Could You Be a Little Less…You?

I've got a bee in my bonnet today about "being yourself." Maybe the braces are taking me back to high school or a "Things Not to Do on Twitter" blog post this morning rubbed me the wrong way. More than anything, it's probably a comment I got today on YouTube that pissed me off.

The comment read. "you are so damn cute…you're great, but watch the narcissism…weave in a littel mystery..maybe a little Anais Nin…"

Now here's the thing– I've had a number of ex-boyfriends who've told me almost the exact same thing. I should be more demure, a little quieter. Taller. Have darker hair. Behave myself.

And I told them the same thing I would like to tell this YouTube commenter. "If you want someone different than me– GO FIND SOMEONE WHO'S NOT ME!" How many effing women are on YouTube? There are plenty of people to watch, most of which are more technologically savvy and better scripted. If I'm not entertaining enough, no one's making you watch me!

Here's the thing– I know who I am. I'm a brash, tiny, risktaker. I drink more than I should, write filthy smut, cook like a domestic goddess, and can't file worth crap. To try to be anything else is pointless. Because as Dolly Parton once said, "Find out who you are, and do it on purpose."

Besides, if I wanted to play it safe, I wouldn't have chosen to write erotic romance. Duh.

I feel similarly about rules dictating what people should and should not say on Twitter. For example– curse words and oversharing. Sure, if you're drumming up business for your law firm you may not want to gripe about how long it's been since you've gotten laid. But if you're an erotica writer? Or a porn star? Heck, if you're a porn star you can probably overshare all you want and no one will mind. In fact, your followers might feel gypped if they DON'T hear raunchy details.

Everyone has a line about what they will and won't share on social media. For example, everyone who cares to wonder knows I'm not a fan of vibrators. However, I don't think I'd ever tweet about a serious illness in the family or a chronic disease I had. That just wouldn't be "me."

You don't have to make everyone happy all of the time. In fact, if you try, you'll just piss off the people who matter most.

And hey! That's the moral of my Thursday release, MERCURY RISING!

(I love it when a blog post comes full circle.:)

What's something you do on social media that everyone says you shouldn't? What boundary do you have for your personal brand that another person might not share?