belonging and acceptance among social groups, regardless of whether these groups are large or small.

I guess I do have that covered. I also guess that social media covered that for me a lot in the past. I used to be a social media fiend. I would post multiple times a day to Instagram stories. Sharing all sorts of mundane stuff, then check the views. What was the point in that. "Oh wow, my life is so amazing look at me" Fuck that, those days are over. I'm actually becoming more insular I rekon. I'm actually starting to care less about the wider world. I care less about social belonging on social media. I care less about Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Flickr. I really don't feel the need to share much more beyond this little blog here. But it's good to share and I'm relishing a bit of anonymity. Being online and in the spotlight of the world suddenly feels a bit creepy to me.

So how am I going to improve this area of my life? What practical things can I do to feel a belonging? Firstly I think it needs to start with my wife. She's the single most important person in my life, so if I start anywhere it should be there. Maybe I'll start a bit of a gratitude journal or something that will just improve how I think of our relationship. Maybe I'll come up with new ideas on how to improve this area of my life going forward