Summary

Content Creation and Social Media Strategy

• Algorithm-driven social media platforms prioritize remarkable content over follower count, making it crucial to focus on creating high-value content that resonates with even a single viewer.

• Patience and eagerness must be balanced in content creation, as showcased in the book "Meet Me in the Middle," to avoid being sloppy or hurting others while pursuing goals.

Personal Growth and Decision Making

• Trust your intuition when choosing project partners, prioritizing gut feeling and chemistry over conventional metrics like resumes, as it's akin to a marriage requiring a strong relationship.

• Reverse engineer yourself, leaving 20% for curiosity and randomly testing new experiences like the "oysters rule" to avoid missing out on potential opportunities.

Parenting and Child Development

• Focus on raising happy, active kids rather than molding them to parental expectations, using reverse engineering to understand each child as an individual creature.

• In co-parenting situations, prioritize being present with children and avoid engaging with negative comments on social media, as time spent scrolling is unrecoverable.

Platform-Specific Strategies

• Concentrate on Instagram for social media presence, with Facebook automatically cross-posting to Twitter, while recognizing TikTok as the "Golden Goose" for support.

• Utilize Snapchat Spotlight for brand building rather than short-term sales, as it offers better compensation due to having fewer creators compared to other platforms.

Timestamps

00:00 📈 Focus on creating engaging, shareable content across platforms, especially Snapchat, while teaching kids empathy and accountability in a landscape where users engage without following accounts.

• Social media users increasingly engage with content without following accounts, as algorithms prioritize showing liked content to viewers.

• Focus on Snapchat for growth, as it presents unique opportunities amidst the competitive landscape of other social media platforms.

• Focus on creating engaging content that can be effectively distributed across platforms to maximize reach and views.

• Sharing moments with children on social media is enjoyable, but concerns about overexposure and future implications should be considered.

• Teaching compassion and empathy is essential for dealing with negativity and real-life challenges.

• Teaching kids accountability and building self-esteem are essential for navigating social challenges and insecurities.

06:07 🤝 Focus on building genuine relationships and quality content in your social media strategy for success.

• Focus on building genuine connections and relationships in your social media strategy.

• Focusing on building relationships and giving back is essential for a successful social media strategy.

• Kevin and Stephanie McCarty transitioned from traditional careers to full-time content creators, growing their YouTube channel from 8,000 to 12.3 million subscribers in two and a half years.

• Focusing on quality content for children is essential in a world filled with overwhelming information, as it helps teach important values and provides a necessary escape.

• Patience is crucial in achieving success and should not be mistaken for complacency or laziness.

• Modern parenting requires balance between eagerness and caution to avoid negative consequences.

13:04 🎯 Focus on creating engaging, valuable content that resonates with your audience and fosters genuine relationships, rather than obsessing over follower counts.

• Focus on creating engaging content that resonates with your audience, as social media algorithms prioritize quality interactions over follower counts.

• Focus on creating remarkable content for each social media platform rather than fixating on follower counts.

• Focus on providing value to your audience rather than obsessing over views and followers for a successful social media strategy.

• Trust your instincts when choosing an animation studio, as success often comes from learning and adapting through new projects.

• Focus on building genuine relationships and trust your intuition when selecting partners for your animation journey, rather than solely relying on resumes or expert opinions.

• Effective social media strategy relies on actively listening to audience feedback while engaging in conversation.

20:22 🤝 Focus on building relationships and support in your social media strategy, especially as women's sports gain recognition and young female athletes achieve deserved rewards.

• Focus on building relationships and offering support in your social media strategy.

• Women's sports are finally gaining the recognition and success that athletes have long envisioned.

• Young female athletes are finally receiving the recognition and rewards they deserve after years of fighting for equality, while the growth of women's sports continues to gain momentum across various leagues.

• Crying after losing is a natural and valuable emotional response that reflects care and love.

24:28 🌱 Embrace mistakes, prioritize family engagement, and meaningfully connect with your audience to foster growth and community in your social media strategy.

• Embracing mistakes and learning from them is essential for personal growth and true success.

• Parents should take responsibility for children's insecurities and anxiety, as overcoming mistakes and challenges is essential for personal growth and development.

• Being present with family is more important than being active on social media.

• Engaging with your audience after posting is crucial, as it fosters connections with dedicated fans rather than just posting and ignoring feedback.

• Parents should encourage their children to explore multiple sports rather than focusing solely on one, as diverse experiences can enhance their overall skills and enjoyment.

• Engaging meaningfully with a small number of supporters can build community and provide value without sacrificing family time.

30:50 🌟 Focus on mastering one social media platform to build a supportive community and foster genuine connections.

• Focus on mastering one social media platform, like Instagram, before expanding to others to avoid feeling overwhelmed.

• Building a community is essential for long-term support and influence, especially during pivotal moments in life.

• Focus on building connections through shared interests and supporting communities, particularly in women's sports and the LGBTQ community.

• Engaging in lightweight hobbies like hiking and exploring can provide valuable mental grounding and a sense of peace.

• Kelly Mano, a content creator and ambassador for Generation X, shares parenting insights and nostalgic experiences from the 80s and 90s through easy-to-digest content.

