Rebecca Black's Cringe Mountain

Hey Climbers, today —

• Rebecca Black’s Cringe Mountain

• The secret sauce to winning at trends

CRINGE MOUNTAIN
Rebecca Black’s Cringe Mountain

I was scrolling the soupy digital wasteland of Facebook this week when I came across a gem - this video of Rebecca Black during her recent boiler room set.

Yes - the same Rebecca Black who, when she was 13, was unanimously labelled by the entire world as the most cringe person to ever exist.

Today, she is heralded as a pop icon. Her last two releases were critically acclaimed, she sells out her shows and has swathes of adoring fans.

In the face of being the most hated person on the internet, Rebecca Black kept trying.

Do you know how badass that is????!!!!

In a 2023 interview, she said of her evolution:

“I finally felt like I had let go of so many of the things that.. had limited me... from this previous version of myself that didn’t know how to go out and explore and experiment and create and try.”

So what I’m saying is - If Rebecca Black can keep trying, you can too.

CLIMBER TIP OF THE WEEK
The secret sauce to jumping on trends

Here’s what your drama teacher knew about winning at trends:

The ‘Yes, And’ rule.

It helped me grow to nearly 100k followers on one of my accounts.

If you weren’t a nerd in high school, lemme explain:

In improv theater, an improviser should always accept what another improviser has stated ("yes…") and then expand on it ("and…").

Here’s what happens when someone just Yeses:

Improviser 1: Oh my god, there’s blood on your shirt!

Improviser 2: Yes, there's blood on my shirt.

Nothing. The story goes nowhere.

Now, let’s see what happens when someone Yes, Ands:

Improviser 1: Oh my god, there’s blood on your shirt!

Improviser 2: Yes, and it’s because I fell off the bicycle you gave me. The breaks didn’t work!

Okaayyyy! Now we’ve got drama. We’ve got intrigue.

Always Yes, And online trends and topicals.

I learnt this when I was working as a presenter in national radio. If you’re jumping on a TikTok trend or topical story, don’t just repeat what you’ve seen (Yes it), add to it (And it.)

How can you advance the conversation? Add a new element? Inject your message? Inject your tone?

This is what makes people stand out as trend-toppers, not a trend do-ers.

To show you what I mean, here’s an example of Yes, Anding at its best.

When Twitter changed its name to X, there was the usual influx of memes about Elon etc. They were all just Yessing.

But then WWF came in and Yes, Anded:

So next time you see a trend, challenge yourself not just to copy it, but to Yes, And it. Let me know how you go.

By the way!!

I’m doing a handful of 1:1 personal brand audits this month, helping creators build & refine their personal brand to stand out from the masses. If you’d like to grab one, hit the link below.

Ok, that’s all for now.

until next time,

keep climbin’

Erica x