I’ve decided to stop being a slave to the numbers.
For too long, I’ve checked my website and social media metrics with a regularity bordering on the compulsive.
It feels like I’ve fallen into the classic trap of intermittent reinforcement; the same “variable ratio” hook that keeps a gambler at the table.
Does it feel familiar? A spike in views provides a hit of adrenaline, a deceptive sense of achievement that keeps you chasing the next high.
Content creators are prone to this disease: you spend an inordinate amount of time monitoring Google Analytics and social media, tracking which posts “land” and which social media drives the most traffic. (Surprisingly, the number one driver for me hasn’t been Instagram or Twitter, but Facebook).
However, as I’ve argued before, numbers never tell the whole story. Remember this video? Check out the “story time “part, 3 minutes in.
A click cannot identify what moved a reader, nor can it measure resonance. Most people don’t comment so “doubling down” on what has resonated the most is less a science and more a game of guesswork.
In fact, calling it a science is a stretch when the figures are so demonstrably wrong. Over the last fortnight, my stats have dwindled to absolute zero. This is a glitch, of course: the flurry of comments on my latest post flatly contradicts the data, but I can’t be bothered to dwell on the “why.”
Instead, I’m taking this error as my cue to leave the numbers behind, at least for a while.
I have developed such a mistrust of tech platforms of late. It seems that “enshitiffication” is the playbook of the day. They do all they can to get us hooked with sweet promises then pull the rug beneath us.
The benefits promised either never materialise or do for a limited timeframe before the tables are turned on us. Our attention is farmed, exploited, monetised.It’s the unfortunate truth.
So from now on, change of tack.
True to my theme for the year, Rooted, I have returned home to Guadeloupe. I want every word and melody to be a product of fresh reflection rather than recycled effort or trying to please algorithms.
Surrounded by nature and the island lifestyle, my work will carry a heavier tropical flavour.
If you wish to experience this shift, look up Dézôdiè. He is a Creole “noise-maker” of my own making, though I assure you it is the good kind of noise.
As for what’s coming on the horizon: I’m maintaining my rhythm of one short story every month (published on the 24th) and a quarterly blog update. I’ll throw an extra post or story here and there and of course the music will carry on through Dézôdiè and VagaBeats.
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Until next time.
Reflect, redefine, and rise.
Rudiano
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