• Focus on parenting the child you have, not the one you envisioned, to foster understanding and connection.

38:03 🌟 Focus on understanding your child's individuality and treat them equally while leveraging a few key social media platforms for effective strategy.

• Focus on understanding your child's true self rather than imposing your own aspirations on them.

• Each child is unique, and while parents may find some easier to manage, it doesn't mean they have a favorite.

• Treat all your children equally to avoid long-term emotional issues, as they will reflect on your parenting regardless of your efforts.

• Parents are human and make mistakes, so it's important to differentiate between real trauma and normal childhood experiences while fostering resilience in kids.

• Gen Z is a diverse group with both positive traits and challenges, making them a unique and valuable part of the workforce.

• Focus on two to three main social media platforms while allowing 20% of your efforts for exploration and curiosity.

43:49 🚀 Embrace experimentation in your social media strategy, prioritize brand building over immediate sales, and don't dismiss new platforms without trying them.

• Avoid being overly fixed in your approach and embrace experimentation in your social media strategy.

• Focus on brand building and gaining attention rather than immediate transactional sales in social media strategy.

• Stop dismissing new platforms like Snapchat without trying them, as consistent effort can lead to success and attention that translates to other social media.

Transcript

• 00:00 Unlike YouTube on social media people are starting to not follow. They don't need to because the algorithms are bringing you. What you like so one of the reasons your views are over indexing is you're getting enough likes and shares and people are staying on the video. So the algo is understand that people like your stuff and they keep showing it to more people and then more people like it so you're winning on the Merit of the creative. Literally when I started in social media in 2006 and 7 if you interacted with anyone. It was considered rude not to follow each other yeah today. When I look at the behaviors of the end consumer. We're going to like it but we're not going to follow the person cuz. I'm going to see it anyway and that's what's starting to happen and so that's something to not over fixate out attention is the number one asset anything I can help you with from uh understanding like any any growth that you're looking for from like for example how much are you all doing on Snapchat um Spotlight. So we've been vague with Snapchat um. We grew it up where I think we at like I don't remember. Last time I looked at. It was probably like 650,000 uh members or people whoever are involved to me. That's this is for everybody who's listening who's trying to grow. It's always supply and demand everyone's trying to win on Tik Tok. Now even though five six years ago as you know I was yelling like this is where the opportunity is um. You know Instagram is even more competitive and hard um and YouTube as well. And I think there's this big gap on Snapchat for people like yourselves that are super Advanced but even people that are watching right now that want to start their Journey. It's a it's a very tricky and clever little place to jam on and then for you personally. You're probably going to segue soon into being able to do some stuff on LinkedIn and talking about the business side of what you're doing not just the entertainment side you know sorry. A call came in no worries um. No I completely agree. Uh we definitely have been wanting to grow a lot more on Snapchat and focus more time on Snapchat um and I think we are now we're going to start focusing more time on it. Um. You're doing the Vlog and you can do Post creative strategy chopping up pieces and getting it into distribution that so we've thought about that too um and I think a lot of it. I don't I don't know how it I got to look more into it in terms of how the spotlight is different from like the story posts and stuff like that I don't the spotlight is the Tik Tok and Instagram of it. The vi okay. So it's that Vibe uhuh that's where you can have one clip get 13 million views and a way you go right exactly. Okay can I I'm gonna ask you another question while we're going back and forth yeah. How does it feel that every time you're on camera. All they're doing is asking for the girls. Uh it. It makes me feel uh a few different ways. I mean yeah. It's just like um. I mean it makes me feel good. I mean my kids are I mean as H you know Devil's Advocate I mean that's they're my kids. I mean they're like pride and joy. I think they're the cutest things in the world um and it's great that we can share our moments and our time with our kids. And it's good that other people like that as well yeah um. So it's fun to be able to do that and create like a um you think about as they grow older overexposing them in this medium and the ramifications that they might deal with as teenagers or things that nature like how much time do you. Guys spend on that I person oh hi B look oh you just woke up say hi. Hi look the sent you the book good still waking up oh honestly um. I don't think I think growing up in this field. I mean when you find something you love you want every you want everybody to do yeah um and to be honest with you. I think growing up in this field. It teaches them a lot about how to deal with real life problems like things that are going to come up things that other people say like people aren't nice. They just aren't no matter what no matter what you do no matter what field you're in. They just aren't nice right the sooner and the sooner you teach the girls that when someone's not nice it's because they're hurting themselves exactly or there's something they're battling and they just there's nothing you can do. It's funny. Obviously. I decided to go with patient Pig and eager Eagle but um you know compassionate catfish and empathy elephant like I think a lot about compassion empathy sympathy like we've lost that as an art yeah and to me when I see when I see people mean to me or to others it. It's by default brother. I don't think about like being upset. I don't think about wanting to fight. I I think about like damn what's going on in their world. You know and I hope I hope they're hope. They're gonna be okay yeah yeah. I I completely agree. I completely agree yeah. It's a it's a big driver of why why I want to build this universe. One of the characters and be friends is called accountable ant and like I desperately want that character to become like. I want your girls to love a ant because the sooner you teach kids accountability. Everybody as you know in the world is pointing. Fingers soon as you point thumbs to your point. People talk a lot about like kids overexposure teenagers on social. I'm like look if you build actual self-esteem in your kids whether they are known by millions or they're known by three people. Exactly life is about insecurity and self-esteem and you've got to absolutely find that balance you got and and you find the balance you learn how to deal with those those people people and those issues and somebody somebody just asked me.

