Cultural Faultlines
I hate writing. I so intensely hate writing — I cannot tell you how much. The moment I am at the end of one project I have the idea that I didn’t really succeed in telling what I wanted to tell, that I need a new project — it’s an absolute nightmare. But my whole economy of writing is in fact based on an obsessional ritual to avoid the actual act of writing.
Conversations with Žižek by Slavoj Žižek
The above quote from Žižek accurately captures my relationship with writing, or so I thought. Reflecting back, I realize that I’ve always found a way and a desire to write, whether in academia or in the industry. I am increasingly realizing that my frustration doesn’t stem so much from the act of writing itself, but rather from the myriad limitations that prevent me from articulating precisely what I intended to convey, echoing Žižek’s point about falling short of expressing one’s true thoughts.
Over the years, I’ve engaged with various writing mediums, from academic papers and industry blogs to personal blogs, social media posts, webinars, presentations, and POVs. While I appreciate each of these platforms, I also grapple with their inherent constraints. This is why I decided to venture into Substack, seeking a space where I can reinvent myself and my ideas more freely. Every turn in my career, each role, and each project has shaped not only my vision, thinking, and ideas but, more importantly, how I present them. This Substack newsletter represents another iteration of this evolving approach — a bit more expansive, a bit more laissez-faire, a bit more emergent, a bit more heretic, and a bit more me without the pressing demands of a project, a role, or a goal.
#WednesdayWhispers…
Through this post, I want to offer my readers an insider’s view into my motivations, approach, and strategy on Substack. It’s also a good excuse to take a break from the intense brand strategy posts (well, it’s not a secret that I can be intense at times #angelface). I envision these insider and more personal posts becoming a series in the long run. Very much like whispers among our community. #WednesdayWhispers
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Why Substack?
I used to adore social media. As an enthusiastic and early adopter of various platforms, I was a big fan for quite a while. My dissertation was among the first to delve into the use of social media in entertainment consumption across media. From writing papers on social media and fan engagement to incorporating Twitter into my classes as early as 2007, my journey was deeply intertwined with the digital landscape. With Facebook since 2005 and Instagram joining the mix in 2010, it’s safe to say I had a genuine affection for social media — or, to be more precise, the version that was less cacophonous, more authentic, and less staged.
Yet, I’ve found myself gradually distancing from social media. The once felt sense of intimacy, often referred to as “ambient intimacy” by experts, has dissipated. Even on platforms like Reddit, that community feeling has become elusive. ( I still have love for Roblox tough 😍)
Several reasons contribute to my growing disconnection from certain social media platforms. Firstly, the homogenization of voices and a noticeable rise in censorship measures, glaringly evident during the pandemic and recently in global politics. Secondly, the expansion of audiences led people to use platforms outside of their original contexts. Take LinkedIn, for example — I initially loved its algorithm, offering a newsfeed reminiscent of a promotional email filled with highly relevant posts. Unfortunately, it gradually transformed into filtered profile pictures paired with mimetic personal growth and resilience stories. The last straw for me was the photo of a pair of bare feet accompanying a marathon success story. I knew I was done! A Substack writer aptly describes the mission and vision of Substack: “Writers don’t have to sublimate themselves to attention games or beg for corporate marketing budgets in order to succeed. They just have to do their best work.” I couldn’t agree more!
Another reason I’m drawn to Substack is my desire to find a middle ground between academia and industry in terms of impact and rigor. While many call this “bridging the gap,” I refrain from using that term as each domain has its own shortcomings. Academic writing, slow and snail-paced, struggles to keep up with a field evolving daily or weekly. It lacks a much needed impact in the industry due to its dense rhetoric and fails to be responsive to industry needs. On the other hand, industry writing is mimetic, lacks rigor, and fixates on finding cause-and-effect relationships rather than a complex and intricate understanding of problems. The industry feels like a mimesis-lala land. I understood I was paddling against a strong current in the industry when I recently had to explain what “aesthetization” means to a director of brand strategy 🧐. The industry writes blogs about different topics with the same words. I’ll further delve into the differences between knowledge creation in academia vs industry in a follow-up #WednesdayWhisper blog.
In essence, I’m navigating the gaps in each domain within a space that allows more freedom of expression in terms of topics, language, and formats. I suppose I’m chasing the tailwind of the “democratization of the media.”
Read the rest of the blog on my Cultural Faultlines newsletter on Substack.