Kokomoko (0:00)

Hey, you guys, Kokomoko here. This has been a crazy week. I was going to do a podcast episode for Ahead of the Curve today on you are equal to your enemies. Something like that I thought would be interesting about how people might leverage picking fights with like, celebrities that are seen as punching up or bigger than them. And then it kind of, you know, elevates their status, whatever it might be. But. But then Los Angeles had. Is still currently in a crazy natural disaster. It kind of started Tuesday, honestly. So this episode is just gonna be. I don't even know if it's gonna be that long. I just want to talk to you guys about where I'm at mentally right now because it just doesn't really feel right to talk about anything else right now. I don't really have anything on my mind, but I do at the end want to talk about. If you guys are subscribed to the sub stack about what seems to be the tick tock ban that is going through. I feel like I've said everything so many times about the tick tock ban and I hate that I was right when it came to the fact that, like, the band did end up happening. I said that, like, they're not gonna sell. My dog agrees. She just barked. They're not gonna sell, and I don't think they should. I feel like they're getting bullied into selling. They're not going to sell. So anyways, what that might look like in the future. And then I'm also going to talk about a specific app that just announced they're going to give away $25,000 to whoever on TikTok can make a video about the app and like start a trend, get people over to the app and what that might look like. So that'll be for the paying members at the end. I think I'll also talk about just why I think that some. Some tiktokers or like, celebrities, public figures are going to want to be really private and actually like the most lucrative creative creators in the future are not going to be the ones that have the biggest following. They're actually going to be the ones that curate the most exclusive following and why that is. So I'll talk about that in the extended episode, but this first half is just going to be about Los Angeles. I don't have a script. I just wanted to talk from the heart and I don't. I feel weird saying that. I feel traumatized because I don't think I can say that because my house is still standing, my family's Homes are still standing, but I know six people now, personally, who've lost their homes in the Palisades and Pasadena. And I've stood in homes that no longer exist. And I'm just so sad for them. I feel like I can't say that I'm stressed or traumatized because I'm one of the lucky ones. And it's been really hard thinking about, like, what they're going through, and not just the fact that they're going to be going through it right now, but, like, reminding myself to check in on them. I keep saying, like, three days, three months, three years, like, whatever you guys need from me when you need it, because it's just starting, you know? So I'm a little disconnected right now, if you couldn't tell. So I'm gonna start by talking about the fact that Los Angeles is my hometown. And I had these emotions this week that I. I wasn't proud of and I didn't realize I would have, but it was almost like jealousy or resentment towards the people that could just get on a plane and, like, go to their hometown that's safe. Because for the first time ever, I realized, like, I can't get on a plane and go to a safe hometown. Like, LA is my hometown. I can't leave. I mean, I can. I can, like, throw a dart on a map at LAX and, like, decide, you know, okay, I'm moving to Minnesota. I've never been there, but we're going to Minnesota and I can start fresh. But I don't have roots anywhere else. The closest thing to roots is, like, maybe when I was in San Diego for college. But actually, a lot of my San Diego friends moved up to LA and we were all just texting all week about how they were feeling, if they were safe. I was preparing to. My friend is on a work trip right now when it all went down, and her dogs at a dog kennel. And, like, I was on call all weekend, all week to just go pick him up if that was needed. I don't have anywhere to go. Like, I can't leave. And I think I felt this resentment towards people that move to la. And, like, I've talked about it before, but people that move to LA and then they say, you know, LA has such a dark energy. It's so sinister. But they're the ones that are bringing the dark energy and they're the ones that are on the first flight out of Los Angeles once shit actually hits the fan, which is fine. Like, we need, you know, people off the streets, like, Half the problem is that people were stuck in gridlock traffic and couldn't get out, which is what we're seeing with some of the victims in the Palisades fire. Like the, the videos of their cars. It's like that one scene in if you guys have seen the movie Leave the World Behind, I think it was on Netflix. And all the Teslas started like crashing and stuff on the road and everyone just had to get out and abandon their cars. And that's kind of what it looked like was just all these cars were abandoned because the people were trying to drive and get away. And then