• 06:07 If I was the uncle. The answer is I am not by Blood but I'm super not by Blood Uncle Gary V I'm I'm thrilled to be uncle. Gary ve to those two superstars that's F anything else before I lose you here brother and you know and by the way I see a lot of people. Asking you can get the book at Gary. V.com vfb Capital. Vfb go get it great book. It's a great book girls. My girls love it and they literally. That's all they want to read to be completly honest amazing um. So. It's funny cuz coming up leading up to this. We were like oh my gosh what are we. Gonna ask him like I have no idea what we're gonna ask him and um I think uh your boy. Zach I've been in touch with him. Yes great I love him um I feel like he answered a lot of stuff for me let me. Let me let me jump in here because I'm trying to get value to your viewers Z for me on relationships. One of the things we're proud of here is we believe in karma and giving love. So literally I have a full-time employee and many but Zach is one of them who literally we reach out to people that we see are growing since I've been in this since 2006. Since I work with all the brands and the platforms um that makes me so happy bro you don't even understand what that just meant to me like knowing. We're delivering on. I don't think people give back enough in the world and just like KN that like I'm paying some someone to give you the secrets the unlocks the insights it makes me proud. I appreciate it and I appreciate the help like literally like that's that means the world and to be honest. Uh. And I think I gave some uh some little insights to Zach to maybe relay to you to potentially help help with uh the book. I'll catch up with it yeah yeah yeah. Thank you I will definitely catch up brother. I'm gonna move on to the next one of course brother like I said reach out. Anytime say hello to all the girls thank you so much everybody go get. Gary's book. Now thank you thank you thank yous stay well you too hey. Hey har. What's up hi. What's up guys. Why don't you say hello to everybody in the vayer nation. So they know who you are first hey everybody. I'm Kevin mccardy hi I'm Stephanie mccardy more the mccardy family on YouTube and Tik Tock and IG everywhere and uh and uh why don't you tell everybody how that started in what what you all do yeah yeah right. Now. We're full-time content creators. But I was a teacher I taught high school economics and government for 15 years. Uh and Stephanie was in marketing and she was a VP of sales and marketing for a tech company and um Co hit and I was teaching online. Steph had a position where she had to be at work all the time still and so to keep our sanity. We decided to start filming videos and that was kind of right when Tik Tok started taking off too and uh I still stayed a teacher and about two and a half years ago. Steph talked me into making the leap and trying it full-time and I had 8,000 subscribers then on YouTube and today we're at 12.3 million. So absurd congratulations for you really well thank you for being on and thank you for uh. This is a special day for me as you can imagine like the kids book has been in my mind for many years congratulations. Thank you that's huge we were just listening to all the characters that you're developing for your series too um. I think it's super important because as parents you know you're always looking for something quality to show your kids. There's you know our page. Our page is. It's funny. It's it's it's where you can go to be mindless and kind of escape the craziness of the world like you don't have. It's what it's what entertainment's for right the reason music and sports and film and television is important. Is is you can check out of your worries or the world's worries for those couple of hours and you know stand up. Comedy. Like these mediums are so important for sure and I think I think it just gets it gets harder and harder kids to have access to so much information. Now you know there there's social media. There's they can find anything on the internet and like what kind of tools can we actually put in front of them to like teach. You teach them those values that you know if that's all they have those things can be missed and so I I love love. The um ideas that your book center is around and and we can't can't wait to get a copy of it well thank you. I mean ultimately that is what is so. It's interesting like eagerness and patience. Right. I'm obsessed with both especially patience because patience is hard. I'm still working on that Gary and brother I'll tell you this. It's a triggering word in my content. People get mad that I talk about patience so much I get unlimited DMS from like Alpha dudes and gals who are like Gary V what the heck you're supposed to be. The go go go Guy. What's all this patience. I'm like like I'm like do not confuse the word patience with complacency absolutely. There's a reason. There's a different word in the book dictionary for patience and for laziness right and so patience is hugely important like I'm like I've done a lot in my career and I'm feel like I'm just starting to kind of get going and I run into 22-year-old men and women Gary V's all the time and they're like it hasn't happened for me. Gary. It's over and I'm like it's over. I'm like I worked into. I worked in a liquor store until I was 34 wow yeah. So so I think I I think people really are confused about but what the book goes into and I'm hoping to teach parents and and kids and I see a lot of you commenting. The book is linked right here pinned gary.com BFB vriends. Book um is patience is remarkable for patient Pig but what kids are going to find out in the book is she took it a little too far and so I I think the big thing that I'm trying to teach modern parenting or at least leave a deposit that I hope people get value out of is we we've lost our balance. We've gotten a little bit too red and a little too blue when purple is the answer you know abely but eagerness is amazing but if you if you end up being sloppy because you're so eager to get something done game over or hurting people along the way right. It's it's all it's all about balance and I think it's just a fantastic way to like showcase that to kids too and a fun way for parents to be that too. So you see one perspective and then you flip it and then you get the other perspective. I think that's genius appreciate it. Big shout out to Manny Gan who used to work with us came up with that idea of going in both ways like I thought that was super clever. We really like that let's uh let's kick out of the book for a second everybody. Here's got a gist if you want the book.

