Confession: I’m a workaholic. I live in America, the home of an intense, frenetic pace of life and thousands, if not millions, of people like me. I also love to express myself creatively, whether by writing about music, writing poetry or fiction, or many other ways.
When I started this blog, I wasn’t sure where it would take me. I didn’t realize people would actually read this shit. And lately, I’ve been writing like a madman, and I need to chill. You see, the promise of the internet and the so-called “creator economy” is mostly a lie, in my opinion.
Let me explain. When you think about how many of us are doing this right now, how many are actually making a living off it? Very few, I’d guess. You say you shouldn’t be in it for the money, right? True. But if I’m investing this much time – and money – into something, shouldn’t I be getting something back?
I have recently toyed with ideas of generating income from The Third Eye, and every idea makes me feel squeamish. Others have suggested ways for the blog to grow and services I can offer. None of these things are easy. I even have people now asking me for advice on generating blogging income.
I will say this, and this may only be my opinion, but the idea that making money today as a blogger, influencer, “creator,” or even an indie musician is mostly bullshit and a myth sold by Silicon Valley corporations like the Patreons, Facebooks, and Mark Zuckerbergs of the world.
True, some people make money off this. But I have a friend who dedicates hours upon hours to a podcast he’s built for over five years, and he recently told me he’s making about minimum wage on it now.
Maybe I just don’t have a business mind for these things. I hate selling shit – my dad was a salesman, but I can’t do it for the life of me. But technology has a way of seeping into our lives and controlling things. If you want to be a writer today – like me – it feels sometimes necessary to play these games. I imagine this is the same for musicians and other creative types out there.
Since starting the blog, I’ve had these feelings, but they’ve become stronger recently. Maybe I just need to take a break. I have compulsive tendencies (I’m in recovery) and tend to take things to the extreme. But I’ve discussed all this with my cousin (who is a musician), and we often agree on this stuff.
Sometimes it feels like a mass delusion we’re living in. While the world burns, we’re busy making TikTok videos about it. It all has a dystopian, Black-Mirror-like quality, like reality being stranger than fiction.
In the days and months ahead, I am considering scaling back The Third Eye to something entirely non-commercial that costs me as little as possible. Sure, generating income from a blog may be possible, but I don’t want money to spoil something I love. Money is not the root of all evil, but my own ambition and greed can be. I don’t know if I’ll stick to this, and I may relapse in my ambition, but I’m slowing things down now.
I read a recent piece in The Rolling Stone about something along these lines, and it offered an interesting anecdote. A statistic given by Patreon’s gazillionaire CEO said something like 75% of kids aged 5 to 12 want to be “digital creators” when they grow up. It had me thinking: if everyone’s creating shit constantly, then when do we have time to enjoy the creations?
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