the fire caught up to them so they had to like just start running. And that was so apocalyptic. So I'm okay with like people leaving. Like it's two truths can exist at once. Like, if anything, I'm kind of happy that some people are getting on planes and leaving right now because, like, if that's the best choice for them and if it's safest for them and safest for everyone, I think that's so important. I think the most. I want to tell you guys, like a play by play of the week of what happened, but there's this weird thing happening. I don't know if anyone else has ever dealt with a natural disaster or any sort of like mass trauma. I'd never really gone through it until this week. But I don't really know what day of the week it is. Now. I know it's Monday because I'm back in my routine. I'm like doing my podcast, which even though usually I film my podcast days before and then edit it, but this one I'm just posting on Monday because I. It's the only time I've gotten to actually work since everything kind of went haywire. But I know that the fires kind of picked up on Tuesday and I think I even made a tick tock where I was like, this just feels really bad. Like it feels different than other fires. And that was before we really knew even the extent I think Altadena caught on fire 6:30 and p.m. on Tuesday. And I made that video. And like, sometimes I think people think my predictions are more so things that I want to happen. But oftentimes when I make these, like. And again, I'm not like a psychic. It's just, I'm just, you know, pattern recognition. But I genuinely like just felt that it was gonna be bad because I guess living in la, I've never seen two ends of the city catch fire. So if you guys want an example of like what happened, it'd be like if the bottom of, like, Manhattan, New York City, like, where the financial district is caught fire. And then what is it? Like the Bronx, like, right above, like, Central park, like, if that caught fire. And then it was, like, closing in on the city. Remember the fire picking up on Tuesday? And I'm like, this is odd that it's in multiple spots. Like, that feels weird. And then Wednesday morning, I woke up and seeing the news, you're realizing that it was getting worse. People were starting to panic. But then what really caused mass panic and, like, hysteria was that a fire caught in Sunset, like, on Sunset Boulevard. I think in Hollywood, which is where a lot of, like, people that move here live. Like, a lot of transplants, I think they move to Hollywood, like, right when they cut get here. There's a lot of apartments and young people. And the Sunset fire started, I think, at like, 7pm and everyone just started fleeing the city. And there was gridlock, traffic. Like, people were just in standstill traffic. They couldn't get out. And I know so many people that had to flee in that moment. Luckily, thank God for the firefighters. I don't know what magic they did, but they were able to put out that fire because I think that one would have also had mass damage because of how many people live in Hollywood. It's such a densely populated part of the city. And then on top of that, a fire in Studio City broke out, which is just a fire coming in from four different sides. And there was such mass panic and hysteria. And then. So that was happening Thursday night, and I was probably texting, like, so many different people, just seeing where they were, if they were okay. But it wasn't until Thursday morning that I started looking at some people's Instagram stories, and they were posting that they had lost their homes or they knew people who lost their homes. And I. I don't even know if those people know if they were able to go to their homes and take photos of it. I know some people were able. It's crazy what's happening in LA right now, because I don't want to fear Monger like Leo Skeppy did. He's like, watch out for the homeless people. Like, bro, that's not. That's not what the community needs right now. But there was, like, police. So I was in Santa Monica one day because I've been volunteering, and I was. Honestly, I think I was trying to find a place to get, like, acai. Like, I don't know, I was craving it, but obviously a lot of businesses are closed. Like, it makes so much sense. Like, I don't expect anything to really be open. But I was driving around, and once you got to a certain part of Santa Monica, the roads were just, like, completely closed off, and you could only get in if you were able to provide, like, a driver's license, proof that you live at that address. And then what you need, like, if you needed medicine, if it was, like, something that they deemed really important, and then they would have a police officer escort them to that area to make sure that people weren't, like, looting or, like, lying and saying that they live there. So I think a lot of people just don't even always know the extent of how much their house has been damaged yet. Right now it's Monday, and the fires are thought to pick up or maybe potentially. Well, the winds are going to pick up tonight through Wednesday, so we're not sure if the fire is gonna spark up again somewhere and get bad. But I saw that someone I know