Social media has now become a global, instant grapevine. One that can also trace somebody's personal and professional trajectory. What we publicise on it is, thankfully, our call, though how it's received never is. And I think it's understandable if someone posts about a memorable or emotional experience they've just had, only for that post to be ignored, and they subsequently feel frustrated.
But isn't it remarkably intriguing how you never quite know how your online activity will be received: what will get a fuckload of likes and/or comments and what'll get lost in the depths of the Net? Of course, if you're a celebrity you post a photo of your breakfast and it'd spread like wildfire, but for us commoners, at least those like me who crave attention most of the time, that's very unlikely. But more to the point, I for one struggle to anticipate who'll enjoy each thing I post on Facebook (the only social media website I use, as I'm a Net junkie already), or even on here, quite honestly. But come to think of it, maybe that's part of the appeal. Or just a very cunning IT business touch.
In fact, as I sit here racking my brain over this entry, it's just dawned on me how that unpredictability online can mirror the sort we encounter with real-life interactions, even with people we've known for fucking years. For example, if you felt compelled to ask them a personal question or give brutal honesty. Depending on the severity and location they could react very surprisingly. I have a friend with very strong views whose expression of them on Facebook has made some of his own friends, whom he'd known for over 30 years, delete him on there. It can be a very capricious environment.
But again, it has its pleasures and uses. Just don't predict what posts of yours will or won't take off, for disappointment's sake. Leave that to me.
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