I Told Myself to Stop Trying to Go Viral

We live in the loudest era in history.

Everyone is posting.

Everyone is marketing.

Everyone is building a personal brand.

And yet, attention feels more fragile than ever.

There Is Too Much Noise. We’re bombarded with ads.Algorithms push us. Platforms reward volume.But most of it? It’s noise. You can post every day on TikTok. Or you can build something so thoughtful, so intentional, that people want to talk about it. If you don’t want to become a content machine, then build a product worth spreading.

Recently, I attended a lecture that quietly reframed something for me:

You don’t build an audience by shouting. You build an audience by creating something people want to whisper about. As someone designing immersive XR experiences for brands, this hit home in a very real way for the identity behind Not Keepin’ It Real. No one needs VR. But they crave:

Feeling transported

Feeling seen

Feeling emotionally shifted

Feeling part of something new

This confirms that what makes our work unique isn’t the tech. It’s the story. That´s what people will buy. They will Stories. We already have clothes. We already have food in the fridge. We already have apps. So what are we actually buying?

We’re buying identity.

We’re buying belonging.

We’re buying transformation.

We´re buying confidence.

And then we´re telling people it, because it says something about us.

One of the most freeing ideas from the lecture was this:

You don’t have to invent something entirely new. You can take a model that already works, and make it yours.

That’s what I did with Not Keepin’ It Real. XR exists. Projection mapping exists. Virtual experiences exist.

We start with something deeply real and human about our clients — and then we refuse to keep it real. We push it into immersive, emotional worlds that feel bigger than reality.

A brand is a promise. And consistency is how you keep it.

At Not Keepin’ It Real, that promise is simple: We design immersive worlds that make people feel something. Not gimmicky tech demos. Not trend-driven visuals. Emotional experiences. And we show up consistently around that.

You Don’t Spread the Word. Your Customers Do.

If you’re constantly trying to “grow,” you might be compensating for something that isn’t strong enough yet.

The real growth happens when:

Someone experiences your work

They feel shifted

They tell someone else

That’s how ideas spread.

Not through volume. Through resonance.

In XR, when someone removes the headset and says, “I’ve never experienced anything like that,” that’s marketing.

Do Work You’re Proud Of

Don’t do work that drains you.

Because building something meaningful is hard. There are phases where it’s challenging. Where visibility feels low. Where growth feels slow. But if the work itself feels aligned, you stay. And persistence is what gets you to the other side. Show up consistently. And generosity. Invent something worth making. With a story worth telling. And a contribution worth talking about.

Not louder.

Better.

Not viral.

Valuable.

If you’re building or want to build something immersive, bold, or slightly unconventional, let´s connect. And if you’re trying to do it without becoming another piece of noise… You’re on the right path, in my humble opinion

—

Maya El Kaaki

Founder, Not Keepin’ It Real

XR Designer | Story-Driven Immersive Worlds

*Image Generated with Gemini Nano Banana, Edited on Canva