posted a GoFundMe for a house that was caught on fire that I had been in, that I spent time in. And I knew the family. And so that was the first family that I went and saw their GoFundMe. And I was like, all right, if I can do anything for them, like, I just want to try and raise money. And then this is what really makes me so proud of. You know, I say the coconuts, like, jokingly, but actually the community here is like, this is really what I'm gonna miss if I lose some of you guys with Tick Tock being gone. I guess if you're listening to the podcast, like, you're. But I posted about this family that I know and love that lost their home. And to tell you guys a little bit about them, they're the Lyles. They lost their youngest son in 2020. They were finally getting back on their feet. And then in this year. So Dr. Lyle, he was a psychologist who worked with incarcerated youth, and he worked with families, just helping them navigate the court system. And then Candy Lyle, she worked as a social worker at the veterans hospital with veterans for 40 plus years. And she was set to retire this year. This was finally going to be her retirement. And the first week of January, their home burned down. So I saw that and I posted about it on Tick Tock and Instagram. And you guys raised, like, I think they're at, like, 28, $29,000. And their goal was something smaller than even that. I was like, raise your guys's goal like this. Like, we can really help you. It's really, you know, let's lock in here. And I was really afraid. I don't know if you guys, as creators, I know so many of the people that listen to this are creators or brands. If you've ever, like, tried to fundraise using GoFundMes. Something that I really struggle with and I feel like is really hard is that I want to keep my audience, like, very focused and, like, zoned in on, like, specific targets. I feel like if people feel overwhelmed with a million GoFundMes, then there's almost, like, decision paralysis. And it's so. I know for me, I'm like, oh, my God, there's so much happening. Like, I can't even. I don't know where to start. So I really felt so bad because so many people were reaching out to me about GoFundMes. And I'm like, selfishly, I really just wanted to help this family that I'd been in their home that I know that I love. And I'm like, I just need to really lock in here for a little bit and just give my. I don't want to confuse my audience. And I wish I could clone myself a thousand times. I wish I could help a thousand families, but I can't. And then the. So they had raised, like, almost $30,000 for this family. And then the following day, I was on TikTok and thank God, I just happened to see a comment come in on my video, and it was this young girl, and she's like, hi. I think she must have just been commenting on, like, anyone who was posting about, like, using the Altadena geotag on tick tock. Like, just leaving, like, this comment was like, hey, like, my grandparents lost their house. If you could, like, repost my tick tock about it, that would really help. So I thank God I just happened to see that comment, and I'm like, okay, cool. So I. I went to her profile and I'm like, all right, I can repost the video. You know, that's easy. I have a million followers. I'm probably only gonna have them for a week. Whatever. Let me just do this if I can. So I repost her video, and then while I'm there, I'm like, okay, let me just, like, look at the GoFundMe. If I can, like, donate while I'm here, I might as well. So then I pulled up the GoFundMe, and at the time, they only had four donations. I was the fifth. And I was, like, sitting there thinking, oh, my God, like, that's so heartbreaking. They only have five donations. Like, this older couple only has five donations. Like, it's one thing to post yourself online and, like, be afraid that no one's gonna see it or care about it or care about you. But then imagine, like, being on the worst week of your life, and that's the moment you have to be vulnerable and, like, post yourself on social media, and then you post yourself because you have to raise money because it's so dystopian. And then only five people donate to you, and you see your neighbors getting, like, thousands of donations. It's so dystopian. It's so sad. It's. There's, like, no winners here, of course. And the whole concept of, like, communities coming together and, like, GoFundMes, it's imperfect, but it's still helping because it does feel so dystopian. Like, me working in marketing. It feels dystopian because your ability to seek help. And I felt like this with what was happening in Gaza and Palestine, and when my audience was raising money for a family there, think they raised, like, $60,000, which is amazing. But it was so dystopian to me that you could be helping a family and, like, their survival, their ability to make money is only dependent on how viral they can go. And I made a podcast episode about the presidential election where I was talking about how Kamala Harris ran an amazing social media campaign but, like, lost by so many votes. And it was so shocking to me, and I was like, maybe social media doesn't actually matter, but then moments like this where