Happy New Year! It’s 2021 and we have new opportunities in front of us. Some people like to make New Year’s Resolutions, set goals, or just do things differently from last year. As for myself, I have goals and words for my year but that’s a blog for another day.
At the end of last year I gave in and joined the latest social media app Clubhouse, a drop-in audio application. I’ve been seeing a lot of people talking about Clubhouse but I ignored it because I don’t like to jump on trends as soon as they start. I was intrigued because I was hearing that high level people of various industries were popping up in Clubhouse and giving out good information. I even heard that two time Grammy award winning artist, Lecrae, was in Clubhouse giving advice to up and coming artists. I was intrigued but when I saw a spoken word artist say she was connecting with folks on Clubhouse, I decided to finally break down and join.
After I was nominated(you can’t just join someone has to nominate you), I perused some rooms to see what the fuss was about. I think I may have joined too late because from what I heard, there are a bunch of moderators in these rooms posturing themselves as experts but they aren’t. I’m following a lot of artists I’ve covered over the years as a writer with the media company Trackstarz. I’ve been in some great Christian Hip Hop rooms and have absorbed some great information, and therein lies the problem.
Every couple of years a new app is released and people flock to it for a variety of reasons. Perhaps your favorite celebrity or influencer is on it, it’s a trend and all your friends are on there, or some other reason. A new application means a new algorithm that hasn’t been tainted yet, increasing the chance for a user to go viral. Virality is the next best thing to being famous and can be a stepping stone towards fame. Attention can be leveraged into corporate partnerships, interviews, and some people have been able to secure record deals.
As an entrepreneur, I sometimes feel forced to chase these new apps to find some new customers and new opportunities. For example, these are the social apps I have on my phone at the moment for my business:
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Patreon-I support an artist on there who gives out great information for creatives
Wix App-monitor my website
Goodreads-an app for book lovers and authors(like myself)
Zoom-virtual performances
Bandcamp-I’ve had one for years, planning to put out spoken word with music behind it
SpreadApp-Monitor my merch sales
Indeed-apply for writing gigs
Business Suite-manage Facebook artist page and Instagram
LinkedIn- Connecting with other businesses. The Facebook for businesses
Alignable- a networking app for small businesses
Live Waves-a livestream platform
Clubhouse-The newest app for "networking"
That is 15 apps, not counting PayPal and CashApp for receiving payments. When my wife heard me talking about Clubhouse she wasn’t pleased. She looked at me and said, “No More Apps!” She told me she envisioned a dog chasing his tail when it comes to the applications.
The growth of my business has been slow but steady on some of those platforms but with each new account I create, my focus and attention gets fragmented. Some of the apps I’m on have contributed greatly to my success, those are probably the ones I should continue to pour into. That’s my advice to you, keep watering whatever’s working. Perhaps some of the newer apps can help you but now you’ll have to spend time learning and mastering a new app. Sometimes that has a good ROI and other times it’s a waste of time.
The time I’ve wasted chasing the new apps in the name of “networking” and “opportunity” could have been spent investing in my website, the one resource I own. Ownership is important for business owners. If all of these apps went dark would you still have a business? That’s a question you should sit with for a minute.
For the rest of the year I’m going to focus on building with what I have in front of me. No more chasing apps. I’m going to focus on what’s been built and what is being constructed, these things take time. Hearing people talk about the latest and greatest can cause some F.O.M.O.(Fear Of Missing Out), but being on top of the trends has yet to pay my bills.
It’s 2021 and I have moves to make, I believe you do as well. Let’s see what happens when we stay focused on our goals.
"Those who work their land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense"-Proverbs 12:11