A while back I heard about how Jeremy McLellan handles his Facebook feed. Jeremy is a comedian who is incredibly popular in Charleston and is beginning to break out across the country, he is also a master of using social media to get laughs and criticize those in power (which, to me, is the highest form of comedy). Well, in an interview he said that a while back he made the decision not to post anything to Facebook that wasn’t funny. Any links he shared had to include his own comedic view on the situation. They can still be serious and important issues, but he had to use his genius to point out the absurdity of the situation. As a result of this rule his comedy got better, his Facebook page became more engaged, and he didn’t waste as much time scrolling through that time-suck of a website.
Now, I am not a comedian. At all. In fact, I get weirdly uncomfortable when people laugh at my jokes or comments. I feel like they are just placating me or that I am the butt of some inside joke. I’ve kind of always had a little paranoia about me. For example, I’ve wondered if my friends really are my friends or if they are just being nice to someone they pity. Or what if I have a weird smell or laugh or speech impediment that I don’t know about and nobody is telling me and I’m making a fool out of myself? I sometimes feel like I am somehow “getting away” with things, because I am not that smart, talented, or lucky to have the amazing life I do. I guess it is tough to outgrow that low self-esteem from adolescence.
Shit… that go way off topic.
Anyway, I am not a comedian but I do post a lot on Facebook about subjects that matter to me. Subjects like sex, science, the War on (Some) Drugs, spirituality, and philosophy all fascinate me, but I rarely add any substance to what I share. I just share things without really reflecting on them or absorbing the information. I’d really like to try and take Jeremy’s approach and apply it to my own. Instead of just blindly sharing articles on the subjects I like I want to start asking myself “does this make me happy” and “what can I add to the conversation?” Hopefully, I will have results similar to Jeremy’s, my feed will improve, my writing skills will improve, and I will be happier because I won’t be sharing shit that just makes me sad or makes me feel helpless. Even when I share bad things that happen in the world that people should know about (police shootings, wars, etc) I want to add something to the conversation.
Wandering Oak 