we raise money for families through social media, I'm like, okay, it does matter. Like, my job is important. Like, my job can actually move the needle in a way. I find this family that only had five donations. It had 120 once I donated. And at first I was just going to leave it at that and be like, okay, moving on, whatever. But then I was like, maybe I can, like, turn this into something to help them. Like, it's a completely stranger family. I only found their account because the granddaughter had commented on one of my TikToks, and I reposted her video. But I was like, okay, let's. Let's just try. Because, again, it's so dystopian that, like, your survival, your ability to bounce back, is sometimes dependent on your ability to garner attention. And I was afraid of distracting my audience who had been raising money for a family that I know. So I was like, okay, I need to separate the two. But I think that we can do this. I think this is a difference that we can make. So I screenshotted this older couple's GoFundMe that it showed that it only. They only had five donations. And I posted a thread on Instagram. Honestly, I've been kind of liking Threads, so if you guys are on Threads, follow me. But I posted a thread and I was just like, I just found a family that only has five donations on GoFundMe. Should we, like, surprise them and, like, blow up their, you know, GoFundMe with a ton of donations out of nowhere? Like, let's see if we could do that, you know? And so I posted that to Threads. It was doing well. And I was like, all right. My most active audience besides substack is like, Instagram. So I was like, let me take a screenshot of that and post it to. My Instagram is just a static post. So then I grabbed that static post and I post it to my Instagram that gets like 2000 likes. And within an hour, it was. Seeing the number go up was so crazy because at one point I tried to do the math. I don't know if I'm good at math, but it was like $66 every single minute. So every single 10 minutes, the amount was going up by a thousand dollars. So they had 120 when I started. And then it went to $4,000 and then like 6,000. And then I went in the shower really quick. By the time I got out of the shower, it was at like 8,000, 10,000, 20,000 by the time I went to bed. And right now I think they're at 33,000 two days later, which is so cool. And that means that two families now you guys have raised money for are at thirty something thousand dollars each, over sixty thousand dollars. And then I shared out. I will link all of their GoFundMes below again, I don't want to confuse you. I don't want to give you decision paralysis. So there's just one other guy that someone DM me because I was like, hey, do you guys know of any other GoFundMes that, like, aren't getting a ton of attention? Maybe we can make this a thing. And then my audience, someone shared out with me a guy who is a gardener, and he lost his tools in the fire trying to save someone's house, so he has no way to make money. And they made a gofundme. So then I think his was at like 4000 when I got it. And then I shared it out. And now it's at, like, almost 10,000. And I don't know if that was me or anyone else, but very. Just very grateful that I feel a new sense of hope in the sense that I felt like social media didn't matter when I saw the election results, but then things like this happen and I'm like, maybe social media does move the needle in some way, some mysterious way that you don't expect. And if I can spend the last week on Tick Tock, I mean, if it's not okay. So when they ban it, we're still waiting to hear back from the Supreme Court, but if they ban it, then Tick Tock will not be, like, gone on January 20th. Like, it's not like it poofs into the air. It'll be like vine, where it's still on your phone, but they can no longer update the app and they can no longer add new features. They can no longer, if you buy a new phone, like, if you buy a new iPhone or Android in America, you can no longer download it on your phone. So there are still people out there with like iPhone4s that barely work that, like, still have Vine. So it's not that it just disappears into thin air. Anyways. I was like, the last week of TikTok potentially being active if I can use it to, like, raise this money. And then on top of that, I had never community organized before. I think I'm good at the Internet, but I think it's a different type of skill to, like, figure out how to get people in real life to show up to events. And, like, I think that's way harder than what I do because you have to figure out, like, parking, bathrooms, food, you know, logistics, traffic. Like, there's just a lot that goes into stuff like that. And I really was like, I'm very grateful that I have a job that's very freedom. Like, I make my own hours and stuff. And so I went to a wife. Like, I was just calling YMCAs, and I'm like, hey, like, do you need help? Do you need help? One of the YMCAs closest to the Palisades fire needed help. And mind you, they were taking donations and stuff, but they had never run a crisis thing like this. Like, they were telling me, like, we're figuring it out as we go, but, like, we've never been