  
  

• 13:04 If you have somebody three to eight in your life the Link's below how about while we're here together I'd love to bring you guys some value you've obviously exploded but are there any platforms that you want to grow on are are hitting. Any bumps brand deals business stuff. While I'm here I might as well use my business acuum and bring you a little value thank you thank you. We're we're actually um. I would say you. YouTube is going great. We have we have a really loyal. Following there um you know Instagram is one of those places. It's it's odd because we have you know 122,000 followers on there. Our views are that of someone with a lot more followers. But it does it doesn't translate couple things going on one on unlike YouTube on social media. People are starting to not follow yeah what is that because they don't need to because the algorithms are bringing you what you like so one of the reasons your views are over. Indexing is you're you're getting enough likes and shares and other and and people are staying on the video. So the algo is understanding that people like their stuff and they keep showing it to more people and then more people like it so you're winning on the Merit of the creative at a time when literally when I started in social media in 2006 and seven if you interacted with anyone. It was considered rude not to follow each other yeah. Now that makes a lot of sense hey if I see your content. I like it on like when I look at the behaviors of the end consumer. We're going to like it. But we're not going to follow the person because I'm gonna see it anyway and that's what's starting to happen and so that's something to not o over fix. They out just focus on making remarkable remarkable Instagram content. That's Instagram right. The big thesis that I have that people make mistakes on um is that people make the same concept for every platform and I believe the reason it makes. Sense is that people are now more algorithm. Based social media for the first decade was follow someone and you would see their stuff. Now. We're just seeing algo that makes a whole lot of sense um. So what I would just say is don't get crippled by you know obviously when you meet people at the park and they're like hey like how many follow oh you're the social. How many followers you got on YouTube well. You're chess go out real life 12 million and then when they're like what about on Instagram you're like 122,000. You know like like do not one of the great things that I think everybody in the world. Children and grownup should learn is do not have self-esteem wrapped up. In the amount of followers. You have oh H I love that yeah period and back love to your teaching. Roots brother remember like if if you really Chang the trajectory of one person's life in a in a school year. How great that actually felt you could literally say that's how I want you to think about Instagram as long as one one person. That day gets remarkable value out of this video. Then that's what you should be fixated on and then miraculously you'll wake up and there'll be more followers there yeah. No I totally agree with that. It's it's. It's been a process because I'm still new like. We're three years into this and I consider that still young and very young as a teacher. You know you get to physically see that difference that you make with those kids and I'm slowly starting a process that in my head where it's like you know. It's more about making the people that watch me feel good and not focusing on the views not focusing on the followers so that's something I'm still learn I yeah brother. I think look there's a lot of reasons why people follow people in any platform right. They share political views. They're attractive they're funny. They have good business advice. Uh they're in a small Niche like I was watching somebody who collects Hot Wheels cars that have red lines in them which are the most colletible hot. Wheels cars late last night on you like that's a very like the amount of people that collect Hot Wheels that are red. Wheels like that's like you're going nerd to nerd nerd but you see it in ComicCon. You see it in why streaming works. These longtail documentaries you know like I think the key forever no matter. What anybody who's watching now is doing is if they want it focusing on them. Versus what you get out of. It will always be a good strategic framework love that yeah. It's it's the best when we get one of the was like I was having a really bad day. This horrible thing happened you guys made me laugh like that was like love that anything anything else uh as a question before we get out of here quick question for you because you you are so you're ungodly successful. There's no question about that you're coming out with new different streams different areas. So there's no doubt that you are you are constantly learning like you can't just be like yeah. I'm gravy. I know everything. Like you you know every time you go into a new project. You go into this animation you're going to learn something new so yeah. We're we're working on going into our own animation is there anything any advice you want to give us or any um like really big as a creative person like things that you learned in that process. Yes one truster gut you're gonna meet someone who's like this is the best Animation studio and they'll make then they made this and and they used to be a Bluey or coco melon you're like oh my God. But like if you don't it be out M here's another sentence. There are 7,000 human beings that could be the right partners for you in this next step and when you're early in the journey you think like oh we found an expert. There's only like three of them out. There. There's 7,000 people that can disproportionately help you on your animation. Journey. Let's start there so if that's if I'm right which I feel I am one man's point of view um well then go with your gut like chemistry matters relationship matters. It's like a marriage like you've got to have chemistry like it matters and so don't go by someone's resumee go with what you feel you. You two got here on a lot of intuition and now you're going to go into the chapter where a lot of people start to think that there's a right way to do it and they start to walk away from their intuition and they start over listening to experts that never achieved what they're achieving absolutely thank thank you so much Gary. So that's that and then there's a lot of nuances right like animation's a slower process than like filming a vlog and having it up. The next day you know so that's been you know that's been a real interesting challenge for me. Because I love speed yeah. You know ification yeah and honestly to me. It's the instant feedback. I'm learn you know when you say I'm constantly learning. It's cuz. I'm reading DMs and I'm watching I'm reading. I'm reading comments right now while we're talking like you know. I'm a yapper and people always see me talking. But the reality is. I'm in listening mode 90% of my day and then I'm talking.

