Popularity is an illusion.

Inspiration is hitting me tonight.

Sometimes I get these deep thoughts late at night when I have an unusual spark of energy that won't fade. I used to be a night owl with these thoughts and ideas all the time, but with age and health I tend to run on half energy more often. So here goes nothing. This post has nothing to do with my frequent posts about #bonsai and #gardening.

Are you ready for a double dose of some extra, extra-real @creativetruth on steemit?

Haven't done one if these in a while. I think you'll enjoy it!

Source - Pixabay

This post is all about the concept of popularity, and its many forms. I'm going to talk about what it is, what we perceive it is, and what it isn't. This is going to be a red pill kind of post. Do if you enjoy believing that you can become famous one day through honest means, and live a rich life that will take all your cares and worries away, then you might not want to read any further. This post will contain the bitter, harsh truth. Healthy food is what every person needs, but it isn't what we eat.

Source - Pixabay

So let's start there... with food.

What is popularity?

It is my opinion, that popularity comes in two forms. Both are driven by the same force. Not creativity. Not talent. Not skill. Not intelligence. Not looks. Not money. Not even power. These are all factors, but not the primary force that drives popularity.

Hunger

Hunger is the primary force that drives popularity to limitless proportions.

Source - Pixabay

What do I mean?

Examples

If you deprive everyone of chocolate for an entire year, then all the people who loved eating chocolate are going to miss it very much. They dream of the day they will be able to have it again. When chocolate factory suddenly opens its doors, handing out golden tickets for only 5 lucky winners, then you have a worldwide mania that quickly takes over the senses of every living person. Even the people who don't like chocolate quickly find themselves caught up in this insanity to want something they never really wanted in the first place.

It isn't always chocolate. We see this all the time in the world of music. An artist writes a song that captures the feeling of heartbreak, relating the audiences who felt like nobody in the world would ever understand their feelings, until they suddenly hear this new song for the first time. They have to buy the song, and they play it over and over, because it is the first thing in their life they have ever heard from another human being who gets how they feel. Soon everyone else is also buying the song, because they want to have this deeply spiritual connection with the music that their friends have also experienced. They also hunger to be elevated to a higher sense of connectedness with the music. The artist becomes famous for their songs. They are popular. The song is smash hit.

An ad appears on TV for the newest film in a series of films that were previously a worldwide sensation. The lead actor has been in many past films that were also wildly successful. This movie is going to be good. Ads are being shown for this film on every channel, on the radio, on the internet. Family, friends, students, co-workers are all asking if you saw the trailer for the film, and if you are going to see it. This movie is going to be really good. Tickets are selling for early screenings, and there are only a few locations where it is allowed to be shown. Security is tightening up, so nobody will be able to pirate the film and leak it out. Even crappy merchandise for the film is selling on ebay for absurd amounts of money. The news is showing lines of people camping outside wearing costumes. Drama ensues, as fans are ridiculed for using props that are dangerous, having a political agenda, and for supporting a film that is offensive to various cultures and religion. The masses of people don't care, because this movie is going to be good. They aren't going to the one person who hasn't seen it on Monday, and gets the plot spoiled by someone chatting about it nearby.

Except... the movie wasn't really that good. All they had to do, was convince you it was so popular, you couldn't stand to fight your willpower to not have it.

There are two kinds of popularity

Both kinds of popularity are a result of a hunger within the populace, for something that they want and have to have. The way that this need is handled however is the key to understanding what kind of popularity it really is.

• Spontaneous
• Manipulated

Spontaneous popularity is...

... what we understand best as a viral video. A crazy talent, a beautiful voice, a sexy dancer, a genius philosopher, and epic rant. Whatever it is. It wasn't there before, but now it is. You can't unsee it, because you had never seen it before, and so it makes an impression, and you want to share it with others. It strikes a nerve inside, one you never knew existed inside. Watching the video actually taught you something new about yourself, a potential you knew you always had, but never knew how to unlock it. This video, as crazy or brilliant as it was, taught you that new things are possible that you did not think were possible, and so you are amazed, and have newfound respect for the person who created the video. You want more of it. You crave it. You hunger for this thing you did not have before.

