the case for public creativity
from a former DJ and current blogger
Some of you know that I had a college radio show1. Every week for two years, I spent an hour playing 80s dark wave music and discussed my learnings about bizarre events and difficult emotions. I would excitedly research gothic lore or a strange theory and complement it with my music.
Starting this blog has been markedly similar to running my radio show. I have to share content on a public platform at a regular cadence and spend several hours researching. The more time passes, I notice familiar feelings of stress, pride, and embarrassment. I continue to find joy in writing publicly and I encourage you, dear reader, to consider it too.
public
The first question most people ask about blogging is: why be public? The most pertinent value is that being public is an emotional cost and humans take opportunities more seriously when there is a cost. We are more likely to spend time on the post to make sure the post is high quality and kosher enough to be associated with our name. We “pay” with the emotional cost of publicity and in return, we improve faster and we think more critically about the content we are producing.
Of course, it is very scary. For my first few episodes as a DJ, I had a line by line script I would follow. That script iteratively became shorter bullets and eventually just broad ideas. My first blog post took me 3 months to write and all the subsequent posts have only had 2 weeks. The fear of embarrassment remains and can be mitigated by getting an editor or idea melding with a trusted friend.
research
Taking the time out of your day to research a topic is much more valuable when you are choosing the topic. One of the most effective ways to learn is to summarize and restate it in your own words. Producing public content is an opportunity to learn about something you love!
My radio show was a forcing agent for learning, since I was choosing topics I did not already know about (e.g. covered-up experiments and religious rituals). Conversely, this blog’s theme is more inward. Most of my posts have not required a lot of external research and have instead required me to self-inquire and reference ideas from books I have read. Writing has added volumes to both my self perception and to those references that I previously loosely understood. Researching is a powerful way to relate pieces of the world and posting expresses that connectivity in your unique eyes.
audience
One of my motivating reasons to start blogging was because I had two23 different old friends have blog posts go viral and make the news. For the latter one, I talked with many friends about the post and was surprised by the variance of our opinions and perceptions. I learned so much more about my friends from that single post than I had when we had talked about pop media. Having anyone read your work is a way for them to get to know you and if you are lucky, a way for you to get to know them too.
During my radio show, I had only a few dedicated listeners. I did feel conflicted about hosting a show that did not reach a large audience. Back then, I convinced myself that the show was still worth it — for all of the reasons stated in this post.
With this blog, I am always touched when someone reaches out about my writing, whether it be asking questions, themes they care for, and quotes they liked. I think I was less appreciative in college, but now I view every message as a gift.
personal book club
As soon as you start posting lots of content, you will have your OWN previous content to reference.
On my show, I would spend a couple minutes rehashing a story from a past show and on this blog, I will simply include a footnote to another blog post. While a passerby reader or listener will not have much as much context as you, there is joy in knowing you do! You are in the driver’s seat and you are also a passenger laughing at your own inside-jokes, noticing unlikely themes, and appreciating this little life.
final thoughts
Thinking about starting a podcast, a youtube series, a blog, an art gallery? Please share your beautiful brain and do it!
Update: Shouting out a few friends who are engaging in public creativity and have inspired me :)