When did our obsession with social media begin? ⏮️

If you're like me, your first foray into social media was on MySpace in the mid-2000s. Was there anything more thrilling than coming home to these alerts on your profile? They were the ultimate dopamine hit, and it was all downhill from there 😂

But we don't give enough credit to MySpace for paving the way for social media and being a form of self-expression. Long before Instagram grids, it was one of the first times we had to figure out our ~aesthetic~ 🫠

We spent forever overthinking our bios, uploading photos from our digital cameras, and designing layouts to match our personalities. Our top 8 was sacred, and your profile song was how we communicated our emotional angst.

Maybe because it was so new at the time, but there was something so fun and carefree about MySpace. The term "monetization" never crossed our minds, and the only audience we were trying to attract were our friends from school.

We didn't take ourselves too seriously. We just expressed ourselves unapologetically.

As I climb out of a creative rut I've been in recently, I'm inspired by my teenage self who just loved making things. And maybe you can relate to feeling much more imaginative and creative when you were younger.

As modern content creators, we should keep embracing those imperfections and quirks, and dare to be a little more unfiltered. If it's not fun, then what's the point?

Although MySpace is long gone, and Tom is living his best life traveling the world, the spirit of MySpace should live on. Remember to embrace social media not just as a place to ~build a brand~, but as your creative outlet.

Throwback Thursday ⏮️

This one is for Boy Meets World fans. Did you know Danielle Fishel (Topanga), Rider Strong (Shawn) and Will Friedle (Eric) host a rewatch podcast called Pod Meets World?

The trio are brutally honest and open about behind-the-scene details, and they feared the podcast would "ruin the show" for fans. Recently, they revealed they were "ghosted" by co-star Ben Savage, who played Cory Matthews 💔

Is this why people say "never meet your heroes"? When you're a fan of something or someone, the truth may set you up for disappointment if it doesn't live up to your expectations. Do you agree with this saying?

But fear not! We've got a Making the Brand episode that celebrates Boy Meets World! I interviewed copywriter, Terry Schilling, about how this show can inspire brands to stay on-message.

I'll end with some wisdom from Mr. Feeny:

Listen: The Copywriting Lesson Inspired by Boy Meets World

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Headline of the Week 📰

The Taylor Swift Effect is old news... have you heard about the Alix Earle Effect?

If you don't know 22-year-old Alix Earle, she's considered TikTok's "It Girl". Her following skyrocketed in 2020 after sharing a raw video about her cystic acne. Alix now has 6 million followers and is famous for confessional-style "Get Ready With Me (GRWM)" videos.

Data shows that one of Alix's videos can increase searches for a product by as much as 100% in one day. And before you scoff when you learn she earns $40,000 to $70,000 for each sponsored post, Alix wasn't an overnight success... she spent three years building her social media account before gaining any traction.

​Her interview on the TODAY Show had a lot of refreshing takeaways. And like like it or not, influence is big business. In fact, you can earn a degree in influencing at an Irish university.​

Interview: The Alix Earle Effect​

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A Creator to Follow, @TheLizWilcox 💜

In honor of *NSYNC's reunion and new single "Better Place" coming out tomorrow, I have to shoutout my favorite *NSYNC fan, email marketer, Liz Wilcox.

Liz calls herself the Fresh Princess of Email, and runs an amazing membership community to help you write better emails and newsletters for your business. We talked more about it on my podcast!​

Oh, and she's a hoot on Instagram. She practically called me out today when writing this issue. Give her a follow!

Connect with Liz!

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#PopChat This Friday 🎉

It's been a wild week in pop culture news! We're digging into all the geeky marketing takeaways tomorrow on #PopChat! Plus, we have a giveaway from our friends at Pattern! See you Friday at 1pm EDT on Twitter 💗

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Join #PopChat Friday at 1pm EDT

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That’s all for now! Thanks for letting me hang in your inbox 💌

P.S. something cool happened yesterday... I was interviewed for a TV segment about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. Here's my tweet sharing how it went down, and a reminder to always be your own biggest advocate 💗