First Pour.
Ancient Chinese philosophy—and my ’90s California upbringing—have long touted the yin and yang: the idea that life exists in the balance between stillness and force, softness and power…chamomile and green tea, if you will.
And listen, I love me some yin: Yoga. Beach walks. Overleveraging my Calm app. This is very much one half of my personality.
But right now? I’m steeped in my yang.
I’m in my yang because my business is growing. I’m in my yang because I care more deeply about this work than anything I’ve ever done in my life, period.
I’m in my yang because a mainstream media CEO called me with an “opportunity of a lifetime” that revealed just how out of touch legacy media still is.
The check was less than I charged for my latest campaign. But honestly, the condescension and cluelessness irked me more.
They genuinely believed they were offering me a platform—when I walked into that room owning the very thing they’re desperately losing: trust.
<This is one of those instances where a video is worth ~300 words. Here’s my tea take on this:>
Let’s look at some stats:
U.S. creator ad spend is projected to hit $44 billion this year, growing roughly 18%—more than twice as fast as the rest of digital advertising.
Just 28% of Americans trust traditional media. That number drops to 8% for Republicans.
Steven Bartlett’s video announcing that he was joining Shark Tank became ABC’s best-performing new Shark announcement ever—beating the network’s own posts by millions of views.
The power dynamics have changed. Money, attention and trust are moving from institutions to individuals.
Yes, I may appear defeatable: I’m just a girl in an (unmistakably fabulous) blazer, armed with no more than an uncased orange iPhone and a tripod.
But the truth is that in today’s environment, depth of trust outweighs breadth of distribution. And piping-hot Tech Tea? I’ve got the recipe (and I’m guarding it like Colonel f*ing Sanders).
Mainstream media doesn’t get a seat at my table until it starts taking me seriously.
And frankly, I don’t want a seat at theirs. (those red hightop pleather chairs are gauche AF)
