Thanks for sharing this, wasn't expecting to get to Wilhelm Reich after some tik tok marketing technique analysis, pretty cool !
No worries. I find virality fascinating because the accumulation of small, excellent tactics can explode into videos that millions of people see. You can game it, learn it, study it, and create it. At some point, you begin influencing whole groups of people and, eventually, culture.
Watching tactics, even from those I don't like, gleans many lessons that can be applied.
Tate is a good example. Everyone has an opinion of him, and he's done very well getting into people's heads, even though it's led to a lot of hate and the perception that being a criminal is cool.
Many people will be inflammatory to get a reaction, but that's not what makes people viral. Engagement—likes, comments, watch times, shares- makes people viral. You have to be polarising, but polarising doesn't mean stamping on toes. It needs an emotion to encourage engagement.
Social media marketing must examine how to replicate and evolve these tactics. Instead of being mad at how addictive stuff is, pick it apart and find out why. Squat University is a great example.
2,000 likes, 6 comments - squat_university on May 1, 2024: "Core stability work doesn’t have to be basic uni dimensional exercises like a bird dog or plank. While those are great, any movement wi...".
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- A countdown timer promises a reward—a free 10 seconds of engagement.
- The video used at the beginning sets the tone for discussing the exercise. The initial video is also engaging because it's a unique exercise with an extremely fit man. It is polarising. It causes a reaction and immediate engagement.
- The narrator overlaps himself and presents excellent diagrams of anatomy. It also uses subtitles. There is a lot for the mind to engage with if it gets bored of one.
- He briefly discusses a primary point and explains it directly. Diagrams assist with this.
- The audience doesn't feel cheated because they watched garbage. I can recall what I learnt in the video. Repeat audience recommending the channel to others - the holy grail of going viral.
The retention for this video must be excellent because his videos constantly come up in my feed. He also has a lot of subs. Look at those views.
The masses are intoxicated by artificial success or vain
goals while taken for a spiritual ride their whole life. Heck, I find myself conscious and yet part of this
system.
People don't like the pain of change. As I get older, I feel that what makes us tick is inherited. Of course, we can change personalities, but you have to overcome that with change—many people put that off until it bites them later. Some people want to get after it. I felt this way when I was ten and was described as 'an old head on young shoulders' when I was 14. It's always been there, and some people have it naturally. It's easier if you have more experience.
And to an extent, we all are victims of a
system we may not know. I've been blindsided, thinking I'm 'awake' and then getting knocked out of left field to dogma I believed all my life - mini crises which question everything you thought you knew. I prefer to be ambitious but stay humble. I may be wrong.
Once I think I've sorted out all my contradictions and knots, I overturn another stone and have to solve that problem. It doesn't end, and I hope it never does. It's rewarding.
As for looking for vain
goals, I think we do it to fulfil something we lack.
Are you really awake? Or is that installed SCRIPT? Why do you contribute to that through your actions? Who installed that in you? There is so much SCRIPT installed when we're not looking, even when we're kids. Vainness is an excellent example of it. We use the external to make up for something we
feel we lack. Is that you? Or has it been installed in you consensually?
It's time to reclaim that lost territory and make it our own. That goes for opinions, beliefs, and values. I'm finding it essential to ask where my stances on things come from—is it really me talking? Or is it an ideological possession?
It doesn't feel good to be wrong, but the best way to overcome this is to lower one's ego. I used to look down on people who didn't do self-improvement or hit
goals—it was exhausting. When something came along that shattered my worldview, it hurt even more because not only was I wrong to myself, but I was righteous in telling others what to do and how they were destroying themselves.
It's also crucial to be aware of one's identity and how one values oneself. So many people attach their worth to their identity and what they do daily, but we should look at values instead. We see values as our first principles, almost immovable and challenging to remove. The branches that stem from that are our activities, successes, and failures. They don't define us but make that tree we present to the world unique and characteristic.
I didn't expect to give a lengthy response, but I kept thinking and thought I'd put it down regardless. I may be wrong with some of the stuff I've put down (trying to be humble!).