LETS' TALK ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA SATURATION

Is social media over saturated? Yes, my answer is that social media is definitely saturated. Here's why I decided to bring back my series "Let's talk about..." and give you my opinion when it comes to the "social media phenomenon".

When the idea of writing this post came to my mind I decided to search on Google articles related to the topic, to see if anyone had written about it previously. Here are the three first entries that came out when I looked for "social media saturation":

- Social Media Saturation (or why Snapchat is so successful)

- Is social media at saturation point? Interest in Pinterest plummets but Facebook engagement still on the rise

- Is the social media market saturated?

I don't think I'm going to write anything related to what the links above say, but I just left them there in case you wanted to read more about this subject. I read the three of them thinking that we would have similar opinions but surprisingly, I have a different perspective, and that's what pushed me into writing what is probably going to be the more disorganised and random post in this blog. 

Picture from Unsplash

The other day I found myself looking for some tips on how to become a better blogger and grow my audience, because, why not? It's nice to see that what you write is being read. Pinterest is my number one source when it comes to advice as well as finding useful posts, so I was browsing through their website and clicking on everything I found interesting. I believe I ended up reading about 10-15 posts related to what I was looking for and the content was almost the same in each of them. The main points that were supposed to help you to gain a bigger audience were:

- Get to know your audience

- Write things you would like to read

- Quality over quantity

- Post regularly

- Create original content

- Be active on social media

- Do collabs with other bloggers

-  Write about what you like and be passionate about it

More or less that was everything. After each headline there were a few sentences explaining what to do in order to "get to know your audience" or "create original content", in case you didn't know how to do it. Now, my question is: did that help you in anyway? Because to me it all seems pretty obvious. However, how are you supposed to stand out when nowadays almost everybody has a blog? The thing is even harder when you're not a fashion blogger... I'm not saying that I want to become an over night sensation, but come on, something must be wrong in a world where you can buy followers for your social media profiles...

I just feel that social networks are getting bigger and bigger everyday and everyone is a tiny part of this huge community. Some pages tell you that "being yourself" is the key, but what happens when there are many original people out there? There's no way to stand out. From my point of view, social media it is definitely saturated. It is true that you see new faces that have been recently discovered online, but most influencers/ it girls or boys/ instagramers/ youtubers... started their online career (that's how I'm going to call it) in 2007 or 2009, when Internet was almost unknown. 

Picture from Unsplash

I also think that our characters are 70% real and 30% virtual (the percentages are approximate). We are what we post on our social media profiles. Some people make a living out of it and that's awesome, but we have to remember that everything we see on the Internet may not be true. I understand that people only share a small part of their lives, but the ones who see it from the other side of the screen believe that this person does have a perfect live (does that make sense?) I know it has nothing to do with social media being saturated, but I believe that networks also have a huge impact on society. Many stereotypes and issues have been spread online, weather they are good or bad.

There isn't a conclusion to this whole bunch of thoughts. I just started writing everything that came to my mind and now it feels good. I don't want to change the world by writing posts like this, but I feel really lucky to have a place were I can say such things. I don't want this post to be taken as a complain or anything, I love having built a small community around this blog, so thank you for reading this, whoever you are.

I really want to know your opinions about the topic, so please, leave them in the comments and we can discuss anything you suggest. Do you think that social media is saturated? How can somebody stand out in such a big network?

LET'S TALK ABOUT (WHAT'S BEHIND) MAKE-UP

About two or three years ago, I became obsessed with YouTube (I still am). I watched funny videos, prank videos, vlogs, decoration related clips... and make-up tutorials as well. Nowadays, there are these girls called "beauty gurus" who do make-up tutorials, hauls, tag videos, fashion/outfit videos and post them on YouTube. The thing is, I'm not even interested in make-up, I never wear it, but I reassure you that I could do a whole make-up look with the best products, a perfect winged liner and contour like a Kardashian (oh, yeah, and don't forget your brows!). I really enjoy watching how beauty bloggers/vloggers apply or review all these make-up products, it's like a hobby for me (it isn't as weird as it sounds). Today I'll be sharing my opinion on make-up. As I have already told you, I don't wear make-up at all, but I do appreciate make-up and I really admire people who can rock it. Since I haven't seen both sides of the subject, what I think may lack on perspective, but I do encourage you to tell me your thoughts in the comment section :)

The discussion comes when I ask myself: (1)do people wear make-up because they like playing with and they see it as an art/ a way to express themselves, (2)or they wear it to cover up their face because they feel insecure? I think this only applies to girls (at least, where I live, I have never seen a guy wearing a full-face make-up, you know right?), but if you're a boy, feel free to continue reading as well!

1. Hey! If you're one of those people who see make-up as an art that's awesome! I'm not only talking about an everyday make-up look, but there are also those dramatic looks that are really impressive. I do consider make-up an art, the difference is that the canvas is your own skin, imagine putting make-up all over your body?! That would be cool, like the music video for "Somebody that I used to know". Anyways, I'm beating around the bushes.

2. Now, to the ones who wear make-up because they feel insecure... I should say that there's no reason to do this because everybody is beautiful in their own way (and it's true), that society is trying to put stereotypes for everything and you shouldn't follow them (and you shouldn't), that covering your face won't help you to have a higher self esteem if the problem is inside yourself... blah, blah, blah. But what's wrong with wearing make-up if it makes you feel more confident? If when you're wearing it you feel like you're going to conquer the world? (get ready for my philosophical speech) We have to do what makes us feel good and there's no problem if make-up is involved with it. There's still time to work on our personal image and if you feel great with a smokey eye that's awesome! However, you need to learn to love yourself with and without make-up, because at the end of the day, your make-up runs out but your natural skin stays there (was that too poetic?).

I think the conclusion is that everyone wears make-up for a reason, so don't judge if you don't know what's behind it :)