As writers and poets on social media, our influence over others cannot be overstated as such. When Instapoetry hit, the scene and dynamic for poetry would forever change. Hate it or love it, the changes ushered in were for a lifetime as once-obscure poets found themselves with a global reach and audience not unlike one they would have to be famous for previously.
Social media makes heroes out of the mundane, but huge success has been found on social media alone. From YouTube stars landing film deals to record deals, it is hard to look at it and NOT be impressed with how mediocrity has been put on a pedestal never before thought possible. However, for every 10 shitty artists on YouTube, there has to be at least 1 true and genuine artist worth the salt of all 10.
Back in mid-2018, I had this idea to start what I called the Temple of Indomitable Poetry, where a group of likeminded poets could come together and use their talents for the greater good in the world. The idea was that a few poets could affect big change just by collaborating, helping each other market, and build an industry foothold worth standing on. Many people see poetry as a poor man's art, but with the popularity surge of Instapoetry, now all previous bets are off. . .
Poets can organize change by releasing a collaborative anthology to be sold in the benefit of charity, poets could organize shows for tips where the entry fee to watch is a can of fresh food for the homeless, poets could link up with other industry leaders to innovate their marketing departments in return for free advertisements, and poets could do so much more than they currently are.
We now live in the Digital Age where everything is logged and recorded as long as there is a server playing back, so why not use our massive bullhorns to achieve our dreams AND save the world from a fiery destruction? Go forth and preach your message to those that listen, and learn to mobilize not just to motivate. Be the leader in your community that you sorely lack, and be the role model for yourself. Gotta shadowbox with yourself if you want to be the best. I personally would love to see many poets go out and innovate their creativity and hedge it into tangible change for the betterment of the world at large. Poets have always been the canaries in the coal mines, so why not fashion our own wings of escape?
You can be the person you want to be, but two of the biggest key components to success in such an endeavor are: 1. Steadfast confidence, and 2. Abstain from procrastination. To succeed at ANY worthwhile job, we need to have confidence in ourselves and our abilities, else we risk being mediocre. In order to be a successful poet in today's world, you MUST be a successful marketer. Your books will only sell as good as your last sales pitch. You have to be willing to go out of your comfort zone, even if it is not reading in front of an audience, you can still cultivate that confidence for days. Never let naysayers steal your lumens for their own lamps!
The Instagram poetry scene, for the most part, is an overly helpful and welcoming place (especially for newer writers) as skill is often not measured first on social media - but popularity is. Become popular for the words you say, or the things you do, but don't be forgotten for the stuff you never got to do. Please, for the sake of the world, any writers reading this - PLEASE PROMOTE YOURSELF AND BE CONFIDENT IN YOUR ABILITIES!
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