Well, here it is. It's the last post of my 3rd Ship 30 for 30 cohort. Rather than look back at how it went, I'm going to look forward.
What's next?
Continue Writing
- I'm not worrying about a streak, but I'll continue to post essays and threads via Typeshare.
- I may also explore writing elsewhere in some capacity (different content than what I'm doing in Typeshare).
Build Some Things
- Looking into what an Automate Your ADHD email course could look like.
- Keep coming up with neat Zapier workflows, especially ones that can help others.
- Might look into using Adalo for something else.
Focus on Twitter Replies
- I want to challenge myself to reply to tweets more frequently (in addition to crafting my own tweets).
- Maybe I'll come up with some workflows or a dashboard to track it.
Other Creative Endeavours
- Maybe I'll look into Pencil Pirates by @EvansNifty
???
- I'm leaving myself open to interesting and exciting opportunities :)
- Got something I could help with/collaborate on? Hit me up!
That's a wrap for this cohort. May or may not join another one this year.
I frequently see this sort of behavior on Twitter, in the “I did this and succeeded so if you want to succeed you should do these same things” type of posts.
When someone succeeds, whatever that particular success looks like for the person, it’s all too easy to attribute it to their own exceptionalism.
I appreciate it when someone who has walked the walk tries to help others along their path.
The problem?
The road to success looks very different from person to person.
Sure, successful people have some influence over their own fate. Smart, talented, driven people will likely outshine the lazy, uneducated, quitter.
Don’t Discount Other Factors
That same person could have done all of the exact same things, at a different time of their own life, and seen very different results.
Don’t underestimate the role of luck and timing. Sometimes a product or service comes at the precise right time and taps into the perfect moment.
Other times, it’s just dumb luck. The stars align and when the person tweets, it happens to be seen by someone with influence who then amplifies it, and away we go.
That turning point may not have happened the day before or the following week.
Guidance? Yes. Gospel? No.
Sure, see if any of the advice is applicable and give it a try if it seems like it could work for you.
But don’t treat it like a recipe, that when followed, will get you the same results as the “exceptional and successful genius”.
Before I go any further, I want to acknowledge the author whose article I got these two terms from. Her name is Zulie Rane and if you're ever on Medium, you've likely seen her around.
I hadn't heard the term Broetry before, but based on her headline (The “Broetry” on LinkedIn Is Making Me Sick) I instantly knew what she was referring to.
She points out that the word was coined by Bloomberg writer Lorcan Roche Kelly (back in 2017 — where have I been?!), and to quote him, it consists of the following:
1. Where it's posted: LinkedIn
2. Hook: A click-baity, one-sentence opener
3. Content: an emotionally charged, personal anecdote that paints the subject in an overly flattering light
4. Formatting: short, simple sentences with frequent line breaks
5. Closing Line: a clichéd life lesson or quasi-inspirational thought for the reader
It's Not Just LinkedIn, Anymore
It may have started on LinkedIn, but it has definitely found its way onto Twitter, typically in threads. Not only found its way, but it seems to be the predominant style that "the big guys" use and recommend.
I'm likely guilty of doing it sometimes, but for the most part I tend to not go that route. It feels un-natural to me, for precisely the reasons that Kelly mentions. The personal anecdotes and clichéd life lessons (often filled with faux profundity — faux-fundity) don't feel like I'm being myself.
But, Nick, It Works!
Maybe. If you're doing it, and succeeding, good for you.
I sometimes feel like social media is a pyramid scheme, where someone with lots of followers starts a style or trend, others copy it, but nobody really enjoys it (not the writers, nor the readers).
We play along because we think it's what needs to be done.