  
  

• 20:22 That's awesome you know so anyway. I'm just incredibly excited. I really wanted you to on here um I I just. It's really fun to watch from afar what's going on for you and I really met what I've said in the messages we're always here for you. Like you know we have so much knowledge and relationships to give people. Karma is the currency of my Viner world and so if there's anything I can ever help you to with feel free to reach out and here Gary I mean we've been huge fans of you for a very long time and so just keep up the great work congrats on all your success and huge things to come for you man thanks for having take care thanks man bye bye bye hi hi hi hi hi hi. I'm sorry I was like get. I think it was on my end. Why don't you tell everybody from the Boehner Nation who you are and what you do hi. I'm Ally creger everyone. I'm a former newly retired professional soccer player for the US Women's National Team and Gotham FC I was a Defender. I had a 17-year career and now I am working for ESPN as a soccer analyst amazing yeah Allie actually just before we even get into the kids book hi everybody from Ali's World. We're here to talk about my new kids book Thank You Ally for joining Ali. Just with that intro. I mean I have a really fun question for you okay. You're obviously incredibly incredibly accomplished professional athlete yeah so and obviously women's sports. Anyone I have so many women's SP professional athlete friends like when you're just like I was for like social media like when you're crusading for something and then it happens. It's such a feeling of accomplishment comma. You just retired. Yeah tell me what it feels like to be like so thrilled that women's sports is truly now penetrating in a way that we were all dreaming it could. But you're a human being because I talked to a lot of H like I speak to a lot of Hall of Fame players who the first words out of their mouth. They're like these kids stink and they make more money in one year than I get you're welcome. How do you're welcome how do you how do you feel about it. I actually am so happy that these young talented players years finally get what they deserve that we've been fighting for. I mean we were like 10 plus years. You know dealing with the court system fighting for equality. Finally you know um winning the lawsuit uh there's still work that needs to be done. But these women now are reaping those benefits that we fought so hard for and that was always the goal right like the 99ers paved the way for us. They created this path and then we took advantage of that and then now we kind of snowplow a little bit more and then these younger players are reaping the benefit of that but that's how it's supposed to be. That's how yep I agree you know. Things are supposed to happen because your work now is you're seeing that reward and so it's really exciting uh. Now. They just have to get back to the winning ways and um but but General like like I'm going even broader. Obviously women's soccer has always been at the precipice but obviously WNBA has exploded the ratings on like women's volleyball and softball like it's all just all being lifted right. It's incredible like to see the impact and not just in you know women like in all aspects of sport but also just with the media and the sponsorships and investment and merchandise. All the things all right. Let's talk about this. What how do you think about the kids books and like and meeting in the middle middle and finding balance and this book's all about competition like one of my biggest things is that ironically speaking to you makes this a lot of fun. I actually think we've lost our way with eighth place trophies we need to ban them. They need to be banned immediately. We're teaching children that losing is bad. It's delusional. It's fake life. It was well- intended. I'm sure you don't want Little Ricky and Jane to be crying. But I think crying is good like I cried. Every time. I lost as a kid. It's because I cared like I think like I love when little kids cry when they lose I Hon. Yeah.

  
  

