The Unpredictability of Virality: Kobi Omenaka on Judging Your Own Content

In a recent LinkedIn post, Kobi Omenaka shares candid reflections on the unpredictable nature of content creation and the struggle of self-judgment, particularly after maintaining a consistent posting schedule for over 570 days.

Kobi Omenaka highlights the disconnect between personal confidence in a piece of content and its actual performance on the platform. He reveals that many of his most successful posts were those he initially had doubts about, while pieces he was proud of often failed to gain traction.

“Some of my biggest ever posts were the ones I thought were crap. But i shrugged them out at 12.33pm because I had nothing better and the streak was on the line.”

The Futility of Self-Assessment in Content Creation

Kobi Omenaka’s experience underscores a common challenge for creators: the unreliability of their own internal metrics for success. After 571 days of posting daily, Omenaka concludes that he is a “terrible judge of my own work.” This realization, he explains, has been surprisingly liberating.

As Kobi Omenaka notes:

“The voice in my head that says ‘this one’s not good enough’ is wrong about as often as it’s right. And that’s actually quite freeing. I now spend less time deciding which ones are good enough. It frees up so much headspace 🤣”

This freedom from overthinking allows for more consistent output, even if not every piece is a hit. The pressure to only post content that meets a self-imposed standard can lead to paralysis, with potentially great ideas languishing in drafts.

Embracing the Drafts: What Could Have Been

The creator emphasizes the lost potential of content that never sees the light of day due to self-doubt. Kobi Omenaka questions the value of the internal gatekeeping process:

“That folder of stuff I was too scared to post might have been the good stuff. I’ll never know, because I was the only one who got a vote.”

This sentiment directly addresses fellow creators who may be holding back their own work. Kobi Omenaka directly asks his audience:

“Have you got one sitting in your drafts right now that you’ve already written off? You’re the worst-placed person to judge it.”

By sharing this personal struggle and the resulting shift in his approach, Kobi Omenaka encourages a more experimental and less self-critical mindset. He suggests that the fear of posting subpar content might be preventing creators from discovering unexpected successes.

Moving Forward with Less Hesitation

Kobi Omenaka’s consistent posting streak, despite the inherent uncertainty, serves as a testament to the value of persistence. His analysis suggests that the act of consistently showing up and sharing, even imperfect work, is more crucial than achieving perfection with every single post. This approach not only builds an audience over time but also provides invaluable, real-world data on what resonates, independent of the creator’s initial judgment.

He extends this discussion to his Substack, inviting readers to follow his journey in building an audience on newer platforms.