Somebody comes up with a new invention, it is so simple in design that anyone can make it at home, and it makes life easier for practically everyone. It becomes the number one stocking stuffer for Christmas and gift exchanges. Soon everyone is trying to market their own version of the same invention. Some are better, some are much worse. It's everywhere, and you are going to look like a fool if you haven't at least tried using one before.

It might be a kid who sings karaoke to Eminem songs like they do all the time at the local bar, but when the white girl singing it makes a foreign audience go into hysterical laughter when they see it on youtube, and they make a meme about it, suddenly everyone else wants to see what is so funny about it.

These viral sensations can spring out of anywhere. A person on the street starts singing a song from Africa, and a woman from the same village hears the song and joins in with perfect harmony and rhythm play. Others feel moved and start playing drums, dancing, juggling, and join in singing the chorus with them. An organically made flashmob formed in one amazing moment that can never be reproduced. Everyone nearby wants to see what is happening on the street. They realize what is happening, and they want to join in, to become a part of history, and to unite in spirit. Soon everyone is swaying and smiling as they understand the true meaning of the song. Not one person is popular. They all are. They have always wanted to feel like they belong to the song of life and the world spirit, and now everyone wants to be apart of it. It spreads like wild fire.

This is spontaneous popularity: An organic spread of a popular thing that feeds the hunger of many people.

Let's look at the other kind...

Manipulated Popularity is...

Just like it sounds. It is the exact opposite. It is artificial, controlled, trickery, misguided, contrived, fueled, and/or backed by powerful influential forces skilled in this illusion and foolery.

Most popularity that we experience is a result of manipulated popularity.

Why do you really think the most popular kid in the school is so popular? If you think it is because of their sparkling personality, you probably don't know them as well as you think you do. You only know what they want you know. Are the teachers constantly glamorizing them, so improve the image of the school? Is the coach proclaiming that they are the most talented athlete the district has ever seen? Are the directors boasting that the lead in their musical has already been accepted with a full scholarship to attend Julliard? Are all the girls in the school suddenly dying their hair and wearing their clothes like the popular girl? Where did they all find the exact same cut and fabric for those skirts? Is somebody unknown possibly benefiting from this person's newfound fame?

Real Life Connections

In my work as a dance instructor I notice these trends all the time (yes, this @creativetruth's evening job, for real!). Suddenly everyone wants to take classes to a new instructor in town, or they all stop attending one studio, and start attending another one. Any kind of entertainment sales work is a really rough business to be in for similar reasons. We're all fighting over the same clients like chickens according to a defined pecking order. The won't be any leftovers if you aren't proactive.

It also happens with the events and parties that we host at the studio. Sometimes we get tons of new guests at our events, and sometimes all of our regulars are going to some hot party an hour away out of town.

We should have advertised better. We should have told people our party would be better than theirs. We should have paid a popular instructor attend. We should have had a showcase with trained performers in full costume. We should have hosted the event at a venue that serves alcohol. We should have hired a more popular DJ.

To become popular like this. To me, it isn't worth it. It never has been like me to suggest any of these things. I am too authentic. It would only confirm I am tossing aside the value of all my talent, education, experience, and character, to sell-out for one night of purchased fame. It costs money. And someone else with power and connections is always benefitting the most. Once you stop paying them, they take all of the people with them away from you. They'll say you're hard to work with or you don't know what you're doing, and people believe them.

The masses prefer to pick the popular choice over the unpopular choice. Why is this?

The are hungry.

Have you ever tried talking sense to a person with an addiction they can't shake?

Those drugs are going to kill you.

I don't care, it's my life.

You're going to hurt yourself if you keep doing that.

I can take care of myself, so butt-out.

When they are all addicted to the feeling of having their hunger satiated: of feeling popular, of feeling on top of the world, of being part of a grand experience.

You might as well be yelling at lemmings.

The Pied Piper is here! Oh my god! Are you going? I know I am. You better pack your bags, because he's only going to be here one night. Did you know that he can play a note that resonates so softly, you cannot hear it, but it resonates inside your body in a way that you can still feel it? It is so amazing, I am not going to miss it for the world. Where ever he goes, I have to follow him. He said he won't ever return, so this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Don't tell me I'm a fool. You're just saying that because you have never heard of him. I've never heard him play either, but I have read all about him. He is the real deal. There is no substitute.

