[Transcript starts at 1:07]
Hello, hello, hello, my podcast people and thank you for joining me for yet another episode of my favorite podcast. If you're watching and you watch regularly, that was hard to say, regularly, you might be like, hey, it's a little different. Yes, because I'm sitting because I'm tired. It has been a day, folks.
It has been a day. Today we're going to talk about what, well, let me just say the whole thing. It's episode 569. We are talking about Threads. What is going on over there? That's our discussion, our main topic today. If you're listening to this on the drops, it's Monday, April 8th. Where, where did quarter one go?
I don't know, but hopefully it treated you well. But, like I said, I'm sitting down and boy do I have some updates for you. As it relates to rest, I have been graced and gifted with some big rest. I feel like I'm about to say that like something happened and I, and like I injured myself. No, I just haven't had volleyball in quite some time.
So, It's been really good. I can sleep in even though, so I have volleyball two to three, no, that's actually three to [00:01:00] four times a week. Wednesday, Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday. Now, those games, and we play very early, it's like 6 30. So, you know, getting up 5 45, six o'clock. Um, but I haven't had that in, I don't know, a week, two weeks cause of rain.
And it's been really nice. I've just been resting and I've been sleeping in and it's, it's been great. So the lesson from this is that I really do believe big rest earns big work and vice versa big work earns big rest and as I say, I haven't shared this on social media yet because I gotta I want to kind of, you know, make sure my words are correct because people are like, because I'm not equating it to that, you know, worthiness and things like that, right?
But and it's very close to that quote from Jade, um, easy is earned, but I really do believe that you don't have to earn your rest in terms of being worthy of rest. But as it relates to Big rest, earning big work and big, big [00:02:00] work, earning big rest. Largely what I mean by that is that when, while you're resting, you can be, um, making strides and gains towards whatever you're working for.
Especially if when you're working, you are putting in a lot of work, right? So even if you think of us like growing muscles and things like that, if you work hard and when you're resting, that's when your muscles are actually growing. If you're not working hard, then when you're resting, they're not growing.
Right. So you just, have been very happy to rest and it's been really, really good. Like to the point where I'm, I'm ready to work, right. Where I just needed to do nothing. I was traveling a lot with, with work, with, um, with giving talks and things like that, and I was in Florida and Texas and just a lot and launching.
And now I was like, I can be home. So it's been really good, but all of that rest got put to the test and I'm tired again today because apparently Mercury's in the gatorade, something like that. We got some big rain on. What was [00:03:00] it? Saturday? And sometimes when we get big rain, the internet cuts out and it's a little annoying, but it comes back.
It didn't cut back, come back this time. And so I woke up and Lex was like, the internet's out. I was like, okay, I went back to bed. And I was like, I'll fix it when, when I You know, get up. And got up. And I was like, I can't fix this. I, you know, did a bunch of troubleshooting and was inside outside. Cause I, I typically have to do what's called power cycling, which literally means turn it on and off.
You turn, you unplug it, you plug it back in.. So I was doing some stuff with that. I went on some Reddit forums and you know, I'm digging around there. I actually was, you know, called frontier and had tech help from them. And basically it was established that we have to have someone come out. The first available appointment was Thursday.
Mind you, this is Saturday morning. And I was like, wait a minute, wait a minute. What do you mean Thursday? So while I was on the Reddit forums, I had come across a few posts that said, here's the email address of the CEO, email him. [00:04:00] And I was like, Hmm. And some people wrote back and they were like, I did it and it worked.
So I was like, okay, I'll try it. Worst case scenario, nothing happens. So I sent him a very nice email and it was basically like, it's Saturday. I'm sure you hate receiving these emails, but like, I need this for work. Like my girlfriend and I, we work from home. This is super important. And to not be able to have someone come out until Thursday is like really, really tough.
Um, and I was like, I've been a loyal customer since 2017. Like I'm not going anywhere, but it'd be great if you could throw me a bone. I received an email, folks, the next day. It wasn't from him, it was from I don't even know who, like, the, I don't know, company. They scheduled someone to come out on Monday.
So today, as I'm recording this, this is, it's Monday. Obviously, I record in the, in the past, you know, release this in the future. But they came out this morning. I got a phone call first thing in the morning. I got the email on Sunday. Then they called me to make sure. Then I got a phone call this morning.
