410. 469. 224. Those numbers are my YouTube subscribers count, Twitter followers, and Facebook friends, respectively. The last time I checked them all? Well over a year ago. I joined YouTube July 3, 2007. Twitter, September 2008. Facebook, March 2008. That works out to an average of 51 subscribers, 67 followers, and 32 new friends per year.
Cool, I guess. I’m not on any of those three sites to be in the numbers game. I’m not on YouTube to become the most popular channel. I’m not on Twitter to be the most followed person. And I’m definitely not on Facebook to be friends with the entire world (I’m not Tom.) If your numbers are higher than mine, good for you. I don’t care. I think it’s sad that some people see social networks as a game to come out on top of. It’s not a game I’m in to win, let alone in at all. So what am I in it for?
The short answer is to share my life happenings. If you like looking at one, perhaps can relate to one, that’s what I care more about. I’m on YouTube because I want to share my knowledge and my adventures with people. View counts and likes don’t matter to me. What matters to me is when I have someone come up to me on the sidewalk at Drexel at tell me, “Hey, thanks for your video on life here. It really helped me choose where to go to college.” And yes, that has happened, and it’s happened at least once for the last four years. Now I have more people ask me if I was in a SEPTA commercial. I’m fine with that too. Being an IT major, I never would’ve guessed that changing ink tanks in a printer could be so difficult. But sure enough, a video I did as a spur of the moment thing has become one of my most viewed – and thanked – videos on YouTube.
As for Twitter, it’s a crazy world out there. And when something big happens, it usually breaks on Twitter first. It’s also a really handy platform for getting help (like on the occasion I do get lost on SEPTA.) I rather like the 140 character limit. Even if it means breaking a few language rules, it forces you to think about what you want to say. It’s remarkably powerful with all of the limits it has. I think it can be just as useful as a text to someone (granted depending on your privacy settings and how you send your message, you’re now sharing it with the world.)
So, if you enjoy my ramblings and what not, awesome. That’s what I care more about. I’d much rather be able to have a conversation with you – even if it’s a short, one-time thing – than just know you as a another number. We’re people after all – not statistics.
