Ikechukwu Ifezue 11 months ago

@Chukchambers 5 min read Write a comment #people-lifestyle

Hustle For Clout

Controversy is Money...There is so much money on the internet, but to get paid, you have to get attention because attention is the currency of the internet.

There is so much money on the internet, but to get paid, you have to get attention because attention is the currency of the internet. One of the greatest things that have happened to human beings is the internet, which has totally changed the way of life; at the click of a button, you find yourself anywhere in the world, interacting and meeting people; it is so amazing that you could get a degree without seeing the walls of a classroom. Just like oxygen, the internet has become an essential part of our lives, imagine waking up one morning and you can't getting access to your mail and all your socials; you would definitely feel like you have been excommunicated from the world. Even businesses are not left out. Do you even run a business if you don't have an online presence, you can have a team of workers who you have never seen physically, but they are working for you and getting paid? The wonders of the internet are many and cannot be imagined. 

Every day on the internet, you are faced with much information about people trying to sell themselves, a product, craft, or information to you. This is much data; hence our attention span is short, you have 10 seconds to impress the audience, or they move on to the next thing, and that is it; you are out of their faces already. This means there is a wide range of creators to choose from, and you want to be beyond ordinary for a large number of random people to follow and engage your brand.

Experts say the best way grow an audience is to create value, but if we widen our view, we would see other ways to grow an audience, like Scandals, controversy, and news with subliminal negativity because it catches attention; most people would rather condemn more than praise. Bobrisky is a perfect example. Bobrisky has over 4 Million followers on Instagram, with the page private, which means his page is not for the public; for you to have access to his page, you have to request to follow him. Despite his unconventional and daring content of saying he is a woman, millions of people still want an update on his content, even if it is to say something hurtful. 

More than ever, people now see the opportunity the internet holds; however, to exploit these opportunities, there has to be an audience present to talk about you. Then the search for attention begins because each minute, each second, there is a new post, and users who are online are continually fed with non-ending content. To remain in their minds, creators have to know how to go viral more than once; if people don't run into you often, they forget about you; your fans are not loyal; they want to be entertained and wouldn't hesitate to shift their gaze out of sight is out of mind. 

They say there is no bad publicity; clout thrives on the people's inability to ignore things they think conflict with their ideals and their perceived social norms. The hustle for clout is not a one-way thing; part of it centers around people trying to deviate from the existing societal norms that the majority of people have deemed as acceptable or certain intentional behaviors that are capable of having the internet spotlight around you for a moment. People have released their own sex tapes to trend, throw shade at a particular group of people to evoke emotions and engagement, and share information the public isn't supposed to hear just to get noticed.  

Some personalities on social media have mastered the art of controversy, understanding online behavior, and continually feeding audiences content that sparks a response. It does not matter if the response is positive or negative; what matters is the response and awareness. People like James Brown, Portable, and Daniel Regha, to mention a few, have created an audience by being unconventional; they feature on blogs, get bashed, and in the long run, get followed. Brands like Instablog and Gist lovers have built an audience by sharing news that has to do with celebrities and strong personality which mostly have subliminal negativity, they are aware that the negative gets the click more than the positive.  

Hustling clout using controversy doesn't guarantee attention; you need thick skin, and it can easily be passed off as an attention seeker looking for cheap publicity; hence you get ignored.