Joe from Texas, an average guy with an average job, one day came home and filmed himself petting a cat… for THREE HOURS. Not because he’s trying to be famous, but because his cat, Mittens, demands it. And guess what? The internet LOVED it. Joe’s cat-petting videos have more views than all of our blogs combined 🙂
Now, Joe is an influencer. Why? Because people who watched his videos started doing the same thing to their pets “for no particular reason, of course.” The whole internet is now petting their pets in front of cameras for longer and longer hours. And it all started with just one legend, “The Joe,” who randomly posted his cat-petting sessions.
A few years ago, I wrote this article about the awesomeness of being socially awkward, where I stated that we all feel awkward in our own way and have done something completely different that made us the spotlight. But it’s actually awesome! Some of the readers didn’t agree back then.
Now, that all seems to come true. So, I was right!
Want to read that article? Check this out – The Awesomeness of Being Socially Awkward
The truth is, that people love the weird and wonderful. We live in a time where falling asleep mid-snack on a live octopus can make you a meme. Influencers aren’t these flawless people with perfect lives anymore. They’re the ones who accidentally dye their hair highlighter green while live-streaming or discover their parrot has a secret talent for beatboxing.
The internet has a special talent for turning our most awkward moments into gold. Therefore, the chances of becoming an accidental influencer today are pretty high. All you need is just throw out your inner animal, do unnecessary things, post useless stuff, act weird, fight with random people, and that’s it. The majority of these social media users will definitely pull you up. Meantime, your followers will skyrocket. Easy Job!
Before you know it, your face is everywhere, captioned with something like, “When you realize it’s Monday again.”
That’s how you’re gonna become an accidental influencer, sometimes without even trying.
You won’t believe what I actually did for science. A few days ago, I was scrolling through Instagram. And I saw this reel with a faceless dude (seriously, no face, just pecs), saying “Yo, I’ll do one pushup for every follower I get!”. I checked out his profile. The dude had about 120 followers. No biggie, right?
Fast forward a week, and his followers shot up to a whopping 120K. But the twist is he didn’t drop and give us a single pushup after that. Not one. Zilch. Zero. Now, instead of sweating it out, he’s living the influencer dream, partnering with all the big fitness brands.
Moral of the story? The internet is a wild place, and sometimes, all it takes is a vague promise and a lack of follow-through to become an Insta-famous…well, something.
The more you share your absurd antics, the higher your chances of going viral. It might take days, weeks, or even years, but persistence is the name of the game. The internet never sleeps and is always hungry for new absurd content. You don’t need to put out quality content when absurd content is doing much better, isn’t it?
Train every day. Share every day. Your goal is to flood the internet with your unique brand of ridiculousness. Eventually, the algorithm will notice. And you’ll be the accidental influencer soon.
As for the genuine influencers and content creators who united day and night, to provide quality content, you’re doing great. But you can’t outplay these new-age accidental influencers.
Don’t ask now why people suddenly started liking this absurd content more than the original. There’s no concrete explanation. It’s just what it is. Perhaps Mark Zuckerberg is the right person to ask this question.
I’ve said this several times, humans are indeed the weirdest creatures to walk on Earth. If aliens would ever visit the planet, they’ll be surprised to find how weird we are. I posted this several months ago – 16 Reasons Why Humans Are Weird.
Now I think I have found another reason to add it to this list. What do you think?
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I agree with you: people love the weird and wonderful and even embarrassing, and the Internet has a special talent for popularizing our most embarrassing moments.
They surely do, nowadays internet is mostly full of such absurd things, don't you think?
I completely agree with you: nowadays the Internet (YouTube) is full of really crazy things
Exactly Luisa, I feel you on this.
🙏🌹🙏
It's true people are weird, but I'm not likely to become an influencer because I hate pictures and videos of myself :)
Well, same pinch 😆We're never gonna be an accidental influencer.
The body builder gentleman is a great reminder that much of the internet is fraud. It is run by bean counters who watch only numbers. Much the same could be said about the companies that send him gifts. They probably never checked the veracity of his boasts. They checked his numbers.
You are entirely correct in that people are drawn to and sometimes like the unusual. In many ways, our modern internet is an electronic PT Barnum! Great post, thank you! 😎
Haha, love the PT Barnum comparison! You're totally right, the internet can be a land of smoke and mirrors sometimes. That's how it is now. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, George.
I started noticing this trend when someone went online advising people to whiten their teeth by brushing with salt and lemon juice. I wonder if she has any enamel left on her teeth now! 🤨 Take care Ritish!
Whoah 😅Internet beauty hacks are a whole other level.
Thanks for reading Cheryl, take care of yourself!
Finally! Someone pointed this out. Thanks mate.
Thanks Mate, anytime 😀
Haha, I enjoyed this Ritish. I absolutely believe that a man petting his cat for hours went viral. As an aging blogger, I don't video myself so I'll probably never be an accidental influencer, but I did buy the Weird Barbie from the Barbie movie, because I felt a kinship with her! I think I'm part of the weird tribe. :)
Haha, glad you liked it. Definitely, you're a part of the tribe😅 In fact everybody is. Some just show, others do it silently. Btw that barbie things always scares me, its like a Annabelle.
😂😂 I'm not a doll collector at all, but I had to get Weird Barbie. God, I hope I haven't brought something in! The Conjuring series is, by far, my favorite in the horror genre.And I like that we get split between the ones who show and the ones who are silent. Do we trust one over another?
Haha, Don't worry 😂 Just don't get her wet or feed her after midnight, and we should be good. The Conjuring is fantastic, though - nothing like a good scare 😅
As for trust, I think it depends on the context and the person. Sometimes the silent ones have the most interesting stories.
Maybe that awkward moment you have is exactly what someone else needs to see and feel a little less alone. Who knew, right?
That's an accidental influencers thinking right there. You've cracked the code!
Haha, Am not. But this is funny.
🙂
Yes, we are weird and the internet is weird because of it. It's a fantastic yet odd place.
Rightly said, Pooja. This all what makes us unique as a species.
What a great post Ritish. Weird and wonderful and the cat videos I can attest too when I did my one cat video that was sooooo bad.. .lol I love the picture: Accidentally Famous / Actually Famous.. You're famous to me.. xo 😂💗😻💪🏼👏😘
Haha Cindy, thanks so much! Appreciate the love - famous to you is famous enough for me! ❤️🫂
Always my friend!!! You’re so welcome! 😉 you’re the best!!
Loves and hugs 🫂💗
Btw how's your schedule gong on? And your Cabo preparation
So interesting how life is, right.
Exactly, nothing make sense.
This is great. Thank you for sharing this.
Glad you enjoyed, Kritika 🙌
I've always preferred the not so normal stuff. In the 1980s, USA (NY/NJ) we had weirdness with obscure radio stations, John Waters films, The Uncle Floyd Show, and Night Flight....Soon all this stuff became mainstream -- kind of. Just be your most authentic self and see where life takes you! :)
Haha, you lived in the coolest corner of the 80s. And yeah, you are somewhere right about this not-so-normal stuff, it works sometimes. After all, the internet loves authenticity, so keep on keepin' on with your awesome self.
Ha-ha, it either loves authenticity or doesn't get it. ;)