The guy said he was at the office, but he was going to come, you know, in the next 30 to 45 minutes, called, came. They replaced the ONT. They [00:05:00] replaced the housing, which was what I was really hoping they would do because it's outside and when it rains, I'm like, I think something's getting wet or there's like moisture.
Um, they replaced everything. They gave us a credit. I didn't ask for one. They got an email saying that they issued us a credit. Someone called after the fact to see how the appointment went, dude. I am so happy with Frontier and the technician gave me his number, not in a sketchy way, not in a sketchy way at all, but now I got a guy at Frontier.
I am so happy. So that was the first test. The internet went out, but we persevered. We overcame it. During that time, my desktop died, which is why I'm sitting down. So, I don't know what happened. Mercury went into the Gatorade, I told you. Went to, I was doing all this stuff, hot spotting my phone, hot spotting using my phone, using my laptop.
I tried it on the computer and it didn't work. Oh, I almost fell down. It didn't work and I was like, okay, that's totally fine. Like, computer's working but I [00:06:00] just couldn't hot spot it. I was like, it doesn't matter, I can use the laptop. And then the next day, so yesterday, Sunday, I went to, go and use the actual desktop just to look at it,
and the screen was black and it had a little question mark in the middle. And I was like, Oh Lord, Jesus, Lord, Jesus. So I waited because it kind of prompted me. I tried to do recovery mode. It prompted me to like connect to the internet. And I was just like, what? But I can't because I have no internet, right?
It wasn't back yet. See, see what's happening here. So I just waited. Uh, and then finally we got the internet back today, this morning, and I went to, you know, try and make the desktop work and went to restart it and it just never turned back on my desktop. My iMac quietly quit this morning and I was like, It's okay.
She has been with me since 2016 and has had zero problems. Like the best computer. I do a lot of things on here. Y'all know I'm recording and editing and she's amazing. [00:07:00] So that's that, which means I needed to find a workaround. Luckily I run two screens. Only one is the actual iMac screen and I have a screen that I put vertically.
So I moved that over. I'm running my Mac, my MacBook pro as a. The computer now i've got it all hooked up and so i'm sitting i could be standing It would actually be okay for me to stand but i'm tired because i've literally been trying to do this all day then went to try and get garage band and it was like we can't work and I was like, what do you mean?
You can't work. Why can't we work? So I had to update y'all know I hate doing updates My girl Tina got jokes and she was like, that's why your computer died, because you didn't update. I was like, no, I did update it It's just been a long, but she was just kidding, but I had to update doing all the things today I did order a new computer. Shout out to my guy Forrest and to Meredith.
They helped me out with that. So I got I went with a Mac studio You know fucking Apple like I love them but I'm also like make your products like distinct like the highest of the lowest level is actually more expensive than like the lowest but [00:08:00] not even the super low of the middle tier of each of the tiers.
I'm like just what just make them separate? So I went with what's like the middle. So there's a Mac mini, there's a Mac studio and a Mac pro. I went with- Mac pro is like a million dollars, by the way, folks. I went with the Mac studio. I got a new monitor for those wondering. I went with the BenQ 27 inch 4k display.
It's not the retina 5k that, you know, I typically have with the iMac, but I didn't want to pay fucking 1, 500 folks like to get a, uh, like the Mac studio display, it's like, first of all, I don't even really like the way that it looks like the actual bezel, like the outside part of it, and then it's 1, 500.
I was like, are you kidding me? The computer itself is like, was like 2, 200. And then I was like, I just can't. So I went with the BenQ and I'm excited. So we will see, I will report back. Um, but that is why I'm sitting down. That is why my face is so bright. If you're watching this, we have some banding in the back.
I can't, I'm doing the best I can right now. It's been a long day. We are persevering. And the fact that we were able to get this going is, is [00:09:00] to me, a lesson. And I did a little reel with Moose about this. Um, if you, one- one is one is none, right? Two is one, one is none. I just said a lot there, but as it relates to all things tech, have backups.
So yes, actually back things up, but also have backup, like workarounds for things. So I can still run my business. My concern was like my calls and things like that. And I was like, I have ways to run my business. I have other things if my main system shuts down. So that's the first thing when it comes to tech.
Two is one and one is none. Always have backups and always back things up. Second thing, if you are doing anything computer wise and like that's your job, please get an external monitor if you do things on a laptop. Like, I'm trying, I was trying to work today on this laptop and I was like, my eyes. It's a 13 inch MacBook Pro and I'm like, my eyes.
