Ride Your Wave 

As a brand consultant and also teacher for graduate and post graduate programs, my work exposes me to people from all walks of life as I try to solve client problems with my chosen weapon: words. 

Over the last few years, a few things emerged clear for me. First, almost every student in my classrooms spoke of suffering mental health problems, depression and anxiety. Second, I saw people trolling, labelling, name-calling and being vicious, not just to strangers, but to friends and family. And third, I heard a common refrain of 'nobody reads anymore.’ It left me uneasy and confused as I went about my life. 

While the three seemed unconnected, a slightly closer look did reveal a common factor: staring into our phone screens. On our screens are jokes, good-morning messages, propaganda, news, fake news, groups, catch-ups, opinions, deadlines. We are protagonists in a reality show where technology is being used to manipulate psychology. We are all victims of the absence of context, backgrounds and stories. Yes, stories. Curiously, in this deluge of consumption, where non-fiction lives are beamed constantly, actual stories are missing. 

As social media makes us all aspire to the same Instagram lives, we see our humanity at odds with society’s expectations of us. As we try harder to fit in, we become cogs that simply help the world go around. And this leaves all of us, especially the current social media generation, feeling a void. A void that needs to be filled with humanity. 

Where is this humanity? In stories. Because the one thing that differentiates us from all the species around us is our ability to understand, tell and live stories. 

And I thought, that’s our way back to get in touch with ourselves: simple, snackable stories. Not just watched or heard; but read. Yes, read stories as a pastime, not just facts as a way to kill time. Because it’s by reading stories that we go from merely gaining information to gaining perspective. After all, opinions are the lowest form of knowledge; stories are the simplest form of wisdom. We need to read stories so we don’t judge our black-and-white versions, but learn to accept our greys. Not to get smarter, but become humbler. Not to comment; but introspect. 

And from this was born Storysurf. It didn’t arise from some gap in the market, but from a conscious realisation that we need to get back in touch with our humanity. Storysurf is a place to read snackable stories that celebrate everything that makes us human – our emotions, shared experiences, the unexplained myths, love, insecurities, relationships, sacrifices. Everything that makes us, us. It’s a place to think. It’s a place to understand, to introspect and to just be. 

Storysurf is an antidote to social media. It’s fodder; not a drug. It’s a serotonin boost; not a dopamine hit. 

It's not a day job. It's a not a side-gig. It's not a venture. It's not a business. It's just a labour of love. At least, as of now.