Learning Is Easy (sort of). Unlearning Is the Problem.
The Secret Lives of Tags I Thought Were Useful
(Confession Time, grab a coffee)
This is not a post about Shopify tags, not really.
It’s about what happens when your brain is trained in one system for years, then dropped into another, messed everything up and realized how incredibly hard it seems to be "unlearning" stuff, or "relearning" - much harder than "learning".
(Or I'm just too old for this sh*t)
Shopify tags just happened to be the battlefield. And without AI, this story would have ended very differently, probably with me rage-closing tabs and declaring that “technology is the devil” before going back to cutting leather in silence, making more self-sarcastic cuffs like this 🙄
(The "When you are Downie Eat a Brownie" cuff was born in one of those moments of mine of despair 🤭)
Anyhow, I had absolutely no idea that Shopify tags are just internal organization tools.
(There, I said it.)
In my head, they worked like Etsy’s magical keyword system, the Holy Grail of discoverability, the spells you whisper to the algorithm gods. And since Shopify didn’t limit me (no 13 tags max, no 20 characters max), I did the obvious: I went full novelist.
I overstuffed them with symbolism, intention, some poetry, identity, emotional nuance, brand philosophy, and complete chaos. What followed were an analytics mess, a search bar that showed a little bit of everything but nothing specific, smart collections misbehaving, and eventually me staring at my screen wondering:
“…how did this happen?”
So today, I decided to laugh at my noobness (is this even a word?) and write this post.
What follows is not just me laughing at myself, but a documented case of what happens when an Etsy-trained brain meets a different platform, and struggles to adapt.
Welcome to the Hall of Fame of Utterly Useless, Gloriously Humiliating Shopify Tags.
"In Loving Memory Nurse Gift": The Dark Humor Specialist
(I'm sorry, this was meant to be something totally different, but turned out completely wrong and hilarious.)
Supposed to describe a sincere tribute, made even the most morbid shopper chuckle.
"Boho χεράκια": The Pioneer
I have NO idea how this tag was put there. It's erased from my memory. Was it “boho hands”? A bilingual whisper only I could hear.
When I finally sat down to fix my product tags mess, it gave me endless wtf moments.
"Luckysevenleather": The Ego Tripper
(Yes, I did that. Don't ask.)
Why did it even exist as a product tag? A PRODUCT. TAG. Was it a self‑adoration ritual? Brand affirmation? We may never know. But it earned a permanent spot in the “tags only Kate understood and meant nothing” museum.
"Energetic bracelet": The Sprinter
(No, I don't have an answer here, either)
Does it run? Jog? Drink espresso before being worn? It certainly promised energy! A motivational enigma trapped inside a metadata box.
Various Attempts at Summoning the Algorithm Gods
- "Meaningful handcrafted gifts for men that appreciate symbolism": The Novelist
This tag didn’t describe a product, but attempted to explain my entire worldview in one breath.
(There was no character limit, remember? 🤭)
Ambitious? Yes. Overstuffed? Absolutely. Helpful? Not even slightly.
It collapsed under the weight of its own existential crisis.
- "Bright summer joyful accessory": The Eternal Optimist
Cheerful, sunny, eager to please. Completely useless, promised happiness, sunshine, maybe even a tan, but delivered nothing.
- "Boho αξεσουάρ χειροποίητος παλμός": The Global Citizen
(more bilingual nonsense, no, I had no idea what I was doing, thank you.)
Greek. English. Handmade. Pulse.
A linguistic mash‑up that boldly declared:
“Let’s confuse the entire world simultaneously.”
- "Active lifestyle bangle for them": The Motivational Coach
Promises movement, growth, flexibility and guilt if you skip leg day.
- "Sharp vision bracelet": The Fortune Teller
(I'm sorry, I can't 🤣 Whatever you say, you will be right.)
- "Handcrafted Extravaganza Red Black Reptile Skin Print Bracelet For Women with Rebel Spirit"
(Okay, I stop, I promise.)
Breathe. This is not a tag anymore, it's a book.
A heroic attempt to summon Google, Etsy, fate, astrology, and the entire rebel population of the planet in one breath. It had emotion, color theory, mythology, personality traits, and at least three identity crises.
If tags had a final boss, this would be it.