So you don't have to get a super expensive one, but get something. And so, like I said, the one that I got, I think it was like 900 bucks, um, because I'm trying to edit [00:10:00] and things like that. But like, you don't have to spend that much on it. The one that I'm looking at right now, I think it was like 200 or 300.
So I actually shared this suggestion on Facebook. Threads, like the suggestion to get an external monitor. And I made sure to acknowledge that, yes, I am fortunate to have two computers and to have two monitors, but I also maintained that that wasn't the main point, right? Threads. And the reason I did that kind of caveat there is because Threads serves your content to everyone.
And that's exactly what today's episode is about. So what in the actual fuck is going on over there, right? For those that don't know, Threads is Instagram's version of Twitter. They rolled it out however long ago, I don't know. Um, and it's been received with mixed, with mixed feedback. Mixed feedback, you know, people are excited at first.
Like everyone knows when something new comes out, but then they don't stick to it. They don't see instantaneous results and they get mad about it. Um, there was a benefit when you first started, cause your people that followed you on Instagram and people that you follow, it's kind of transferred over into threads, which is really smart for getting a platform going.
Y'all folks remember that was Lemonade or Lemonade, but it was like an eight. Um, and it never took off. Why? [00:11:00] Because you didn't have any followers, you didn't have any people to interact with. Whereas on threads, you already had that audience going. This is kind of, it's kind of backfiring a little bit in that.
You have followers, but not everyone is using the platform. Not everyone that's on Instagram is using Threads. And so they're trying to kind of, I don't want to say grow the audience, but I'll say grow the audience and show you to more people and keep people on it. And because of that, it's getting a little bit… interesting. All right.
So I do like it. Let me start off by saying that. I do like Threads, but I am seeing two things. Number one, the Instagram algorithm is protective, right? And while that's the thing that people hate the most because they're like, no one sees my stuff. The fact that meta is showing your stuff to everyone on Threads means that now you can get trolled.
Right. So on Instagram, you're like, no one's seeing it. On Threads we're, we're seeing basically what can happen on Tik TOK or what happened on Tik TOK, where like your stuff gets pushed a lot of people, [00:12:00] which can allow you to grow, but, the trolls are going to come with that. Threads does have a following tab and a for you tab.
Um, but if you're in the for you tab that you're going to get served a bunch of new things, people, you don't, you know, follow people who don't necessarily even want to see, and the same happens to the content that you create. It gets served to people that maybe don't want to see you or they don't, they don't know you.
Like what's this thing that's coming across my feed. I'm going to comment on it. Technically, again, this is good for growth, but it's also really good for getting trolled. I think that TikTok users are a lot more equipped for this. I am sensitive. I'm an Instagram user and I don't really like it so much.
It also just like, I'm not even getting trolled. I'm just getting people that are saying dumb things and I'm like, that's not even what I said. You didn't even read it. Like, they're not saying anything mean to me, but I'm like, I am dumber for having read that comment that you left on there. So, I think this does speak to the issue that folks bring me quite often, which is that they are complaining that no one's seeing their stuff, but then they complain if they get traction and get trolled.
[00:13:00] So, I think, you know, the lesson there, whatever the take on this, we don't get to choose, um, but it is something that happens on Threads. So, if you're thinking about going over there, thinking about using it, just understand that it is the reality.
The second thing that I'm seeing on Threads is that people on there love to complain.
I think that this is social media in general, right? People love to fucking complain, but it's easier to see it on Threads because it's all text, right? So you have to go into the comment section of Instagram to see, of like, of a post on Instagram to see that complaining because it's there for sure and it's the negativity, but you have to like actively do that on Instagram. Whereas on Threads that's like the content.
The content is the comment section and it's just like, ugh, God. Yes, absolutely Meta has a huge role in this and I think that, not I think, rage baiting and rage content is a very real thing. The algorithm pushes it. You're angry about something, you're complaining, the algorithm will show it to more people.
[00:14:00] Absolutely. Because people are more likely to engage with it, right? People are more likely to say something. And what does Meta want? To keep you on the platform. So if people are engaging, it doesn't matter if they're happy or sad engaging or mad engaging, they just want you engaging. And you're more likely, people are more likely to engage with the things that they're angry about.
