OMG yesss I have a follower!

Scene: Two people, one of them me, sitting in a café having coffee and conversation.

My coffee buddy: “So are you on social media?”

Me: “Umm, well I have Facebook and LinkedIn.”

My coffee buddy: “That’s it? How about Twitter or Instagram? Or a YouTube channel?”

Me: “A YouTube what?” Okay slightly exaggerating. “I have no time for all that, I’m busy living life, I don’t want to worry about having to post every five seconds. Besides, I like the in-person type of connections.”

My coffee buddy: “Well, then you won’t have any followers. Don’t you want followers?”

Me: (pondering a moment) “Why do I want followers? Do I need them?” (still pondering)

My coffee buddy: “Well yeah, everyone wants followers, and the more the better.”

Me: “Really?” (getting intrigued now) “And why would I want or need followers?”

My coffee buddy: “Followers are like a form of validation.”

Me: (now I’m really intrigued) “Why would I need people I don’t know to validate who I am or what I do?”

My coffee buddy: “I feel a debate coming on.”

Me: (smiling) “you’re probably right.”

Having grown up in a world where I would have to pick up a phone to call someone and hope I didn’t get a busy signal on the other end of the line, the new world of exploding technology, the world wide web, social media and apps for just about everything came both as an evolution of learning for me, as it was an enigma.

The digital space, in all its glory, transformed and continues to transform the way people communicate, share, sell, buy and socialize with one another. It allows for transparency and easy access to information in all categories of life. Simply put, it’s really changed the way we once were.

But what was wrong with the way things once were? I’m not going to delve too much into the benefits of having no electronic devices at the dinner table or having to pick up a phone to talk to someone or get in one’s car to go visit someone in person. Having lived pre-technology and continue to live post-technology and social media, I am fascinated with the virtues of connections and followers.

We can connect with more people than ever before possible, we can follow as many people as we want.

Is there a difference between the two? 

Depends on the forum I suppose but in my view, if I’m connected to someone, whether in real or virtual life, I want to be a part of their existence, to follow what they’re thinking, what they’re involved in and how they are resolved in this thing called life. I believe in quality over quantity. Connections have to be meaningful, they need to provide value, they need to be engaging, they need to be fulfilling in some way. To connect means to share! 

The sharing of insights and perspectives, experiences both in life and in the workplace (which can be very closely inter-related), to motivate and inspire, to continue learning and to continue growing, that is what connecting with others means to me. The number is irrelevant.

The more people that can experience this type of connection, of course the better it is – the reach is then relevant (going back to my scene above where I state, “Why would I need people I don’t know to validate who I am or what I do?”. I don’t need others to validate me as a person but if I can truly offer some experience or knowledge or wisdom or assistance to the people I’m connected with, then yes absolutely, I want to reach as many people as possible. But to say one has thousands of followers on a list without engagement or value, is meaningless. It’s just a number. 

If someone has that much reach, use it for good, change the world, one connection or follower at a time. That’s how I see it anyway.

When I got my first “you’re being followed by’ on LinkedIn, I was ecstatic. Why? Because I immediately thought there is something about me, my posts, my comments, my communications, my online presence, that has motivated someone enough to want to follow me. 

There is so much emphasis on content and the beauty of it all is that people, human connections, real-life experiences, creativity and wisdom, are the very content that we are wanting and buying, whether it’s obvious or not.

If we can motivate and inspire people each and every day, then I say continue connecting and following. We all have a higher purpose and it’s not to get lost in the millions of numbers on social media for validation we don’t need to prove that we’re important. We are important, period.

Thank you so much to my LinkedIn network for connecting, for following, for being engaged, and for being inspiring in your own truly unique ways.

And who knows, maybe I’ll show up on Twitter or YouTube one of these days!

#higherpurpose #staytruetoyourself