The Walk - Rediscovering Authenticity in a World of Algorithms

Lately, I've been wrestling with a big question: How do I stay truly me in the content I create?I've spent years fine-tuning my videos, optimizing my titles, and chasing the perfect format. I even bought a teleprompter to keep my scripts structured and my delivery polished. But something strange happened—the more "perfect" my videos became, the less people seemed to care.Then, a funny thing happened. I uploaded a relaxed, off-the-cuff segment from a live stream—just me talking about my favorite books with zero scripting, zero polish, and no overthinking. And guess what? It took off. People loved it.What does this tell me?People crave real conversations more than perfectly structured content.Authenticity builds connections in ways no algorithm can replicate.Being too polished can actually make content feel less engaging.This realization is making me rethink my approach. Maybe I don’t need to be the perfect "media expert" or script every word. Maybe what truly resonates is just being myself—whether I’m talking about books, faith, geek culture, or anything in between.So, here’s my experiment for Lent:Less scripting, more storytelling.Less optimization, more connection.Less algorithm-chasing, more community-building.What do you think? Have you noticed this shift in your own online experience? Let’s talk. Get full access to Father Roderick at fatherroderick.substack.com/subscribe