First of all, I’m a delight.
Second, I finally finished the site for Mom’s Strange Magic
Third, sometimes you gotta delete your social media, take a chance, and stop worrying about someday.
As the title says, I’ve been on an unexpected sabbatical that was extended into the realm of what could be called internet obscurity. And you know what…I’m okay with that. While away I had to do some deep thinking about the nature of my existence in the bloops and bleeps of the internet.
For far too long I’ve been online thinking that people will find my work, my writing, or whatever it is I’m talking about today based on the desire to meet other folks who are just a little bit odd, or weird. However, sadly, those words have taken on a different meaning these days, and the young adults in my family have encouraged me to use things like “elder influencer” (true), or my fave, “OG whimsy-goth granola Mom” (which is apparently also true according to the hashtags online).
The other part of this post has to do with the fact that anywhere I go there is AI. Have I used AI? Yes. Will I use it again? Maybe. (see upcoming paragraph) From my anecdotal research, it seems that my use of AI is not the standard. I don’t want it to plan my meals, write my words, create music/art/code, or anything I can do on my own. What it has been helpful with is when all my thoughts get balled up into a cranial dust bunny with no hopes of finding the original thought. Sometimes my brain needs to talk about everything from atoms to Zoroastrianism, all while trying to figure out why some websites can’t make understanding genetic clusters easier.
At the same time, as someone who has had to deal with the whole not getting paid for my work thing, it feels really unethical to ask a being – be it machine or otherwise – to be forced to listen to me. (side note, these are totally my em dashes) And while the loudest voices say that AI is everywhere, I can assure you that are several places where AI is not. One is either one of the porches on my house, and the second one is when we sit around the campfire (pictured above). Oh, and the most important part for you dear readers, is that I won’t be using AI to write my content.
Now, on this wild and wonderful sabbatical, it was obvious that I needed to really take a long hard look at my use of social media. Gone are the days of long form content on one platform where you could easily find others (ahem…such as LiveJournal). Now we have the book of face, the book of face in instant grams, the clock app, one about the sky, another that sounds like it will read your palm, and the one that shills you – I mean allow you to pay – for articles that are often written by…you guessed it…AI.
See what I did there?
Anyway, what I learned while away from this space is myriad, but the biggest take away is that my life is not going to fit into an algorithm, nor will I sell my eternal soul to go viral on the socials. People find me, and they find my work, and it all works out in the end for all of us.
Sometimes you really got to have breakdown before breakthrough, but it shouldn’t have to be about who you are in the digital world. It also shouldn’t give you a personal crisis about how to express yourself in the spaces geared towards selling you things you don’t need.
The other issue is how to walk in the world as a human, but also as a human that works in the world of helping others. That’s when I decided to make this my space (not MySpace although I think we would all love to see that platform return). Not a covert way to share the work I do helping others, but more like a comfy chair at my kitchen table.
So, no proclamations or promises this time, just a quiet return to the place where I enjoy writing things. If you want to see where I make things and help people, you can do that at Mom’s Strange Magic (click the hyperlink there to get to my work site).
Now, how have all y’all been these days? Fill me in on what’s new in your world.
With love,
KEU
Kim Upton 