So my suggestion with this, please folks, don't fall into the trap. Build your army behind hope and possibility. It's slower, it's a slow burn, but it's better. You go on there, you post some complaining shit, you're gonna get traction. People are gonna go, yeah, me too. That's not the army that you want, right?
So, if you're using Threads or any social media platform for that matter, let's not use it to complain. Especially not to complain about your audience, your clients. So tacky! Or complain about other platforms. People come onto Threads to complain about Instagram and I'm like, what? And why am I getting served this?
Jesus. Of note, for those of you listening around the edges, those of you that are clever, playing devil's advocate, this right here is not complaining about Threads. This is me sharing [00:15:00] my observations and suggesting how to use it. So as to improve it. Difference. This is me genuinely folks asking you to help me make it better.
I would love to see you on there if, if the spirit moves you and I'd love to see you leading with positivity and leading with hope and leading with, you know, being a true content creator.
The thing that I, that I've noticed with Threads is that it really is such a perfect representation of what I believe is the distribution within the general population as it relates to creators versus consumers, right, those who prefer to lead and those who prefer to be led.
The majority of people, folks, are consumers, and I don't say this with a negative bias or anything like that. Yes, there is a consumption part to creation, but if you put it on a spectrum, like, where we have creation and consumption, most folks lead towards the consumption part, right? That's what most people on Instagram are not [00:16:00] creating content, they're just consuming it.
Most people on Threads are not creating content, they're just consuming it. The creation part that I am seeing from folks, right, is just comments. And it's complaints. And I think that it is an attempt at connecting and connection, right? Humans, we are hardwired for connection and so I see folks on there and they're either chiming in in the comments and they're just complaining, like, yeah, or their content that they are creating is just a complaint so as to foster community behind that and get people being like, yeah, me too.
Beyonce dropped her, her Cowboy Carter album this past weekend and I enjoyed it. I'm not a big Beyonce fan, but what she's doing for music and like the history of each of the songs and like how talented she is and the thought that went into it and the work that went into it, I respect the shit out of it.
But honestly, I'm seeing in Threads a bunch of fucking takes on it. I don't care. I don't care people's opinion on it. I'm like, I don't fucking care what you [00:17:00] think about it. Like that's a little bit like my feed was just filled with it. And I was just like, I don't care. Just go listen to it. The history lessons.
Oh, there were some history lessons people were giving of like the background behind the songs and things like that. Like, that's pretty cool. It wasn't their opinions of, of the songs or anything like that. Again, these people, I believe, are looking for connection, they're looking to be seen with the people that are just like their takes on and trying to be witty, not sharing history or actually anything objective, just sharing their opinion.
And they're doing so by complaining. I saw two posts from, or posts rather, from two people, Kalen Allen and Nikolas Smith. And they were like, Beyoncé's album inspired me to create work. Not, I'm going to comment on the album and use that as my work. No, it was like, look what I made inspired by that. And I'm like, yes. That folks is how consumption leads to creation in a good way. I continuously constantly see folks asking how they can stand out on social media. And I honestly don't think it's that [00:18:00] complex. Don't share your take on other people's work, create the work that people share their takes on. Create the content, right?
Don't critique the album. Create the album. Go create your own.
And, bringing it full circle, understand that if you are sharing these things on Threads, there's a good chance you're going to get some wild shit in the comments because it's going to be shown to everybody. It's okay. Consumers going to consume.
Critiquers going to critique. But more importantly, creators gonna create.
My suggestion, if you're thinking about using Threads, create the content that gets consumed. I will be over there creating content. I do have fun with it. I tend to share things in a shorter, you know, text heavy format. I put a picture in every now and then, because it's like kind of musings about life or musings in the moment, things that don't warrant a full post on Instagram.
And they're different than what I share on Instagram. Like, that's what I'm trying to say. It's different than Stories. Um, it's just these short [00:19:00] snippets and I'm like, this is fun. I do enjoy. If you'd like to be on Threads, I'd love to have you in my Threads family. We'll link my little thing in the, in the show notes.
I hit 10, 000 Threads homies, I don't know, last week, two weeks, so that's pretty fucking dope. But um, of note, if you do join me, no complaining. All right, I'm gonna wrap it up here because of the clock is winding down and I am tired. As always, endlessly, endlessly appreciative for every single one of you.
Thank you for putting up these bright lights, by the way. Until next time, friends. Maestro, out.