Notes on Internet Influencers

The question isn’t whether you shouldn’t be one, but what you use that power for?

(Originally published on Substack on January 7, 2024).

I’ve been around the webs for quite a long time, although not as long as the Gen Xers and Millennials before me. I’ve seen many fads and popular influences come and go. I have gotten angry at many things on the internet over the years and yelled to the skies why would anyone do some of these things that I have to describe as narcissistic and psychopathic.

I’ve long thought about the idea of power and whether or not it’s a good thing or not. I’ve long been afraid of the idea of power, which has kind of been hammered into me by some of the good influencers I watch (and possibly religion/from parents), but I’ve come around to the idea that you use power to give to others. You listen to people. Of course, you have to stay in your position of authority if anyone wants to become popular (being kind in and out of itself does not give you followers).

You can view the world through two perspectives, a nihilist’s and an optimist’s. Being an optimist by itself gets you nowhere. Being a nihilist makes you depressed, or at worst, encoruages you to follow dangerous demagogues and alt-right figures. I think that 100% of drama on the internet nowadays is perpetuated by assholes and that everyone else follows the charistmaic assholes. You see this with reaction channels, commentary channels, etc… which only adds fuel to my opinion that the world is more nihilist than you think. Yes, you can use this idea to become a Red Piller, but I think a much better way of using your powers, if you do get popular, is be a good teacher/quasi-religious figure (if you aren’t religious). You know those stories of the Buddha, of Muhammed and Jesus, and how they didn’t preach for war or anything but said a few truths and gained a whole following out of it. My kind of ideal of this figure is Vlogging Through History, who is a pastor himself.

Being an attack dog in an out of itself makes you destined to be subservient lieutnant to a benevolent leader type, the guy who does the leader’s dirty deads, or an explosion that comes in and out of nowhere, but disappears (Hitler, Alexander, Napoleon). But change the explosion part to internet fame (Leafy, GradeA, FilthyFrank).