Page 14 of Studious
Danny: You making a video of how you took an Ikea cabinet and made it into a koi pond?
Charlie: Don’t make fun.
Charlie: You’re just jealous of my reach.
Danny: Hardly.
Danny: Social media is for hacks.
Charlie: You say that because you have no followers.
Danny: I haven’t tried. If I put myself out there, I bet I could get double your followers in half the time.
Charlie: Oh yeah? Eighteen million followers in six months?
Why am I even considering this? I couldn’t care less about being an influencer. My real-life friends follow me on social media—and vice versa—but I don’t hashtag a damned thing.
Danny: Easy.
Danny: I just don’t feel like ticking and/or tocking.
Danny: Don’t want my data mined.
Charlie: What about Ad/VICE?
Ad/VICE is a new social media platform designed for people to dispense advice and advertise their products, and its bent is… NSFW—hence the VICE—although there are plenty of regular accounts. At least so I’m told. I’m not on it.
But between the unsatisfying evening and Charlie’s implicit dare, my mind’s starting to spin.
What am I doing with my life?
I’m ten years out of high school, and I’ve already achieved all the goals I set for myself. I have an equity partnership in a thriving boutique firm that furthers social justice causes. I make the money I want. I help my mom. I drive my dream car. My house is killer, although I haven’t had time to decorate it much. While some of the cases I handle are challenging, I’m feeling like I’ve… plateaued.
Iswhat I need to be a social media icon? Do I want to take over Ad/VICE?
This is the kind of shit my tired, not drunk but not entirely sober self comes up with. A social media follower challenge.
Great.
Danny: I’m in.
I hit send and immediately regret it. Because how the hell am I going to get that many followers in six months? I have to do something that will go viral.
Charlie: Prepare to lose your bet.
Danny: Not on your life.
Danny: What are we betting, anyway?
Charlie: Your car?
Danny: No.
Charlie: Your cat?
Danny: You’re an asshole.
Charlie: You lose, you have to come on my socials and tell everyone how you failed.
