Are you on Twitter?
I am, although I rarely post. I mainly look around for input and distraction.
An account I enjoy following is ‘How Can I Make This About Me?’. HCIMTAM shares messages from people who put themselves a little too emphatically in the spotlight.
Like Prof. David Pinto:
Renowned psychologist Prof. Dr. Willem Hofstee passed away. Sad. Prof. Hofstee was a member of the reading committee of my Dissertation and he wrote about me: “The greatest possible respect is due to the contributions the author has made to civilization and humanity.”
Another fun HCIMTAM example is Instagram model Natalie Schlater.
She posted a picture in which she stands prominently in front of a rice field, in underwear. Caption: ‘Thinking about how different my life is from the man picking in the rice field every morning.’
HCIMTAM shows extremes of narcissism and vanity.
But the tendency to relate something back to yourself is not extreme in itself. It is human.
And your audience has that tendency – consciously or unconsciously – as well.
Therefore, it’s best to ensure that your story is already explicitly about your audience. Because people find themselves most interesting after all.
Regards,
Arnaud