♟️ The Metagame: #037: Your Image is Everything

Welcome back to the 37th edition of The Metagame ♟️

Here’s what’s in store for today:

• Understanding perception and reputation

• What makes a good person?

Read time: 3 minutes

When you hear the name Will Smith, what’s the first thing you think of?

The slap?

I, Robot?

The Pursuit of Happyness?

Do you think he’s a good person? A bad person? A talented actor?

Whatever came to mind, that’s the point.

We don’t see people as they are—we see them as we perceive them. And in today’s world, perception is reality.

The internet and social media have become the world’s biggest megaphone. One clip, one photo, one tweet can define someone’s reputation forever—regardless of who they actually are or what they’ve done before or after.

Of course, when someone is a repeat offender of a certain behavior or action, our image of them is more “true.”

But more often than not, we judge based on one-off moments taken out of context.

That’s the power—and danger—of image.

Are You a Good Person?

How many good things do you do that no one sees?

If you give money to a homeless man and no one notices, are you still a good person?

What if you take money from a homeless man and no one sees? Surely this makes you a bad person?

Now, flip it.

What if you do give a homeless man money, but make sure it’s all on camera?

You post it. It gets likes. It goes viral.

What are you now?

A generous person?

A manipulative one?

Someone trying to do good—or someone trying to look good?

The answer depends not on your intent, but on your image.

And everyone has a different image of you.

There’s a gap between what we do, what we say we do, and what people think we do. And in the digital world, people rarely meet the real you—they meet the version of you that you curate for the (digital) world to see.

We say, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” but that’s literally the purpose of a cover. To influence our judgment and to craft the first impression.

Social media is just that: one long book cover.

You post your best days, your best angles, your best moments. No one sees the sleepless nights. The messy drafts. The anxiety. The effort it takes just to stay afloat.

But you know. And still, all they see is the photo from your vacation, smiling on a beach.

That’s the tricky thing about perception: it becomes truth to those who don’t know better.

And most people don’t look deeper.

Playing the Game

So here’s the real takeaway:

Your image is everything.

Not in the superficial, Instagram influencer way—but in the profoundly human, deeply digital sense. We live in a world where everything is recorded and sharable with the click of a button, and anything can be used against you.

So do the right thing, not because it will be seen, but because it might be.

Let your image be built on your best moments.

Don’t let it be highjacked by your worst ones.

You don’t control what people say about you. But you can control what they see. And what they see shapes what they believe.

Let your actions define your image.

Not the other way around.

Quote of the week

Thanks for reading!

If you have any questions, hit me up on LinkedIn or on Twitter/𝕏 at @sam_starkman, or feel free to reply to this email!

— Sam