[Disclaimer: This story is created with the help of HeartByte, a free AI assisted writing tool ( ). All the plots are my original, but the tool helped with words, dialogs, etc to be able to publish faster. Nevertheless, I think it's a fun story that combined a lot of my personal life experience. I hope you enjoy it!]
They say the coldest winter is the summer in San Francisco. And that was true.
On a beautiful Thursday afternoon, Shira flew across the country and landed in Francisco. She stepped out of the airport and the wind was a bit chilly for her all summer outfit.
At door 4, the event car was waiting for her along with two other influencers from different parts of the world. The driver, who had a welcoming smile, greeted them warmly and with much politeness. She found her seat next to another influencer. The influencer sat there, wrapped in a delicate silk blouse, paired with high-waisted trousers and a pair of chocolate boots made of soft lamb leather. Her nails were painted in a pristine shade of nude, complementing her olive complexion perfectly. Around her neck, a delicate gold necklace glinted, with a tiny, intricately designed pendant that caught Shira's eye, which read 'Chiara'. Shira felts super amazed that how one can look this effortlessly chic getting off a plane.
The moment everyone and their luggage settled into the event van, there was an unspoken consensus to catch up on what they missed during the flight. Phones lit up, buzzing with notifications. Shira too found herself swiping through a sea of messages - comments, likes, messages, and even a work offer.
After half an hour, Shira's phone finally quieted down, and she slid it back into her purse. She glanced around the van; everyone seemed to be still buried in their screens. Feeling a bit isolated in the digital bubble, she looked outside the window.
And there it was, the iconic Golden Gate Bridge looming majestically in front of them, its vibrant red arches stark against a backdrop of a gloomy sky, seemingly touching the low-hanging clouds. The chilly wind whipped around the car as they drove across the bridge.
As they drove further, the bustling cityscape gradually gave way to the lush, rolling hills of Northern California. The trees they passed were a riot of colors - greens, yellows, and the occasional colorful flowers, painting a vivid picture against the sky. She found a peaceful calmness she hadn't expected.
"So, how many followers do you have?" Shira heard, the words floating over to her in a clear English accent with strong of European accent. She glanced up, searching for the source, and locked eyes with the girl next to her.
"Me?" Shira felt a ripple of surprise. "I've just hit ten thousand." Shira fished out her phone and flashed her profile to the girl.
The girl peered at the screen, nodding approvingly before volunteering her own stats. "Oh nice, I have one million and I'm on track to hit two million next year." Her tone was casual, yet the numbers hung heavily in the air.
"That's... nice." Shira managed a smile. "Nice to meet you. What's your name?"
Chiara's smile was genuine. "My name is Chiara. I'm from Paris."
"Pleasure to meet you, I'm Shira."
Chiara leaned in closer, lowering her voice as if she was about to share the secret of the century. "Did you hear about the upcoming change to Instagram? You know, the algorithm thing."
Shira's mind drew a blank. Algorithm? That sounded like something from a math quiz, not Instagram.
Chiara noticed Shira's puzzled look and explained further, "It's like a magic formula Instagram uses to decide who sees your photos. And there's a big shake-up coming. It could really shake things up for us, in terms of followers."
Shira nodded, pretending to catch on. The truth was, she was lost at 'magic formula'. As soon as Chiara's attention shifted, Shira pulled out her phone and typed into Google, "What is an algorithm?"
A flood of definitions came back - "a process or set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations" - Shira is not sure if google can speak english at this point.
Chiara ignored Shira's activity on Google, "Don't spread the word. It's from a contact at Instagram." She then winked.
Shira was taken aback yet again. Knowing someone on the inside of Instagram hadn't crossed her mind. Instagram, to her, had always been just an app. Then there are real human you can connect with in there?
As Chiara began chatting with another influencer from LA named Riley, who proudly boasted 500K followers, they quickly clicked, taking selfies and tagging each other right away. Shira felt somewhat sidelined, acknowledging their league was way beyond her current reach.
Just then, her phone buzzed with a message from Gina: 'How's things going? Send pictures!'
Shira felt a pang of despondency. With these high-flying influencers from Paris and LA, how can she compete?
Shira replied to Gina with a selfie she took. "It's actually more amazing than I expected! Met some cool people with crazy follower numbers. "
While she was on the phone, her ears were like two undercover agents, catching every bit of Riley and Chiara's gabfest. She didn't expect the victory of a ticket to a high end party so quickly became a defeat. Her ten thousand followers suddenly seemed as impressive as a home-printed diploma.