The next day I post a tutorial on how to make my favorite kale smoothie.
I decide to be vulnerable—often celebrated as “real” on the internet—and make a video about my struggles with clinical depression. I post it and watch its upload progress, jumping from 17 to 83 percent in a matter of seconds. One hundred percent. It’s live. Within five minutes, someone comments that they don’t like the video because it makes them sad; I delete it immediately. What was I thinking? That’s not my brand. The next day I post a tutorial on how to make my favorite kale smoothie. People demand the name of the pea protein powder I used. Someone else comments that they love me so much.