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Join James Petrossi in 'Leave the Feed: 30 Days of Disconnect' as he interviews creators and mental health advocates about their journeys, the digital quagmire, and tips to create a healthier relationship with social media.
[00:00:00]
James Petrossi: Hello and welcome to Leave the Feed 30 Days of Disconnect. It's day 30. This is it. Yeah, you made it here with Dylan Huey. Just to wrap things up, Dylan, welcome back.
Dylan Huey: You for having me. Thank you for having me. Excited for this last episode. Yeah, I've been listening to all the episodes. They, they're great. I love them. Very inspiring from every single person. I think what we see is like new perspectives around, you know, topics that were discussed in the book, but actually hearing people talk about it, it's very encouraging.
Heartwarming to know that, you know, this is a universal you know, discussion that anyone can understand whether you are a creator, whether you are someone who's focused on just wellness. You know, there's, there's been so many [00:01:00] perspectives on this this podcast. I mean, season two, are we doing a season two of it?
James Petrossi: I think just by the intrigue and creators and the participation, there definitely might be. A, a season two coming. Maybe this will become an annual podcast, but, some really awesome themes that came out of this, and we'll just talk briefly about each of them. The five that really stuck out are awareness, authenticity, self-worth, connection, and redemption. Think for the first one, awareness. From the creator standpoint, there's a lot of awareness about boundaries. There's a lot of awareness about their own mental health, what they're creating, how they're creating, and I think the conversations that we had really opened us up to and opened the creators up to.
Just how ever aware they need to be of they're doing what they're doing, like what is the why behind what they're
Dylan Huey: Course. I mean, it would, it's so funny that you bring this up because I think I learned at [00:02:00] a, at a really early age when I was 16 about how valuable and how important the following is. Right? I, I always give a, a circumstance, it might be actually be at that end of the book, I talk about this, where a mother comes up to my mom and I and says that my content saved their daughter's life.
Right? And I think that, you know, it. Views are great and likes are great, and comments are great, and we, we become an economy where we're so factioned on. What is the number, how many views are you getting? That's how you gonna get paid out. What's the CPM based off the views, right? You know this James, it's the marketing world and you know, at the end of the day it's like.
You know, every person behind a, like there's a, there's a person behind it. Every comment, there's a person behind it, right? The, the impact to really understand who you are influencing, who you're making a difference into, who you're changing their life for. I think that that's so, so cool. I also, it puts a lot of power in your hand.
You know, when I started to [00:03:00] REACH the, the first question I asked anyone was, what do you do beyond social media, beyond USC to make a difference in an impact in your community? Because I understood that like your following mattered. It, it, it had, it had meaning to it, and you know, just the aspect of really understanding that.
You are building something just much more than just making money off of content, much more than making great content, which I love. I love great content, great content's, great content, but the community that you're curating, you know, you're bringing people together around a central topic of entertainment.
Those are very powerful. And you know, the, the average creator doesn't realize that as they're growing. They realized that, you know, as they're building even larger and you know, the, the creators that get it, get it. And I think that that's been so pivotal to really see that, that change. I think, you know, that was a, an understanding [00:04:00] very early on in the creator space when I was on musically back in the day was.
I know, I, I, I love the, the creator space and I, I loved the, the part where I could go up to a creator. Why didn't you start making content? Right. And the, the answers that I got were powerful. They were, I, I'm getting bullied. I was getting bullied or, you know, I, I was suicidal and this was my escape, was to find other people.
You know, I think we've, we've turned the creator space into a very lucrative. Economy. I mean, you have to turn something into an economy. But just the aspect of, you know, social media at the beginning, and now we can still continue to build that momentum where your following matters, but also the creator matters and, and why they started making content in the first place, you know, for a lot of individuals is just a form of self-expression.
You know, that, that is so powerful. I mean, that, that's, that's more than just. It's more than just [00:05:00] you.
James Petrossi: One of the tension points that came up within all of that, especially with the self-expression and the entertainment, is that there's such a performative nature to social media that to stay grounded in authenticity seems to be an ongoing challenge, is how do I stay true to myself, especially with that growth.
Dylan Huey: I mean, you could be, you could be algorithm focused and, and focus on getting viewed, or you could focus on how can you build content that's sustainable to you, right? And, and not to say that algorithm focused creators are doing it wrong, but they might not be focused on the larger truth, which is do they actually love doing what they're doing?
And in my opinion, you should always. Do what you enjoy doing, and if you don't enjoy doing it, find something else to do that you're gonna really be passionate about. Right. But I think, you know, like I said, we've, we've turned into an economy where sometimes that's overshadowed, overlooked. And I think it's important for us to be [00:06:00] grounded as you get to a million followers as you get to 5 million followers and now you're.
Starting to think a little bit more about the algorithm. Why am I doing what I'm doing? Is it because young Dylan, when he was 14 years old, getting bullied in middle school and wanted to find a place where other people could relate to him you know, and he was live streaming for five hours a day every single day for three years straight.