It is insanity. Delusional. Mania. Idiocy.

The most non-intellectual decision making process a person will every make, will happen when they are hungry. They have to fulfill their basic need to fulfill that hunger before they will listen to any further common sense.

Indulge first, then ask questions later.

Relating to Steemit

This is the final conclusion. Not the point of this post, but another parallel worth considering if you are still reading.

We have all seen the kind of posts that appear on our feeds. Most of the posts are not there because someone new joined steemit, and posted the most brilliant post that everyone decided to vote for it. No, it is the the complete opposite.

We vote for the people with the most power and influence over our own potential popularity.

We vote for the posts that can pay us back more of the money we hunger for.

We resteem the posts relating to topics that make us feel alive again... along with the dozens of other fluffy cat meme's we've resteemed today.

We join the discord channels of the most popular authors, in hopes that a new friendship might garner us better rewards.

We heap compliments into our posts, with aims to earn followers, votes, and friendships to fulfill our lives.

Yes, we even gladly pay money to bots and services designed to increase our popularity, to satiate our hunger to get ahead competitively, or to have more wealth than we have now.

The Clincher

Stop feeding your hunger with fats and sweets.

Go on a diet.

Learn, research, and discover what is truly deserving of value.

To be a good judge of character takes exercise. It takes practice. Every day.

Stop investing in services that offer the highest returns, just because they offer the highest returns. Investigate. Are they honest? Are they improving the community? Are they treating everyone equally and fairly? Are they contributing anything of value, or are they part of the problem? If they didn't exist, would you really need to hand them your money? Why are you handing them your money every time you earn money? Is this really necessary, or are you that addicted to trusting this anonymous person with your money all the time, and never having anything left over?

Stop resteeming posts because you think it will change the world if more people were exposed to what you found. Post your own review or response to their post, and share what impact it made on you. Your own honest response is no less valuable than a trending post you felt should be resteemed.

Why are you stalking every discord channel? Do they even know who you really are? Are they really invested in cultivating a true friendship with you, or are they just looking for another sucker to delegate to them, sell their votes, sell their SBD's, and vote for their witness server? Or are you trying to sucker them out of these same things? Reality check. Who are you really?

Limit your comments. Don't beg. Don't be everywhere. Don't remind the author the same thing in your next comment. Practice being spontaneous and original, or even invisible once in a while. Be genuine. Be courteous. Be respectful. Bear witness only to your own ideas, and be honest. That is all anyone could ever ask for in their comments, and the minimum they deserve for giving you the opportunity to have a place to add value.

If you want to use bid bots and other services to improve the your rewards, remember to limit yourself responsibly. Don't be taken advantage of. A for-profit bot has one goal, and one goal only. To accumulate as much wealth as possible, as quickly as possible. Just because someone says their bot is a not-for-profit bot, doesn't mean you shouldn't be careful. Ask questions. Find out who the members are. Do you respect their biggest donors? What sort of posts are receiving the biggest payouts? Would it bother you that your money is supporting those posts that are becoming popular because of these bid bot services? Do you really think that your money coming back to you faster than you plan to be spending it on their upvote services? It takes 7 days. Legend says, God only needed six days. What could you have done with all that money in six days?

Save. Persevere. Preserve. Grow.

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That's it for my rant on my #philosophy on how popularity tends to happen. The whole thing is usually an illusion, and not really what you think it is. This post was sort of a stream of thought that I just wanted to share. My goal isn't to change anyone or anything. The goal here is to share, relate, and think. We all need to think for ourselves. I made this post just because I wanted to remind us why that is so important, and why we aren't always thinking as clearly we believe we are.

Did it make you consider anything differently? Does it reaffirm any ideas that you agree with? Have you had similar experiences? Does it reveal how totally bonkers, wrong, stupid I am? Might want to keep that last opinion to yourself if that's the case.

Penny for your thoughts

It's just an expression. If you think I'm going to upvote every comment, and today is your lucky day, you missed the point of this post.

Okay, okay, I'm really finished pulling your leg now.

Have a kick-ass day!