My bad for getting behind in responding to my Twitter follow back messages, yet what an enlightening experience that turned out to be.
A number of people who had followed me on Twitter had unfollowed me—and a gazillion others—by the time I reached their Twitter home page to follow them.
Their follower and following ratios were quite lopsided. They were following a small handful of people (normally in the two-digit range), yet had numbers in the hundreds or thousands or tens of thousands of people who were following them.
Hmmm, how interesting.
While I wonder whether or not they care enough to be interested, here’s the story their actions tell me.
- Others are simply a means to achieve my ends. I’ll fake some interest in you by following you but all I really want is you following me to boost my numbers.
- Don’t expect any reciprocity from me ‘cuz it’s all about me. I’m not gonna follow you, yet I know you’ll be watching your Twitter stream to see what I have to say.
- Superficial appearances are important. My follower/following numbers tell my elite story. What else is there to say?
- Who wants real connection anyway? It’s messy. Takes time. Might require an adult conversation from time-to-time.
I know I’m climbing the ladder of inference here, drawing conclusions that are based on my perception of reality. If you’re one of those folks I’m talking about here, do enlighten me! I’d love to know the reasons behind all the work you do to build a following and then drop them.
LeadBIG tip: be mindful of the stories your actions create in the minds and hearts of those around you. And, if you’ve created a story as I have, be mindful it’s your story: you wrote it based on your perception and view of point which might be correct…or dead wrong.
What’s your story?
Image source: morgueFile