in the middle of a natural disaster. And, like, had to figure out resources. Like, usually they're like a gym for the community. So I was there, I showed up, and they just needed help sorting clothes, right? Now I think like there's been too many clothes donated. I don't want to discourage anyone from helping, but there's just been so many clothes donated, at least at the locations I was at. The more like that I think families right now need more like hygiene products, food and water and actually a thing that you wouldn't think but so many people were asking for was like suitcases, like they didn't have anything to put these things in that they were getting. And some of them are going from, you know, couch to couch or hotel to hotel right now. But anyway, so I went to this YMCA and I was helping sort and like organize and I asked. This just shows the power of tick tock that's going to be gone in my audience. But I asked one of the directors, I'm like, hey, like I can make a social media post. Like what do you guys need? Like what do you need me to say? They're like, okay, like we need more volunteers sorting all of this that's coming in and then like we need these specific items, hygiene, food, water, etc So I made a TikTok video that night leaving and I was like, hey, like tomorrow like Saturday morning, if you guys can show up at 9am and you can like, you know, donate this or whatever, here's the address. I arrived at 9am the next day. It was so crowded that they were turning away volunteers before they even opened. They even had to wheel out like a whiteboard and be like, we don't need volunteers right now. I think that was because it's the weekend so people have down time. They do need volunteers this week and you can sign up at like a link if you. Okay, so if you guys are in LA and you want to help, what you can do is go to any YMCA that's near you that you think might be affected by the fires or helping people in LA go to their Instagram story and they are posting like real time updates of donations they need and any volunteers that they need. The two places that I was volunteering at really needed Spanish speaking volunteers. So that is something to keep in mind that I wish I had that skill, but I don't. Another way to help if you're in LA is if you go to Mutual Aid LA on their Instagram stories and you just like swipe through there. They are posting in real time, different donation centers, different volunteer opportunities. They and I feel like you can really tell the people that are like boots on the ground helping because you just realize that there's a different need than like I Know everyone is helping. So I'm not saying this from a negative place, but there are like some influencers that are just like filming themselves with a tripod from like seven different angles. Like donating clothes to a place that already is like drowning in clothes and doesn't necessarily need. There's one influencer that I know it's like the right thing. Like, I know they were helping, but they film themselves like donating like stuffed animals or something at a donation site, which is amazing. Kids still need toys, but then they filmed them. Like they filmed the kids and the families that were like going through it that needed those supplies. Like them, like pick like. I just think it's wrong to like film someone that's in need of help. Cuz there's like a contradiction there where they're more willing to be okay to be on camera, but they're also in a desperate position. Can they really consent? It's like when someone like films themselves giving a homeless person $100. Like, I just think it's kind of unethical anyways. But I'm still grateful to people helping. But you can just tell the people that are actually like boots on the ground, like when you're at these YMCAs or whatever, their needs are so unique. Like one thing that you wouldn't think of is I'll leave this form below too. I'm gonna have a lot of links in this. But one of the guys was saying that like families were showing up and they had lost their cars. So they were either like ubering or taking like public transportation, like buses and metros. And then they were grabbing the items they need, like food, water, whatever. But then they had no way to like get it back to like the hotel they were staying at or like if they were staying at someone's house, they had no way to transport these things. And so they, in real time, it was amazing to watch them go. Like, these people at the YMCA created a form for all YMCAs across the city where if you are someone who's in need of help, you fill out this form and you say the location you need it dropped off at. And they will literally like gather the items and send them to you. So there were people that were volunteering that had cars that were just ready to go, like ready to drive wherever in the city to drop off supplies to people in need. Even me. Like I thought I would be there organizing clothes all day. And then one of the directors was like, hey, like, can someone get in their car and like drive goods? Go and get you Know that YMCA I was volunteering at needed food. They were running out of food. And the Westchester YMCA is a huge distribution