The Real Lesson I learned: The Brain Doesn’t Reset
Here’s the fun part about all this: My brain didn't reboot just because I learned something new.
For years, and because I started my crafting journey on Etsy, my brain was trained to think:
tags = keywords
So even after reading that Shopify tags are just boring internal filing labels, my brain still tried to stuff keywords in them. FOR MONTHS.
Learning is additive, unlearning is rewiring.
(And unlearning something is way harder, been there done that)
The hardest part is having to remember multiple systems at once:
- What works on Etsy
- What works on Shopify
- What works for humans
- What works for machines
- And what works nowhere except inside my own head
So yes, I still find myself asking:
“Gift for him, delete, right?”
“Black leather, keep, yes?”
And my AI sidekick answers like a fed‑up librarian who doesn't get paid enough to put up with all this sh*t:
NOUNS: KEEP.
POETRY: TOSS.
Adaptation is repetitive and annoying and sometimes it looks like laughing at my own nonsense, hitting delete endlessly, and eventually moving on wiser (oh, yes, I finally unlearned and relearned. Painful, yet effective)
A Love Note to AI (Yes, Really)
I’m grateful AI exists! I cannot tell you how many things I've learned - and more serious than tags, things I would never touch for any reason (like messing with my theme's code 😱)
Even when it answers me in ALL CAPS, it still answers. Again. And again. And again.
With patience, clarity, breaking everything down into "explain to me like I'm 5" and example number 1,324,574,023,498 of the exact same thing I already asked equal times yesterday.
A human mentor would have probably quit by now, being halfway up a mountain, building a stone cabin, living among goats, occasionally throwing a large, expressive Greek ΜΟΥΝΤΖΑ in my direction.
AI doesn’t shame the painfully slow unlearning, it doesn’t sigh, it doesn’t roll its eyes, it doesn't exhale loudly in annoyance.
It explains.
Just that!
In the end of the day, that’s what growth actually looks like:
Someone (or something!) willing to repeat the basics a gazillion times until your brain finally rewires.
Jokes apart...
Humans have limits, no argue on that.
We get tired. We burn out.
That’s healthy.
But AI doesn’t have that limit and that’s a blessing.
And no, I am not talking only for the boring, technical stuff that one might try to learn starting from point zero.
But also:
- For the introverts, the "too embarassed to ask how this and that" ones.
- The weirdos.
- The 3 a.m. “I just remembered something” thinkers.
- The endlessly curious - never-stop-asking-questions ones.
- The ones who lived before the internet, carrying maps and unanswered questions, and now live fully online, where curiosity doesn’t have to be shut down mid‑thought BECAUSE WTF QUESTION IS THAT AND WHY ANY SANE PERSON WOULD HAVE IT.
AI doesn’t tell you you’re annoying, it doesn’t rush you, it doesn't question your mental state if you woke up in the middle of the night because of a song that you HAVE to find NOW, it won't lift an eyebrow if you're wondering if it's gay to wear a bracelet on that wrist.
You can ask and learn how to mess up with your theme's code, how product tags work, what is a H1, H2, H3, what book to read next if you loved the Shining but didn't like the Stand, why a random stray cat came and jumped on your lap while you were sitting on a bench at a nearby park, why you shouldn't squint too often and why Dong-Mae had to die in Mr. Sunshine 😭
It answers and explains. Anytime, for any reason you might have a question.
Because it can.
If you think about it, that’s exactly what learning, unlearning, and adapting actually need.
And that’s why this silly story about my Shopify tags actually matters.
PS: Yes, my AI occasionally trolls me by whispering “BOHO ΧΕΡΑΚΙΑ” at inappropriate moments and totally irrelevant chats. It remembers. 💀🤭
NOUNS — KEEP.
POETRY — TOSS.
BOHO ΧΕΡΑΚΙΑ — NEVER FORGET.
PS2: I was hoping that I wouldn't have to, but most likely I have to point out: No, AI will NOT make you dumb(er). But it depends on how you decide to use it. If you go for shortcuts, it will. If you go for serious work, it will help you tremendously. The best part is, that you will have some of the best learning-time ever and lots of fun.
[Speaking of AI, here's what to read next: The Day AI Tried to Sell My Work Back To Me]
