Everyone deserves to be heard, or at least most people 😀, and everyone should find their unique voice. This is not a general post, but a very specific one, having to do with expressing yourself in the online world we live in. My voice is exactly the voice you hear in your mind reading these words. I was quite surprised to discover that this here is my voice and today’s experience of writing two other articles only confirmed this suspicion that I had.
When one joins a platform like Hive, they are advised, among other things, to look for their niche and be constant in their engagement. I’ve never found my niche and I know there are many like me. I will write about whatever catches my fancy, be that politics or my newly discovered interest in gardening. While this does not offer consistency, I think I can at least offer authenticity. This is not something to be overlooked in a world of copy-paste or the ever-present sharing of clever-sounding thoughts of dubious origin. Until the world is overrun by AI, being oneself is one of the few privileges we have left.
Unlike most days that seem to slip away without me accomplishing much, I’ve spent the better part of today writing on my assignments for the analytical psychology course I’m taking. I am not the only one there sharing their fear of doing their homework because they may not sound knowledgeable enough. I was satisfied with the two articles I wrote today as at least I’ve become knowledgeable enough to know who to quote, use abbreviations like a pro and refer to concepts that are well-known in the Jungian world. Yet, I can only do that for a limited time, the first few paragraphs, until I revert to my usual voice and present my perspective on the topic at hand.
I cannot use a scholarly voice or keep the tone of anything I write erudite or concise for that matter. I will end every single article with my own conclusion, underscoring it with a poetic turn of the phrase if I can. The sort of thing that, writing on Hive, you’d put in bold letters so it stays with the readers.
While going over other people’s assignments I felt like smirking seeing formal answers, in textbook format, with headings and subheadings. I can't do that. I don’t speak in headings and subheadings. I just decide on what I want to say, go with it and let it end where it ends. This is something I’ve definitely learned on Hive.
As a journalist, I was taught to stick to the facts and leave my personal opinion out of it (not that I ever did that). As a writer-for-hire I learned to write whatever the client wanted on whatever topic. It is only on Hive that I’ve learned to be authentic and now this is the only way I can express myself. Maybe you’re interested in what I have to say, maybe you’re not. That’s your choice!
There is one caveat though. Everyone deserves to be heard, but if you don’t know anything about a topic, it’s better to keep it shut. For instance, I rarely comment on anything about blockchain technology or what’s the outlook for Bitcoin in the next six months. I read such articles by authors I’ve come to trust to educate myself and have a general understanding of this world. That’s it.
I’m sure that people in various niches enjoy talking to each other about things they’re passionate about and things they understand. The rest of us should stick to the general conversation, things we know enough about to be able to have an opinion. Platforms like Hive are something of a digital agora where we can meet and share our views on current events. Most of us are painfully aware our views don’t matter, but, at least, once you’ve finished a post you get the feeling your voice was heard, even if it’s just a handful of people who’ll read what you had to say. Serves a therapeutic purpose as well, as my daughter likes to point out. Why obsess over an idea when you could write it down and get it out of your system?
Images are my own.