hub right now. So they had me and my sister get in a car and like drive to this YMCA and throw in like as much food as we could in the car and then drive it to back to the YMCA where we were at because it was the one closest impacted by the fires. So it's really inspired me to really want to be more like in my community, like organizing boots on the ground. Like, it's one thing to raise money, which we did, but it's also another thing to like physically be in the space helping. And I'm gonna keep trying to do that as much as I can. Like, again, this is not just like a three day event. Like, well, we're still in the middle of the fires, we're still not out of that. But I think that it's like helping people three days from now, three months from now, three years from now. But it's overwhelming because there's always new catastrophes, there's always new things happening and just doing what you can. I think for me this one really hit home in a new way because I am from la. I don't have anywhere to go. I have to stay and help my city. And it really, this week has really made me realize how amazing LA is. Like again, it's such a good problem to have that like the volunteer center, I shouted out, like they had to turn people away before they even opened. And if you're someone who's showing up to volunteer and you get turned away, just know that, like, that's okay, that it's a good problem to have. And like people still feel the love, people still feel that support. I think in la, like we feel the love from all over the world. And I don't know if this is like a trauma response, but I keep going back and forth again. One, I don't even really know what day it is. I don't know if it's up, down, day, night. Like I can tell by the sky, but my memory already, it's only Monday. But thinking back a week from now, a week ago, I don't really know what day things happened on. I don't even know what day I volunteer. I don't know what the day of the week it was. And so that's a little weird, but I don't know if it's like a trauma thing. But again, I don't even think I can say I have trauma because my house is still Standing Like, I know, like, I think six people whose houses have burned down. My house is not close to burning down. Like, my family home is in Long beach, which I don't know why there's no fires here. But I have family in the Valley family. And I call myself a 405 baby. Like, I just grew up on the 405, but I feel like this weird. I don't know, I've never been in the center of like a natural disaster where it's happening to your own city. And whenever I see it on the news, I'm like, wow, that's so bad. And then like here I'm like, wow, this is so bad. And then at times I'm like, is it not as bad as I think? But then I like, see people's homes are gone. I'm like, it is like people are dying. Like, I can't. It's almost like my brain is trying to convince me that it's not that bad. I don't know. I keep going back and forth. Like, so that's where I'm at right now. We are bracing for impact as fires can get worse tonight. I guess they're still going, but yeah, we're. There's going to be more wins tonight. So I don't really know. Like, I. I'm. I'm going up to volunteer tomorrow, Tuesday. But I'm trying to monitor the situation to make sure it's not in an evacuation zone. We will see. But if you guys want to help, I'll have the GoFundMes of a couple families below that we've been helping. And then I will have the Instagram linked out for mutual aid la. If you're in LA and you want to volunteer, that's where they're posting a lot of opportunities. And then for the extended episode of Substack, I'm going to be talking about my thoughts on the one. I have an unpopular opinion about brand trips right now that are happening amidst the LA fires. And then I'm gonna talk about the Tick Tock ban and. And there's actually one app that is like giving out money to someone who can like start a trend and get people over to that app. And then I'm going to talk about. God, I'm sorry. Just mentally checked out, you guys. I'm so sorry. I'm doing my best with this episode. You guys deserve a good episode regardless of what's going on. Like, you guys pay for it on the sub stack. Unpopular opinions. I'm gonna talk about Tick Tock potentially being gone. And yeah. So if you guys want to hear the extended episode and you're not already a paying member, you can become one@cocomoco.substack.com $9 a month. I've got one of the best selling sub stacks thanks to you guys. And it gives me a little bit of grace to be able to just say what I really think and what I really want. Because on Tick Tock, I feel like everything you're so afraid of it getting in front of the wrong audience. But on Substack, like, I feel better having an exclusive audience. I feel better knowing that you guys are really here, even though sometimes you guys disagree with me and we have, like, healthy comments. It's so nice you guys like just knowing that you guys love and respect my opinion enough to, you know, kind of meet me where I'm at. So that'll be on the extended episode. Thank you guys for watching this far, even though I'm kind of mentally checked out right now. And I will see you next week.