• 24:28 But I also thinkon believe I'm sorry please. No I was just going to piggy back off of what you said. It's okay to make mistakes. It's okay because you can learn from those mistakes you grow in those uncomfortable situations and um you know you learn how to stand up brush yourself off and get back after it. Um and roll your sleeves up again and continue to work hard. I think if everything was handed to us and very easy and everything was a success. Then you know people wouldn't be where they are um and really feel that they were as successful as they can be like so. I think like in a real way. The over coddling ification of the last 30 years has everyone's like why are these kids so insecure and so much anxiety. It's social media's fault. I'm like you are not accountable. Parents you're blaming social media blame yourself. It's all that Ally do you know that people go that parents go to schools and try to yell at teachers to give their kids. A better grade I mean that's just like you have to even in sport like. It's you have to try to make the most mistakes that you can because you're going to just come back better and bigger and stronger longer than ever so doing that as a child and really having a good understanding of it's it's okay and you you actually have to learn from it and you gain those extra tools to then apply to your next opportunity and make that much better and you're that much stronger and that much more knowledgeable about that experience. Without these experiences you know and in most and sometimes more negative than positive like you're never going to become the person that you really should become without going through through that and you can apply that to any part of life but kids need to learn that at a young age in my opinion. It's it's my you know. It's why I love sports the most like. It's the one place that parents can't run parents even the craziest ones. It's kind of hard to run on the field and kick the ball in the net for your kid. Though we were starting to get close to that thank God I think we're starting to find a little bit more balance but like literally. That's why I love sports like and by the way people need to learn that they suck at stuff. It's true like it's it's true. What's I mean anyway what else is going on with you. How's the social media been thing been going seems like. It's going well for you yeah yeah. It's it's going. I feel like I'm so present with my kids when I have them um you know now co-parenting. It's been an adjustment in such a transition but um you know we're doing the best. We can and I'm I'm trying to be as present as I can with them and so I really don't you know. I'm not involved in social media as much as I you know want to to be because I don't always want to be on my phone. But you shouldn't I mean by the way that goes back to the whole concept of the book like you shouldn't yeah. No no I I like post it and ghost it and tweet it and beat it like I'm one of those I want to dig a little. Bit further though is is is that because you don't like the negative feedback in the comments. No I just I just feel like I don't have the time and I don't I feel like I'm never going to get that time back just scrolling through. I want to see what my friends are doing because I don't call everyone about what about replying so hold on though because there's something here I want you to think about okay. It's one thing to waste your time and scroll away. The day it's like watching TV like but it's a whole another thing that when you post and ghost what I'm fearful for is what about when you post and maybe you spend. Maybe you give it 20 minutes and you come back and give another 15 minutes to reply to people. There's so many people that are di hard fans of you. Just one thank you or one you know in the question. Like by the way do you know many moms and dads. Right now are desperately and you know this cuz crazy sports for parents are desperately interested in having their daughter have the professional career that you had and you might be able to give an Insight back to these eth. Place trophies or back to you know like for example. A lot of parents now only let their kids focus on one sport so early because they think they're going to be in the league news alert. Everybody your kids are not going to be in the league. No like you know like but also I I agree. Though I think I um played three Sports and I learned so many other skills uh that I applied to soccer in volleyball and basketball. Also the basketball is a transitional game too well. This goes back to why I'm trying to push you a little bit because I think you have a lot to add when you post something and then somebody comes in and what their questions like Ally I have an eight-year-old daughter. She's really good at soccer but she also loves tennis and just gymnastics. But I but coach said she could literally be a colle Collegiate player. What do you think you taking 38 seconds or two minutes to answer that and say hey I did this and this and this you might literally change in a massively positive way. Someone's life that's giving value to the community. I'm not asking you to sit there and read the comments to make yourself feel good because everyone says you're the goat. I'm saying get past those and find the six to 12 people that have a question and reply to it. Now you're building Community instead of just shouting to the world right and you're right I I can definitely do that and I want to do that I think now I just need to make time to do that because once I put the kids down. It's like my time to just breathe for a second. But in that time I could definitely be better at and I'm acknowledging that like I definitely could be better at replying to those few people or you know fan supporters who I actually really care about too because we built a relationship. Over the years. They given me so much they supported me so yeah. They deserve that too and I I definitely will be better because I haven't been on you know really this past year because of other things too. But um I I I do think that would be beneficial yeah. Two things I apologize to everybody who said let her speak. I just need to get that final thought out all this you all the time two um look. I think taking away from family time is always the wrong answer so not. I'm not looking for this to come at the expense of your family time. I'm looking it for it to come out of the expense of the time you spend on things that are not productive and we all have it right. We do we do what about another episode.

  
  

