Just in case I didn’t have enough reasons to feel inadequate… I found out today about this site that lists everybody in South Carolina on Twitter. And when I called it up, it had the list ordered according to most “followers.” And I discovered, for instance, that Gerri L. Elder of the “Absolutely True” Web site (of which I had never heard before) has 31,359 followers on Twitter.
As I type this, I have … let me go check… 310 followers on Twitter.
Now, I can comfort myself in various ways. I can say I haven’t been on Twitter long. I can note that I still have almost twice as many “followers” as people I myself follow, whereas Gerri Elder is following more than 31,000.
But given the chasm between her numbers and mine, that comfort is cold, indeed. I mean, I’m in the initial stages of looking into making this a paying proposition, with ads and all, but how can I compete in a world where somebody I never heard of before today has more than 100 times the number of followers I do?
And why does she have so many? I mean, I looked at her latest post (which is unfair; God help us all if we are judged at a given moment by our latest post), which consisted mainly of a bunch of really sickly looking pictures of bacon. Not nice, crisp bacon, but massive amounts of undercooked, floppy bacon, in phone photos that exaggerate their queasy color. It made me think about the bacon I ate this morning in a way that was NOT appetizing…
I mean, I got pictures of THIS, and she’s got pictures of THAT, but she has way more followers than I do? Where is the justice in this? The marketplace is a cruel mistress indeed.
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Even worse — that post I cite was in AUGUST. Of course, her site is one that doesn’t have a classic, chronological blog structure, so maybe that wasn’t the most recent thing, but still… I’m busting my butt here, and she’s touting something she put up in AUGUST, and she still has way more friends than I do?
Ow.
“marketplace is a cruel mistress indeed”
yes, and so is caring about your followers count. it will drive you insane. and then you’ll have a moment of epiphany and realize that this is all stupid anyway.
Yeah, but when I have my moment of epiphany, I want to make sure that I bore at least 32,000 people telling them about it…
Oh, boy. Now I feel like a big, fat jerk. I just got this e-mail:
To which I lamely replied that I wasn’t really criticizing her; I was poking fun at myself and my own insecurities, etc.
Of course, she’s onto something. Being a positive person who celebrates other people is a good thing. And you know what? It’s a brave thing, especially on a blog. If you say something nice about anybody, all the guys will give you the business. They really pile on. But if you criticize, well, you’re just another one of the herd and you don’t stand out.
I read your blog. I don’t twitter. If I did I’d be a follower, so you can count me. Now you have 311 followers.
If I could figure out how to log onto my Twitter account, I’d follow you, but maybe not…you need to be dissuaded from piddling your gift away 140 characters at a time.
Brad, social sites inherently a function of social networking – e.g. sending a quick note defending a post on bacon. It’s like life. Some people know a lot of people and consider them “friends.” Some have less “friends” but have deeper relationships with the friends they do have.
I believe this parallels what’s happening in the news business. Traditional substantive reporting is giving way to blogs with their truthiness and reader interaction and propaganda spewing talking heads. Huffington Post hits important topics but also has posts about voting for the hottest Ms. Universe bikini photo. Glen Beck simply lies or fuses entertainment or shock with real world issues.
Someone like you can provide the substance that is often lacking.
Glenn Beck is called a “liar” because he ran a nightly publishing the actual words of the radicals appointed by Obama.
Randy, what would it take for you to admit you were duped by Obama?