They say you should try to limit social media videos to 1 minute. It’s hard to keep a person’s attention beyond that due to the current state of affairs with scrolling incessantly and/or aimlessly on social media.
Or better yet, try even shorter blurbs of 15-30 seconds.
Most commercials are 30-60 seconds, and people pay millions just to have that much time on ONE Super Bowl commercial.
I’m guessing I may have lost or bored some of you already because you don’t know what point I’m trying to make. I digress often which is not a good thing these days. I also have the tendency to over tell a story, also not a good thing. So let me get to my point.
I’ve been trying to create some short videos to post on social media, but I think I am overthinking the whole process. I’m trying to find an audience and become more visible on social media. I even ventured over to TikTok and posted a couple of videos there. YES, startling to say the least if you know anything about me.
Anyway, I decided to try this out on my blog too, so I’m going to share a couple of my quickie videos here. Take this one, for example. This was my first video on TikTok… clocking in at a mere 1 minute, 25 seconds. You don’t need a TikTok account to view it. Just press the <play> arrow in the center of the video below.
At the time of this post, it had been viewed on TikTok over 1,200 times and had over 200 likes, all by complete strangers who I’ve never had any contact with. Honestly, I was very pleasantly surprised as I did not think the video would even make it to the list to even be scrolled past and ignored. It was a very impromptu thing. I didn’t plan to video anything that day, but as I was taking a walk and noticed the flags flying at half staff, I decided to stop and video it. By not overthinking that day, I posted the video (on August 28) on my personal Facebook page like I normally do because I often share my walking adventures with my Facebook friends. It was viewed a little over 100 times and got 5 likes.
I’m not sure what that means. Maybe my Facebook friends are tired of me and don’t stop scrolling long enough to see what I have posted. Meanwhile complete strangers not only stopped, but they stopped on TikTok of all places, viewed the video and even liked it. I really didn’t think there would be an audience for me on TikTok at all, so I was pleasantly surprised and glad that I had not overthought it.
What does that say about social media, attention spans, finding your niche, accidentally discovering your voice on unlikely platforms, or just trying to live in the moment without overthinking? I don’t have the answer to any of those questions, but I did find it quite interesting.
Given the first video’s success, I ventured out again and posted my second TikTok video 4 days later on September 1. Here it is, and guess what y’all! I actually told my WHOLE story in less than a minute. This one is only 59 seconds and has been viewed over 500 times and garnered 65 likes (from total strangers) as of the time I’m writing this blog post. Again, a much better reception than Facebook with 89 views and 6 likes…. (by my friends.)
Again, this was totally impromptu during my morning walk. The sun’s reflection over the lake caught my eye, but what really did it for me was the song I was listening to on my AirPods, Resurrection Power. I listen to music all the time, but had I not been walking at the time, and had I decided to overthink things too much, I never would have shared that video either.
Do I have a point? I’m still thinking about it as I am typing because I don’t know what I really want to say yet. After sitting here for a minute and pondering what I just wrote, it dawned on me (or rather I think it was the Lord enlightening me) that my point should be we are much more concerned about what people think or say about us, and even worse, more concerned with how many likes a social media post can muster up.
Yes, that’s the point in all of this. It doesn’t really matter. Life does not revolve around social media, although it seems the world would like for us to believe it does. Social media has its place, and there is a lot of good that can come from it. However, a lot of bad has also been the result of it. What should matter is fulfilling our purpose in life. We can do that without social media just as billions of people have done prior to the invention of the internet and social media.
So let me just encourage you to find your place in this world and discover your own unique purpose. Why were you put on this earth? Or better yet, why did God create you? Why did HE put you on this earth? The obvious answer is to honor and glorify HIM. But how do we do that? That’s where a concrete answer can be quite illusive. I encourage you to pray and ask God to lead, guide, and direct you. Ask him to help you discover your purpose. Trust him to show you what that is. One of my favorite scriptures reads as follows:
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3:5-6
If we do that, we will walk down the path God has ordained for our lives, and that most certainly includes bringing honor and glory to HIM! We may not see what that path is right now, but if we keep putting one foot in front of the other, we will get there. Let’s not get caught up with the cares of this world, but we most certainly need to be praying FOR this world. Just take a look around us. It’s hard to argue that we are not living out the Book of Revelation right now. But that’s a deeper topic for a different blogger, or better yet, for a preacher or teacher. Suffice it to say, we have more important things to worry about than overthinking a one minute video.
Well, this blog post ended up being much longer than I expected. I thought about this right before going to bed tonight and thought I would sit down “real quick” and just share my 2 TikTok videos with you. Apparently God had other plans for me tonight though, and you are reading the results of what I feel he gave me to share with you for such a time as this.
Which brings me to my final point, which I certainly had NO INTENTION of sharing with you today (or tonight as it is now 12:30 a.m. as I am typing this.
This last video is almost 30 minutes. I don’t expect you to listen to the whole thing. However, I am asking you to listen to the first 2 minutes, 21 seconds. As I was attempting to close out this blog post 2 paragraphs ago, I felt the urge to keep typing and share this video. While trying to figure out our purpose and how to walk in the destiny God has already pre-ordained for our lives, let’s not forget to share the message of the gospel with others. What better way to bring honor and glory to God?
How can you fulfill your purpose on this earth? Your REAL purpose? It starts with believing what John 3:16 says. And once you do that, share it with others! It only takes a minute (or less) to share the good news of John 3:16. That, my dear readers, really is the point in my blog today. I just didn’t know it until the very end. I guess that’s what happens when I am obedient to following that inner voice (Holy Spirit) directing my path.
Continue to allow God to use you. Your testimonies and lessons learned are helping others in ways you may never know. I also am an “over thinker”, but He calls us to be “overcomers.”
Thank you very much! How profound! I will begin praying that God will make me an overcomer instead of an over thinker.