We all have them. Those same five people who like every Facebook post. That number on our Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest “Followers” that validates or invalidates our sense of worth on the internet.
But, who are these followers to us, and why do we need them?
It’s safe to say that social media has become a key part of all advertising. Celebrities, companies and people all use these platforms to communicate with those who choose to follow them.
At this point, you can’t even buy a box of Cheez-Its without seeing a “Follow us on Facebook/Twitter” ad. In that regard, the ‘followers’ feature is great for those who have an audience.
What about the everyday person? To have a follower, one must be a leader.
Allie Norman / Equinox Staff
That alone speaks interesting volumes for a generation using such follower-based media. And it makes sense, honestly.
We all have our internet personas, whether they’re quick-witted and humorous nods to our own culture, simple updates on our day, or worship of our significant others.
Those who “like,” “favorite,” “share” and “retweet” those postings are our audience and fan base. Without those likes, we would not feel such a strong a need to post.
Just as importantly, we are followers. We are the like-ers of statuses, the ‘retweeters’ and the audience of bigger companies and people. Without these power figures, we probably wouldn’t use social media the way we do.
We are able to select our interests, follow companies of our choosing for their news and share what we find and observe from them.
So, in a way, we are engaging in a mass cyber power struggle, leading and following.
And yet, where the Cheez-It company never meets the people who buy its products and follow the product on Twitter, we have at least had one in-person interaction with most people on our friend’s list.
So usually, having a follower or friend in that regard is more of a desire to keep in touch to some extent than an actual interest in the person’s postings.
It’s sort of like having a phone book or a contacts list. The names are there, and in the end it’s up to you whether or not you keep them or scrap them.
The main difference, of course, is the fact that keeping in touch is much more subtle and, dare I say, creepy.
On Facebook, your followers are usually the people on your friends list; some people on that list opt not to follow you.
Meanwhile, some people who aren’t on your friends list will still have the option to follow your posts. On Twitter, there seems to be a, “follow me and I’ll follow you” mentality.
Followers are either friends with an obligation to bring up each other’s view counts, or obscure, up-and-coming artists and businesses trying to get noticed.
Either way, the people you follow aren’t going to know how much of their posts you see.
Let’s face it. Facebook and Twitter have a creepily selective way of filtering your news feed; it does this by examining the statuses and profiles you pay more attention to, and prioritizing them into your newsfeed.
Even though you can click “Most Recent Stories” on Facebook, you won’t see every story as it’s released in real time. So those five people who like every status you post? They may very well be the only five people who see it.
The truth is, “liking” a person’s post or going on their profile isn’t going to prove to them that you care to be in their life. Life is full of coming and going. Social media on a personal level is our way of trying to hold on to people in some way. Social media is our way of leading and being led, of pursuing interests while expressing ourselves to those who will listen.
But as they say, “If you don’t use it, you lose it.” So if you don’t make more of an effort to show your leaders why you’re following them, you just may find yourself off their list on their next deleting spree.
Anthony Munoz can be contacted at amunoz@keene-equinox.com