How social media is a game-changer for personal brand building

The internet has transformed how people find opportunities, launch careers and achieve success. While social media has been a powerful tool for celebrities, it’s also changing the lives of everyday people. Social media has made people famous: Justin Bieber was discovered on YouTube at twelve years old; Calvin Harris was discovered on Myspace; and Billie Eilish was discovered on SoundCloud at the age of thirteen when a song meant for her dance teacher went viral. It has also led to people

finding work. After a twenty-six-year-old woman genuinely shared her work struggles on TikTok, her video attracted twenty-three million views and a week later she landed her dream job.

These stories highlight how social media is more than just entertainment – it’s a tool that could change your life. Whether you’re an aspiring artist, a job seeker or an entrepreneur, the internet provides opportunities to showcase your talent, connect with the right people and take control

of your future. There is a reason why we are seeing content creation as a career choice!

Storytelling – from ancient to modern 

Online content allows us to amplify our presence, knowledge and impact on the world. It is a doorway for people with big ambitions to share their message in the absence of connections; it provides an avenue for those with quieter personalities; and a global platform for people living in

remote or rural places, or even on the other side of the world. Content has also changed over time, but the reason why we are drawn to it hasn’t; it has merely evolved. Stories have been shared among tribes from all over the world since the beginning of time. For example:

• Storytelling fire circles: Many Indigenous cultures around the world, including Native American, African and Australian Aboriginal communities, held storytelling circles around a fire (e.g., yarn circles for First Nations).
• Polynesian storytelling circles: (Hawai’i, Tahiti, Sāmoa, Tonga, Aotearoa) passed down knowledge through mo‘olelo (stories), ka‘ao (mythical tales) and ‘ōlelo no‘eau (proverbs), song, dance and art – storytelling was embodied, not just spoken.
• Hindu Sabha gatherings: In ancient India, sabhas (community assemblies) hosted kathakas – storytellers who recited epic tales like the Ramayana and Mahabharata in temple courtyards and village squares.
• Norse mead halls (Viking culture): The Vikings gathered in mead halls, such as the legendary Heorot from Beowulf, where skalds (poets) recited sagas and heroic tales of gods and warriors.
• Mesopotamian storytelling circles (Sumer, Akkad, Babylon, Assyria): Storytellers, priests and scholars shared myths in temple schools (Edubba), where scribes trained in writing and storytelling, and travellers shared in marketplaces and inns.

I can go on and on across the different empires. Still, you see there is a commonality: stories were shared to preserve knowledge and bring people together, usually by elders or people in the community who held special roles and stories were shared in community spaces. Now imagine the internet is one big community hall, where anyone is able to speak, and you can choose which hall you walk into. We connect through stories. But now it’s no longer restricted to geography,

gender, age, status or religion – it’s open.

I am not excusing the awful part of social media, but story- sharing is part of being human. Sharing your story in your circles is a great tool to get support and build a life that you want to live by growing social connections.

Written by Vinisha Rathod.
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