My New Year’s Resolution for 2026: Earned Influence
Exploring the Roads Less Traveled
New Years resolutions are something that are easy to make, and even easier to break. Usually my list is a mile long, but this year I am going to stick to one promise to myself that I think I can keep.
Years ago when being an Influencer started being “a thing” I thought that was the perfect path for me. I finally had defined my Lifestylist brand into being something people could understand and I was passionate about: Wine.Dine. and Design.
With my business bringing me in touch with some of the top people and companies in these areas, I had a lot to share, and I love being able to go to conferences and trade shows to learn what’s new, then to share that with my followers. Being able to connect with such talented people is a gift, and a gift that I wanted to share.
But is seems like somehow, social media has become where it is more important to have followers, than valuable information. Brands trust influencers that have thousands, or even millions of followers over the quality of the content that they share which has started really bothering me. I started chasing “likes” and followers as well, but I’ve realized that posting, no matter what I was posting had become more important than being in the moment, and appreciating the experiences I was having as much as I was sharing them. I thought I must be missing something, so I started looking at some of the top “influencers” that were being talked about. A lot of these food and lifestyle influencers seemed to not really share much content, but were actually being paid to visit a store, restaurant, or event and talk about it to all of their followers. Photos of a lot of people with every item on the menu taking big bites of each, and saying how delicious it was. I can’t imagine how much food is wasted during the shooting of these, and the cost of this to the restaurants they are “reviewing,” many of them small businesses like mine.
My biggest frustration came recently. 2025 was a busy, exciting year for myself, and my brand. My volunteer work being VP of Programming, then Membership for the New Orleans Chapter of Les Dames D’Escoffier has had me in my new favorite city quite a bit, and my Lifestyling of affordable homes has made it where I think I was only home the entire week once this year! I am so grateful for the support and opportunities that have come my way, and the people that make my life so full and interesting.
Not What I expected: The NOBL Disappointment
With all of the travel came the need to update my luggage - the $30 carryon I purchased at a discount store was starting to show it’s age. I kept seeing influencers talk about this miraculous carryon bag that had all of these bells and whistles - a cup holder, bag hook, auxiliary charging, and one of my biggest wishes, an external, easy to get into space for my laptop. All of the well known influencers online were raving about this bag, and the fact that not only did it have all of these functions, but you could also easily fit a weeks worth of clothes in it. Even though it was very expensive, they had a 67% off sale during Black Friday, so I trusted what everyone was saying about this bag and splurged - Merry Christmas to me!
When it arrived, I couldn’t have been more disappointed. I could immediately tell that it wasn’t going to last a week, and there was so little useable space inside the bag I couldn’t even fit a pair of shoes in it! I immediately put it back in the box and since it had a lifetime guarantee and it was returnable for the first 30 days, it was going back.
That is when I went to their website to try and find out what I needed to do to return the bag, and discovered that it was next to impossible to return for any reason. You had to pay for shipping - over $50, they would take a 5% return fee, and they would only give you “store credit!” After fighting with them and their off-shore AI customer service, I threatened to share this experience with all of my followers, and they took it back, but I had to dispute the charge with my bank before I ever actually got the refund. Obviously, there was more than satisfied customers behind the influencer reviews, and I felt like I had been very mislead. This really hurt the credibility of these well known influencers to me, and I’m rethinking what most of the influencers have to say, unless it is someone I know and trust.
That is when I realized I didn’t want to be part of the Influencer tribe anymore. I’m not going to charge someone - especially a small business who is what I really enjoy sharing and talking about - to share the good news about their company, product or brand. I am a big believer in karma, and feel like by sharing their story, someone will share mine.
So my 2026 resolution is to go analog. To live in the moment, to have important conversations with people who interest me, and to write and photograph the moments, people, and places that I am blessed to experience. To walk away from algorithms and AI, and to live in the moment more. I really think I’ll be a better person for it. I hope that you’ll join me on this new adventure!