The world of influencing

(image above from 2018ish??)

I’ve wanted to write down my thoughts about influencing for awhile now. Well, for years now. I still struggle to put my thoughts into words but I think I am ready to break it down into segments and let the word vomit settle where it may. After a great discussion with Jenny Wise Black recently on the concept of media trauma, I am very well aware of the trauma that I endured and faced while being present on social media and want to talk about it as openly as possible. There are many reasons for that but the most important being that it will help my healing and will hopefully help those of you that may be within the same (or similar) trenches. I am also aware of the word -trauma and what that entails. Up until the moment I chatted with Jenny, I would have never dreamed of using that word to describe what I faced (and what many face online) but as she describes in my podcast (coming up soon), that’s exactly what it is.

As a verb, influence typically means "to affect or change someone or something in an indirect but usually important way." Something or someone that influences a person or thing, then, has an influence on that person or thing.