"Lady Luck" In The Internet Age

Newsletter + On This Day

“In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.”
Andy Warhol (allegedly)

Andy Warhol likely never said this. As much as I personally enjoy Warhol’s art, Andy had a team of fellow creatives—including writers and editors—who carefully crafted his image and routinely put words in his mouth.

Andy Warhol was also known to lie, cheat, and steal…to make a living. Artists!

That said, Warhol and his motley crew of underground "Superstars" foreshadowed today’s motley crew of celebrity “influencers” and the fleeting nature of online fame.

In the current "creator economy," there’s a myth that “you’re one viral hit away from success.” Many creators believe the right post or video will bring instant fame and fortune. But, like the lottery or Las Vegas, big wins are rare, and overnight “success” can be more of a curse than a blessing.

Despite platforms gamifying everything—likes, views, followers, and so much more—most successful creators don’t rely on “Lady Luck.” They work hard and succeed like everyone else: slowly but surely. A “viral” moment might be the start of something good, but long-term success requires consistent, steady determination and effort.

A 2023 survey showed that 11% of U.S. teens dream of becoming YouTubers, streamers, or vloggers. They must think it’s an easy job or life. The fact is most YouTubers quit after six months.

Warhol's own rise took years—he spent over a decade as a successful commercial artist before gaining success as a pop artist. Even then, the art world—including fellow gay artists Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns—dismissed Warhol and his work.

On platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, the creative process may feel like a game—with constant feedback from likes and more—but true success is more about building trust over time, not chasing one-off viral moments.

YouTube Studio’s "1 of 10" to "10 of 10" scoreboard rates recent work against previous successes. From personal experience, the struggle is real not to get addicted to the numbers and lose sight of long-term goals.

This gamification can push some creators toward sensationalism or burnout. But for those who manage to stay the course, the real value lies in building community and lasting connections with their audience, not chasing temporary spikes in views.

Thankfully, platforms like Substack offer an alternative. Here, it’s not about quantity but quality. You don’t need millions of views to succeed—a small, engaged audience can provide both the creative and financial support to not only survive but thrive.

Unless you’re a multi-national corporation, quality always wins over quantity.

If you’re a small creator, viral moments can help. But they can hurt too.
Be careful what you wish for.

In the long run, it’s not the “viral” hit that sustains a content creator’s career—it’s the trust and loyalty of those who follow their work for the right reasons.

Thanks for reading and watching,
Clint

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NEWS + VIEWS

• How The YouTube Algorithm Promotes Thievery (Zackary Smigel) 📺

• The Ethan Klein-Hasan Piker-Twitch Problem (Philip DeFranco) 📺

• Another Drag Race Winner Is 'Taking A Break' For Her Mental Health (Out)

• What Do You Risk In Revisiting A Piece of Culture You Once Loved? (Defector)

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ON THIS DAY = OCTOBER 24

BIRTHDAYS

• 1891 = Brenda Ueland = American journalist, author, and educator

• 1896 = Marjorie Joyner = American make-up artist and businesswoman

• 1915 = Bob Kane = American author and illustrator

• 1930 = The Big Bopper = American singer-songwriter

• 1932 = Stephen Covey = American author and educator

• 1936 = David Nelson = American actor, director, and producer

• 1939 = F. Murray Abraham = American actor

• 1947 = Kevin Kline = American actor and singer

• 1960 = BD Wong = American actor

• 1980 = Zac Posen = American fashion designer

• 1989 = PewDiePie = Swedish YouTuber

CELEBRATIONS

• LGBTQ History Month

• National Bologna Day

• National Food Day

EVENTS

• 1911 = Orville Wright remains in the air nine minutes and 45 seconds in a glider at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina.

• 1926 = The New York Times printed a book review of Dr. Joseph Collins' “The Doctor Looks at Love and Life.” In this text Collins disputed the claim that same-sex love is pathological and famously claimed that "genuine homosexuality is not a vice, it is an endowment."

• 1929 = "Black Thursday" on the New York Stock Exchange.

• 1934 = “Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town” is released for the first time.

• 1946 = A camera on board the V-2 No. 13 rocket takes the first photograph of earth from outer space.

• 1978 = The film adaptation of the hit musical The Wiz is released in theaters.

• 1981 = The first National Conference on Lesbian and Gay Aging took place in California. Sponsored by the National Association For Gay and Lesbian Gerontology, it sought to "dispel myths about older lesbians and gay men, advance research, establish programs and services for lesbian and gay elders, and encourage and provide support for lesbian and gay gerontologists."
  Related Resource = National Resource Center on LGBT Aging

• 2002 = Harry Hay, a pioneering gay civil rights activist, dies in San Francisco, Calirfornia, at the age of 90. Hay co-founded the Mattachine Society and the Radical Faeries and was active in many “homophile” organizations for decades. In its obituary for him, The New York Times wrote: “Hay’s contribution was to do what no one else had done before: plant the idea among American homosexuals that they formed an oppressed cultural minority of their own, like Blacks, and to create a lasting organization in which homosexuals could come together to socialize and to pursue what was, at the beginning, the very radical concept of homosexual rights.” Not sure that’s how Harry would have put it, but the NYT isn’t what it used to be.

• 2008 = "Bloody Friday" saw many of the world's stock exchanges experience the worst declines in their history, with drops of around 10% in most indices.

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PHOTO + QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I am also a writer. That is a fact not known by the public in general.”
Bob Kane

NEW + FEATURED

• Josh Callahan + Me

• Show + Don't Tell (NSFW)

• Smorgasbord #1

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