We live in a strange day and age. We all worry about being “unfollowed”. This terrible epidemic can occur anywhere, at anytime. You think Twitter is safe? Think again! Facebook isn’t your friend either. Even at good old WordPress… if you say the wrong thing, you’re exiled. Why do we care about this, though? Random people on the interweb choosing to no longer stay tuned into our words, thoughts, hopes, and dreams. You’re starting to feel a little guilty for that last person you de-friended or unfollowed, huh? That’s my Irish guilt specialty kicking in.
After posting about my cat who passed away, I lost about five readers. Five people who clearly hate cats… and me… and me missing my cat… and humanity. The thought bounced around in my head, picking at my miniscule ego. Suddenly, trying to figure out why these five readers left became as important as tackling the meaning of life. That reaction, for lack of a better term, is just plain foolishness.
Today, while happily reading other’s blogs, I came across another blogger talking about this infamous numbers game and the unfollowing quest. Now this blogger has been Freshly Pressed and seems to have a solid following. I adore her writing and always look forward to new posts. I can’t help but say it… coming across her struggle with followers, and the jab to your self-esteem, made me feel a lot better. My 9-month-old blog has received semi-decent attention, despite low followers and this new hip trend to hate Sirens. Gosh.
The bottom line is, just like in life, there are always going to be people that don’t like you. Just as much as the person who loves and raves about your writing, there’s going to be someone in line right behind them, saying you’re a a hack and have no talent. C’est la vie. In the end, unfollowers are lame (and I wouldn’t mind if their Tuesday anger and Thursday depression lasted all week). Followers and loyal readers are just the opposite and give you the motivation to continue writing every day, knowing there’s at least someone out there who you will bring a smile to.
Cue the damn Hallmark music, that’s a wrap.
The Siren's Tale 
Karma – now I’m following you! Thanks for the mention!
Awesome, thank you! I was going to contact you before posting it, to make sure it was okay I linked to you. But then I thought, hey – who doesn’t like a mention? 🙂
I would also go further and talk about the primary reason for writing: truthful expression of your thoughts. When you stop being true to your thoughts just so people “like” you, what does it say about you?
Perfect point, Patty! Our writing should be to entertain an audience, but also to speak the words that mean so much to us. If we rid ourselves OF ourselves, what do we have left? Just another blog among the masses. Thanks for the feedback 🙂
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