• 30:50 What about platforms. There's obviously Instagram do you play with. Others are you trying to blow up on one or trying to learn how to use one well. Instagram is my main and then I obviously have a fan page on Facebook and then I just got into Tik Tock. More now um. I haven't really posted anything but my brother is such a creative and he's an influencer too. So he's been like helping me along the way I just feel like if I get too involved with all the social media things and all the platforms. It's like I'm gonna. I'm gonna go crazy and don't go crazy. So I just feel like I need to just you know focus on Instagram for right now and then Facebook. It automatically uploads Twitter I'm not as involved only for ESPN stuff um for my shows and you know important like soccer news. But that's really it yeah let me just one more thing at you and everybody is watching the other thing that I try to tell people about social is maybe today. It's about you're selling your kids book or or or or you're. You want people to tune in when you're announcing an important soccer match. But I do want to remind people that one of the great reasons to build a community is one day you're going to be 80 and maybe your friend needs a bone marrow transplant or maybe there's you know. I don't think people think through that when they build a community you know it evolves through your life with you right right and so you know like just knowing you even from afar and sharing some common friends and how they talk about you. I find it. I find it unlikely that you're not going to try to put good into the world in those years and I don't want you to like Miss the moment where you have the highest propensity to a mass attention right and then you're allowed to do with it. Whatever you want just just thought thank you. No I I appreciate that and I'll definitely try to apply that um. I'm looking for so many you know new ideas and advice to to now move into this next phase of my life where it's not. I don't lean on soccer so much even though yes am I analyzing it and am I speaking about it all the time yes. But I need new new avenues to really. I don't connect with people on different levels and I understand what those avenues for you. What are. The things things that you like um like what are your other interests. I mean I love to I have like core people in my life that I really give a lot of my time quality time to and then my family my kids so a lot of like the my you know um parent friends from my kids. School. I hang out with and we give a lot of time because we have so much to you know relate to and share and and yeah support each other with and then my like soccer crew and my best friends who I've learned you know who I've grown to um build relationships over the years um and then the soccer community in New Jersey New York area um and then my ESPN family now that I'm giving to but then ultimately the bigger umbrella is you know women's sports and and fighting for women and so that is in the lgbtq community um you know. I'm very passionate about that. So those are probably a handful and what about random lightweight Hobbies like skiing drinking wine Checkers like a grael player yes yes drinking wine I love hiking. I love exploring Upstate um where it's very peaceful and I can just get grounded and mentally just shut off. I've done that often this year which has been amazing um and then yeah I mean just visiting my family and friends going on dinner. The the hiking thing is a you know lightweight stuff. I think can really bring a lot of uh value and I think the hiking thing is uh an interesting thing yeah and just just I want to I you know I have like a bucket list of places. I want to you know visit. I've been traveling around the entire world for a long time. In my career. I've been so grateful to even say that but ultimately I haven't really seen our own country. So you know it would be nice to explore a little bit here well listen. Ador having you on continued success hit me up anytime like I said to you anything I can help with. Karma is my currency thank you I app appreciate you and everything you stand for and all your values. I really yeah thank you for having me and I'll talk to you soon awesome stay bye hey. Hi. How are you. I am very good. How are you I'm great look. I brought my driven Dragon hoodie from the be friend. He's my favorite animal. I think of all of them. I just want to show that off for you that is very cool thank you so much why don't you tell everybody in the Bayer Nation who you are a little bit. My name is Kelly Mano and I've been a content creator for four years. Now um I'm raising three teenagers and I am the somehow appointed ambassador of Generation X on on social media. I make a lot of content about uh what it was like for us growing up in the in the 80s and 90s and I try to implement a lot of that parenting into my kids. Now. I'm not really in the market of raising snowflakes and so yeah just a bunch of parenting fun mom stuff easy to digest content. That's my that's my gig. This kids book that I'm doing is really actually. I think the way we grew up obviously generalizations. One of the one of the worst things in society is we're trying to get the generations to fight with each other as if gender and race and religion and income left like as if there weren't enough. Now. We're like gen Z versus Boomers and Millennials and as you know Gen X were this little crew that nobody ever talks about good leave us alone. We don't want to be bothered but you know it's funny. The the content that I'm trying to make with be friends is very much. I think what the currency was of late 70s into the 80s parenting which was It was kind of in the middle. It wasn't like the 50s and 60s where you like kicked your kid in the head and whipped him with like like throw him in the garbage. But it's definitely not freaking eighth place trophies and like I don't know like parents talking to their kids about everything always and forever. No like our parents. Our parents needed commercials to remind them that they had kids every night. At 10 P p.m. there was a commercial that was like it's 10 p.m. do you know where your kids are because our parents just didn't give a and we kind of raised ourselves and so you know I love the idea of these parenting books and I love I hope that parents are taking them in as they read them too. So some of the best parenting advice I ever got got when my kids were younger. Was you parent the kid you have not the kid you wanted. So you might be a really eager and driven parent and you expect your kids to be the same way as you and they're not and you have to you have to relate down on their level so your books of showing kind of like the the ying and the Yang of the patience and the eagerness. I think can be a lesson for parents and kids equally.

  
  

