So I've been thinking about a story I will never forget, and it takes place on a playground in a small town in Australia.
I was ten years old and in grade four, an energetic and gregarious young girl who loved to talk and tell stories.
My family and I had just returned from living abroad. My dad had taken a position in Europe for almost a year, and he took us with him. We rented a car, traveled between countries, ate the best food; it was lovely.
Back home, on the playground, I found myself sharing with my friends about the experience: what I saw, what I felt, what my young imagination dreamed up when I was there.
Then, all of a sudden, a smack in the face. Another girl had punched me straight-on.
I can still taste the blood in my mouth.
My teacher pulled me aside and cleaned me up. “Don’t talk about your life,” she said. “If you talk about what’s cool or exciting, you’ll make people jealous.” She was trying to help: you must shut down all those pointy, interesting, curious parts of you.
In Australia, this actually has a name: Tall Poppy Syndrome, the phenomenon in which people criticize, attack, or resent someone due to their success.
As a young girl, I took it to heart. I didn’t want to be a tall poppy.
A few years later, when I was a teenager, my mum pulled me aside. Like all mums, she knew me better than anyone in the world, and she knew I was holding back. “Zoe,” she said. “Please don’t hide your light.” She could tell that the only times I was ever really at peace were when I was my full self, when I wasn’t trying to suppress who I was.
Even today, I struggle with it. I think many of us do.
Building WeAre8 for that little girl
At its core, this is why I started WeAre8. I wanted to build a platform that embraced people’s light and didn’t flatten them into one-dimensional versions of themselves. This is what happens on all the other social media platforms out there. People have to conform to the algorithm and become caricatures of themselves.
In so many ways, I’ve built WeAre8 for that little ten-year-old girl who had bright stories and big dreams—and for the millions of people like her.
On WeAre8, you don’t need to conform to the algorithm or hide a part of you. This is a platform where you can bring your light.
Zoe’s Notes
In the spirit of sharing our light together, I want to invite you to something personal I’m launching this year.
It’s called Zoe’s Notes—a weekly letter straight from me that provides an inside look into the why behind WeAre8, the infinite power of this community, and how we’re creating an actual people’s platform.
This isn’t the official WeAre8 newsletter from our comms team. This is straight from me. You’ll see the dreaming, the ranting, the hope, the jokes, the frustration, the future potential, the current reality, and everything in between. You’re going to get the real, unfiltered Zoe. No bullshit (yes, I sometimes curse). No corporate-speak. All heart.
Each week, I will:
- Profile bold and badass creators who have been with us from the beginning.
- Talk about the values we’re using to make decisions around features to build and partnerships to pursue.
- Let you in to see the thinking and the strategy so we can dream together about what’s possible.
Mum, this is for you. I’m doing it.
And to all of you, consider this an invitation to shine your big, bright, beautiful light. There is no judgment here.
Here’s to rocking the world together,
Zoe