Is that why I'm doing content? Am I doing content because I, I know it's gonna make me a lot of money. Like what are, what are the wider truths of why I'm still in it? And who am I and who am I to others, what, what am I instilling? What, what are the the, the messages that I'm sharing to other people? You know, is it that, you know, I'm this luxurious, grander, larger than life character?
Or is it, you know, 14-year-old Dylan? Like I said. Young, getting bullied and and really understanding like, what was your mission? I always tell creators, like, always understand your why and then build from there. But if you don't [00:07:00] understand why you're making content and why you're doing what you're doing, then nothing will, will mean anything to what you're building.
James Petrossi: It really ties into the value equation of the economy. Understanding that why? Because a lot of creators really struggled with self-worth and they started really young. They got tied to the metrics, they got tied to the numbers, they got tied to the growth, they got tied to the money, and all of a sudden they lost sight of who they are.
And in that self-worth, you know, what is it beyond the numbers and how do we make sure that the numbers don't dictate our purpose in this world and what we bring into this world?
Dylan Huey: A hundred percent. A hundred percent no, I, I completely agree.
James Petrossi: Then another huge theme out of this is obviously connection social media for you. I mean, it was a place to grow a community and like you said earlier in the, in the show you said, you know, someone comes up to you, say, you know, save my child's life and the power of that connection. [00:08:00] But, so many creators that we've talked to have said, you know, man, like. feel like I know so many people, but I actually don't feel like I have any friends, and that can be really sad when you have such a powerful network and community, yet you still feel somewhat alone when you do log off the screen. I.
Dylan Huey: Yeah, I mean, you know, the honest truth is that the creator space. For a long time, it's been a very self isolating industry. You're making tiktoks in your bedroom. Like who are you talking, who are you collaborating with, right? When you're making a movie, when you're making a song, you're collaborating with songwriters, producers, all of that stuff.
When you're making a movie, you're collaborating with producers, directors, other actors. I mean, I don't know any successful movies that's a one person movie. So, so I think that, you know, that. Perspective is very different, right? We're we're making content, but to who? For who? With who. Right. And, and I think that that's been very [00:09:00] unique.
And you know, for me, that's why I built REACH, right? It's because I wanted to build a community where people passionate about social media and content creation to can come together, learn from each other, collaborate each other, and really grow. I'm, I'm so fortunate to, to watch and witness. Other people starting to build communities like this, like REACH my, my mother started the Bay Area Creator Economy, which is a creator network across the Bay Area.
My my good friend started Creator Economy, NYC, Brett Chesky. You know, there are lots of, lots of groups coming up and populating where they are focused on in-person experiences because it is such a self isolating industry. You know, and, and, and I think at the same time, like, yes, connection's important for me.
I was fortunate enough to build my following around connection, but a lot of other creators just built it off of self-identity and posting content and not interacting with their comment section, not interacting with their [00:10:00] fans. Right. And I think that that's a whole different world that I was never a part of because I always made it fan centric, fan focused.
For me, when I hang out with creators all the time, my last thing I want to ask them is what they do for a living. I want to get to know them for who they are, you know, what are their hobbies, what are they passionate about? What is their family? Who is their family? You know, all that stuff. The things that you know that you don't typically ask because it's such a transactional environment here in the creator space.
Yeah.
James Petrossi: and that self isolate. That idea about. content. That's about me. What we also heard was, you know, this next iteration of social media is very redemptive, and that means that less about showing off what I'm doing and more about how do I add value to people's lives. How do I create a space where people can have the community and security and the growth and the networking that you enabled more of that and [00:11:00] less of the. Performative nature of self and to hear creators all seeing the need to push social media in that direction and that this can be a really calm, loving, supportive place. And, and that's where we need to get to with this was really inspiring to hear.
Dylan Huey: I mean, that sounds like a Justin Leusner answer. I feel like, I feel like that came outta Justin's mouth. No, I mean, I completely agree. I think I, I agree with that, that sentiment. A hundred percent. And I think value-based content is. Is a great direction that we're starting to see, you know, Alex Hermo and you know, we have even LinkedIn as a platform is starting to take our eyes.
That's why, this is why I think it's a linked a Justin answer because I mean, LinkedIn as a platform is a very value-based. Platform, right? You're not posting about your you know, your face and your photo and you know, you go into a movie premier here, you're posting, how can I help other people? You know, this is things that [00:12:00] I learned, right?
And that's you know, that's a lot of those LinkedIn creators, that's how they start their prompts is this is what I learned about blah, blah, blah. This is what I learned about. B2B sales and, and stuff like that. Right. It's, it's very value focused and, and I think that people wanna follow, you know, in the past we were, we, we looked at a, an industry where it's people wanna follow people that they can relate to.
I think that's still a, a common trend, but I think it's also people wanna follow people who they can learn from as well, right? So, so we think tho those are you know, how, how the tides are changing and just evolving in this creator landscape.
James Petrossi: So we talked about awareness. We talked. About authenticity, self-worth, connection, and redemption, pushing all of those aside, how do we continue to find balance inside of this digital quagmire? As we're getting pushed further and further into new technologies, how can we make sure that we preserve our humanity?
