Most of my blog entries don’t have prerequisite reading, but this one does. So if you have not read my initial post Who’s Your Audience please do so now….I’ll wait…..
It has taken quite a few years for me to gain the confidence to expose myself in such a vulnerable capacity. I scoured my Facebook & Twitter feeds to make certain that my soft spots would only be visible to my friends. What I didn’t realize was that I was opening myself up to an entirely different scenario. What if my family/friends didn’t respond?
I recently asked my Facebook friends for a little help with my next entrepreneurial escapade and was delighted to find people had followed my link about juicing. I really wish I could stop there…. but being the numbers person I am, I couldn’t help but notice that only 4% of my Facebook friends actually went to my site. Hmmmmm…….What does this mean?
Perhaps, in this day and age of over stimulation, constant distraction and minimal depth, my blog was overlooked by my closest family & friends? Could this be? Could the people that I hold most near and dear to my own hear be too distracted to notice when I need them?
Honestly, I don’t believe so. In today’s virtual world, perceived value and real value get confused. We project value where there is none and hide what is most valuable. Hence, just because only 4% of my friends followed my link, doesn’t mean that I really only have 4% of the friends I think I have. Quite the contrary! I frequently look at other people’s posts and do not comment or follow links. My reasons for silence are numerous and varied. So now what do I do with this information?
Write another post! If 1 post gained 4% of my friends, how many can I get with the second post?
Regardless of my click through rate, I know that my family and friends still love and care for me. How do I know? They tell me! In person, on the phone or in personal messages.
In this increasingly virtual world, how can we stay mindful of what social media does and doesn’t provide? How can we avoid getting emotional about who “likes” a comment or shares our links? What can we do to stay focused on living our very real lives, not our virtual ones?
Now it’s your turn to speak up! Share your comments, follow me on Twitter, subscribe to my RSS Feed or send me a note with you comments.
