🔎 The Weekly Scroll: Yes, it’s been done, but not by you.

Hey y’all,

“I don’t give a [bleep] if it’s been painted, cooked, danced, filmed, photographed, built, sung, sculpted, or written about. It’s been done before, it’s been done before, it’s been done before: but not by you.”

That’s the opening to a video Nneka Julia posted a couple of weeks ago that immediately struck me right from the title.

Nneka makes film-like videos about very relatable topics, and they look and sound like a diary entry. This video was just five minutes long, but it rearranged something in my brain. Stay with me.

The idea that your perspective is what makes something unique isn’t new, but just because something has been said a million times doesn’t mean you’re ready to hear it.

It got me thinking about how many times I’ve had an idea and even gotten all the way to making the content, then getting the feeling that I’m not saying anything new, so why even bother?

Even though I’ve been making content for years and years now, I keep falling into the same mental trap. Even though people come up to me all the time saying, “I just saw [new thing I made from an old, overdone idea] and I loved it”. Even though I know for a fact that I could copy-paste an existing piece of content and no one would care.

It’s like I keep trying to predict the future, the potential response to a piece of content, and failing every time.

There’s a quote (which is more of a meme at this point) by actress Jemima Kirke that goes, “I think you guys might be thinking about yourselves too much.”

And hard as I try, I do think about myself too much. No one keeps the receipts of my back catalog and past wins or failures as much as I do.

The things I’m creating may not be the most amazing versions out there. And there are often analytics to prove me right. But even if mine or yours isn’t the best, it’s still yours. It’s your hands, brain, mind, perspective, and experiences working together to put something out into the world. And it’s a muscle you get to strengthen so that with time, yours can truly become the best.

I won’t pretend like it’s easy. I’m saying this from outside the club of confident creators. But what I have put into effect is a daily practice. Something that I talked about in a recent interview with Amy Watts is that a creative practice is a non-negotiable for anyone who wants to be a creator.

If you can get into the habit of making something — anything — every day, you’ll get in your exercise anyway. The metaphor I apply is this: if you skipped for 30 minutes or walked 10,000 steps, would you not still burn the same number of calories?

Even if it’s not social content, the time I spend taking photographs or sticking things into my journal is part of my creative practice and keeps the muscles moving. Someone else’s workout (or creative practice) doesn’t do that for me.

So keep making your things, and keep sharing them. And you never know, one day, you might just be at the top of the pyramid of all the versions of that thing that have been done for.

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WHAT’S IN MY SCROLL

Of course, I have to start with the video that kicked off this week’s Deep Thoughts TM.

Beyond the message, Nneka’s dedication to making these mini-films is so inspiring. And as someone who’s still not super confident about taking my camera outside to film, I’m equal parts jealous and encouraged.

I’ve been loving all the content this creator, Sebin, makes, especially on YouTube. I remember way back when she did her Obsidian video that got me (and a lot of other people) hooked on the app, and watching her content makes me feel like I’m leaving smarter than when I started. Which is the genre of creator I gravitate toward most.

If you’ve been trying to monetize on YouTube or are thinking about starting, the recent updates to monetization standards might light a fire under you. I still say: go for it. The update doesn’t take effect till February 1, 2027. Is this my sign to start that YouTube channel?

Also, did y’all see the new Instagram wordmark?

That’s it from me.

Until next week,

Tami

Sr. Content Creator