Dylan Huey: Yeah, that's a great [00:13:00] question. You read, Leave the Feed. But you do. No. I think that there's a lot of things. I think, you know, at the end of the day, you, you need to constantly, you know, learn about who you are. Right. And, and understand. What you are building, why you're building it, and how you're building it.
I think everyone wants to see that they're building something cool, right? Every, everyone wants to build something dope. Whether you're working at Amazon and you're trying to, you know, work on, you know, building up a, a new product at Amazon or, you know, if you're an entrepreneur and building up you know, a a, a whole new product you know, everyone wants to build something cool.
You know, at the same time, in a, in a world where we are trying to build a, in a very competitive landscape where everyone's, you know, a builder, everyone's a doer. You know, how can you remember why you're building what you're building? How are you going about doing it? Is it ethical? Right? I think ethics is a, a massive, [00:14:00] massive part.
Right. And I think, you know, taking a step back, and I think this, the epitome of Leave the Feed is take a step back. Take a step back and understand, you know, what you're building and why you're building it, because that makes it not only beneficial for everyone else, right? 'cause you can share your mission, but it grounds you.
It it allows you to remember why am I even doing this in the first place, right? And days, you know, in days where things get hard, here at REACH, at the REACH company days are always hard for Dylan as a CEO to, to figure out how to make payroll, right. How am I gonna pay my employees? Mm-hmm. You know, and days like that, which is today, you know, I, it's a, it's a constant reminder of why am I even doing this?
Why am I building what I'm building? And for me, why I'm building what I'm building is because I want to build a place where creators actually feel protected, supported. Helped for Leave the Feed. Why did we [00:15:00] build, Leave the Feed? Right? It was to, to really show others that, that these, this entire sense of relationship is more than just what we think.
You know, it's. It's more than, it's larger than life. It's more than a touch the grass movement. It's, you know, it's a whole mantra that you should be following, right? So understanding why we're building what we're building is important for us to really. Understand that we wanna be building what we're doing right at the end of the day.
You could stop tomorrow. You know, we could stop the the Leave the Feed podcast tomorrow, but no people wanna see this. Leave the Feed podcast go up. Why do they want to see the Leave The Feed podcast go up? Because they wanna hear stories of other people, of people like you and I who are. Sharing insights that they can be like, I relate to this, or I was at that point, or.
These are things that, that I think are gonna be [00:16:00] beneficial to my life, to my career to how I want to build myself up. Maybe it is taking a step back from being on social media, right? And Leave the Feed inspired you to do that. And it's such an individual thing. It's an individual concept and and notion.
James Petrossi: Very well said. So insightful, so inspiring. This whole season has been full of. Essential knowledge and wisdom and to learn how disconnecting to reconnect and the ethos of Leave the Feed means something different to everyone. But it's all something that we can relate to has been incredible. Thank you so much for being part of this, Dylan.
Dylan Huey: I love it. I mean, I think the, the entire movement of what we are trying to build here at Leave the Feed is you know, it's, I, I always say this. Because it's true, but it's ever more important today, right?
And it's gonna be ever more important tomorrow as well, which is very paradoxical. But I think the, the entire sentiment is that if [00:17:00] you wanna, you know, really make, build yourself up if you want to change your own life there's never a, a better day to start than today. Right. And, and for me, and what I tell everyone, because this people ask me all the time, they're like, how do you, how do you be the best in social media?
Right. And I tell them the same answer, which is relevant to anything that you're doing. Start today. You'll think that you, you'll, you're gonna start tomorrow, but start today. Build the groundwork today. Because if you're building yourself up constantly and building yourself 1% every single day, you're gonna constantly get better and you're gonna reach your goal, right?
If your goal is to. Make a million dollars, right? Let's, let's use a very figurative thing that's money related, even though we've been talking about non-money concepts the entire time. But if your goal is to get $1 million, getting 1% of $1 million every single day for the next one year. We'll get you to your goal, right?
And you can tangibly [00:18:00] take it into baby steps every single day, right? A larger goal is easier to accomplish if you can sound, bite it into smaller, more tangible accomplishable goals that you can actually do, right? And, and that I think is the power of what we're building here at Lead The Feed is helping you get to your goals, right?
We're not gonna tell you how to make a million bucks. We will tell you how to reconnect with yourself, how to reconnect with others, how to reconnect with your friends, family with nature and the environment. And these are things that I think are the most important, is your relationships.
James Petrossi: And lastly, I just want to give a special thanks to you and also all the creators that were on this show. I think when I started Leave the Feed. Many years ago, it was about the challenges with social media. And what we've really found working with all these creators is that balance point [00:19:00] between social media as a challenge and social media is the opportunity and for everyone to figure out where they fit within that equation. And because of these creators, it just continues to warm my heart. How many wonderful platforms there are out there that help so many people, and how social media is something that we have to continue to nurture, continue to protect creators, and make sure that everyone can find peace and prosperity inside the creator economy.
So thank you so much, Dylan.
Dylan Huey: Of course, I love it. I mean, like I said, we'll be back.
James Petrossi: Oh, thank you to everyone listening and stay tuned for the next season. We look forward to it.