I was talking to someone a few days ago and the subject of social media came up. I’ll be honest I have a love/hate relationship with social media. I love that it allows me to stay connected with family and friends that live in different cities or states. I love that I can reach far more people through platforms like twitter, facebook, and instagram than I otherwise might be able to. And as an introvert who really struggles to explain myself in the spoken word, the internet gives me a place to carefully piece together my thoughts in a format I’m more confident in… writing.

But honestly – I think we often get too wrapped up in all the social hype. There are so many different platforms… facebook, twitter, instagram, snapchat, youtube, tumblr, reddit, linkedin, pinterest, periscope, etc… And we seem to be on all of them. Especially if you’re a business. Because the proverbial “they” tell us we need to be on all of them if we want to have the greatest reach. Plus with our smart phones, we’re on these platforms all the time. Your phone vibrates so you pick it up to check it, and somehow end up losing 20 minutes of your life scrolling through facebook or instagram. When do we decide it’s too much?

And then there’s the issue of likes and followers. When you have a business page, it’s so easy to get caught up in those numbers… especially at the beginning. Breaking 100 fans or followers feels monumental! And I’m sure you’ve seen it before – someone saying, “I’m only 3 likes away from getting to 400 followers! Like my page and help me get there!” In fact, I’m sure I’ve done it before… but the truth is for the past several years, I have had my own philosophy about social media.

I choose not to care.

If people like my page and become a follower – wonderful! If people don’t – that’s fine too!
I genuinely don’t care how many followers I have on my facebook page… in fact, I’m not really sure how many I have today. I do know that I have fewer followers than some people around me in my industry, but I also can say that I know every single one of my followers. And I know that my followers are there because they want to be there and they’re interested in me. I’d rather have 800 strong, loyal followers than 2,500 people who don’t really care. I’d rather have people following me who want to work with me than people who just like scrolling past my photos in their newsfeeds.

If you like my posts – I love it! But if you don’t – that’s okay too.
I post because I want to. I share the things that matter to me. I don’t expect everyone to be interested in the same things as me or to be as passionate about them either. In fact, I know there may be times I’ll share something that people won’t like. And that’s okay too. But I don’t sit and keep track of how many likes a post has because those things ultimately don’t change how I feel about what I shared.

If you read my blog – you are amazing and I’m incredibly grateful. But if you don’t have time – I understand.
We’re all busy with our own lives and we all have a lot going on. And that’s awesome and wonderful. So I can’t expect that all of my friends sit and read my blog every time I post something here. And I know there are times that what I share isn’t going to interest people and that’s okay too. I write what I feel a desire and need to write, and whoever chooses to share in that little written exploration gets to go on that adventure with me.

My point is this. I love each and every person who comments or likes or shares my stuff. Because I know that you genuinely care about me and what I’m sharing. You guys are my people and I love ya! But I’m not looking to win any popularity contests. I wasn’t a cool kid in high school and I’m too proud of my nerdiness to want to be cool now. I am who I am and likes or follows or shares aren’t going to change who I am or what I’m doing…. Primarily because I choose to spend my life focusing on being the best human I can and improving on that every day. I’m not telling you that you shouldn’t be excited about breaking 100 friends or 1000 fans. I’m not telling you that you can’t be giddy when you post something you’re really proud of and a TON of people like it. I’m just saying – don’t let it rule your life. Your success is not defined by social media likes. And ultimately, the only person who’s “like” should matter is yours. Make sure you like yourself and the rest will follow.