• 38:03 I love you for seeing that and I think and I think the advice you were. Given is profound. I I call reverse engineering. You have to reverse engineer the truth like I'm an entrepreneur. I'm high energy. I'm hyper. I'm this I don't have an aspiration for my children to be like that right. I just want. I just want them to be happy but not what I Define as happy. All these parents that like want their kids to be a doctor or an engineer or they have to go to Harvard that screwed up a lot of people. The resentments off the charts like your now look you don't want your kid to like not be an a active human being and just you know entitlements devastating and of course you got to frame some stuff. But these you know I agree with you like you know wishing who your kid was versus understanding who your kid is. Yes is the because they they're their own individual creatures. Like I have three kids. I I raised them and fed them and loved them all three the same and they are three totally different people. Who's your favorite. Who's your favorite of the three we should probably we. I tell I tell them all. They're my favorite while we're Whispering do you believe that parents have a favorite every time. No I think that parents sometimes have a have a kid that makes things easier on them. But that doesn't mean that they're their favorite because honestly what about what about like quieter what about like they like them more like a friend like they like that more well. I'm just now getting to that that area where my kids be my friends because they're they're getting older. But when they're little you just got to be their parent you know. But no you can't treat any of them different because then they'll see that. And then they'll they'll be in therapy for years talking about you so well. They're they're gonna be talking about you regardless one of the great one of the great things that I talk about with friends that always kind of helps them a little bit. I'm like no matter what you do when you are older and your kids are in their 20s and 30s. I mean my mom. I'm I'm writing a book called perfectly parented cuz that's how good my mom did it um. But honestly. I think I think that no matter how well you do it. Your. Kids are going to have takes on what you did wrong cuz that's just the right of passage yeah. It's the right of passage of life right and I think that we all get to a point when we're growing up where we realize and we look back like our parents. Our parents were human like I think a lot of people like are starting to to blur the lines of like you know parenting and Trauma like sometimes the parents that we had didn't have the resources that we have now and so not everything that happened to you was trauma. There's real trauma and then there's just hey your parent was a human that made mistakes and they did the best job that they could yeah and we've also weaponized words right now like skinning like skinning. Your knee is now like trauma right like when we were growing up if somebody said trigger warning it meant. Someone was getting shot not like not don't read this article so you know we just need to instill more that toughness in these kids because they're going to have a rough road ahead of them. And I make a lot of content making fun of Jen Z I love. Jenz I poke fun at them but I love them they're great because there's also not them right meaning like when people like gen Z I have unlimited gen Z kids here that are working their Boomers. So like yeah you know of course. We're doing cat that's why you love gen Z because there's unlimited gen Z gangster Hustlers comma. There's unlim lied delusional entitled confused as on gen Z but they're gonna have plenty of and like it. It's just. It's just not Universal but look there's a lot of life is easy now like people drink $7 coffees and there's Eber people don't even have to learn how to drive and I've got like 400 television channels and access to Pros back like whenever I wanted so like life is great now as an adult way easier than when we were kids way easier 100% what's going on with your content. What is uh what what platforms are working which one do you want to crack. I'd like to help you a little bit. So you know Tik Tok has always been kind of my Golden Goose. It's always been uh the one where I've been most supported. I I started it during covid like like a lot of people um one thing that I do struggle with so my main platforms are Instagram Tik Tok and uh Facebook. However um there's all these outside there. There's endless Revenue you can make right now. It is a great time to be a content creator and I feel like I constantly have too many irons in the fire because I'll be focused on one thing and then someone's like hey. But you can make money doing this thing on Facebook music and then I'll come over here and learn a little bit about it and it's just like I'm bouncing all over the place do you recommend like really honing in on on on like two or three main platforms or just spreading yourself as thin as possible well. First of all you YouTube shorts Snapchat Spotlight like those are real platforms yeah for you well. That was going to be my next question was about Snapchat but but the thing about the irons and the fire honing the honing in like some people think honing in is one platform. Other people think it's three I think it's seven like you know it all comes to capacity. Talent how much you want to reinvest into people helping you and then when you go monetize. How do you want to monetize. Do you want to go crush it just on YouTube and make you know get it from the ads or do you have an entrepreneur Spirit where you want to make t-shirts and sell stuff or you want to go do standup and do special. Like there's a lot of reverse. It goes back to the parenting thing we talked about you have to actually reverse engineer yourself Y and then no matter what you do you need to leave 20% to curiosity. I loved hearing what you just said too.

  
  

• 43:49 Many people make the mistake of being overly locked in right so like yeah. You should always be randomly testing other things I call it the oysters rule watch this in the chat. Everybody how many people in the comments please leave a comment hate oysters say me just say me in the comments right. Now you hate oysters you're one of them right. I'm just GNA wait for a second. We'll see because it's a little delay always. We'll see how many people hate oysters. I'm going to make a point here to what I think you should be doing with your career using the oysters rule awesome while they're doing the oysters. I'm just going to give you a heads up that my next one is going to be you talking me into doing Snapchat because I just feel too old for it definely not and Spotlight actually. That's where you can do a whole different stick where you're gen Z's Advocate on everybody else and that you that's a place where you can play and is the Snapchat Spotlight is it making money money is made when you have attention you don't need to just monetize on the platform. Ironically. Yes Snapchat actually pays creators well because there's not as many there. But I want to focus on brand building more so than transactional sales in the short term yeah. No I've got great brand deals lined up forever and I I've got a great merch line and so many things are going great for me that it's just hard for me to go where do you live uh kind of near St Louis Missouri. I'm in the midwest got it okay um. We got to find some time together. Let me give that some Stu but okay we got a bunch of mes now watch. This okay no everybody if you just said me and I hate oysters but you've never had oysters. You never had them please. Say you got me me you yes no yes. I have the pallet of a fourth grader so like I'm still eating. Dino nuggets so no myig. Kelly you literally have no idea if oysters are your favorite food of all time they just look gross. I don't give a I don't like not true look at all. These you got me. This is the oyster rule people say no without ever trying it yeah. People say no to Snapchat Spotlight but never spent a month going hard at it. Like they did with Tik Tok or Instagram. People say no to doing standup because they're scared but what if they did it for a month and got good at it stop saying no without trying it okay. I will try Snap Chat because I just feel like it's evolved so much before it was the place where teenagers sent like their naked pictures disappeared guess what do you know what goes down on Instagram DM yeah. The the disappearing stuff and the people are always gonna try to hook up yeah Snapchat Spotlight not stories not Snapchat Spotlight is Tik Tok and Instagram with a ton of attention by the way the kids that got on Snapchat when they were 17 10 years ago or 27 yeah. So it's it's not just for the kids though it is the kids messaging platform because parents don't know how to figure it out at all makes sense locking and there is revenue to be made on Snapchat Spotlight okay because I'm like show me the money like I don't but be a little patient because if you crush on that platform and get tons of attention that will then move to other platforms and so lot to it anyway love you wish you well you thank you so much you've always been so good to me happy to do. It take care. Bye Gary.