The Keys, and Beyond…

Back in the day - meaning, before internet (when was that now, about 1994?) - we all probably had a few to several really good/best friends whom we saw on a regular basis. And then, perhaps another ten to a dozen acquaintances whom we knew fairly well - be it friends of friends, a relative of a friend, co-workers, etc. But, that was probably about it. There really wasn’t a way to keep track of more than that. You knew who you actually knew, and that was that.

So…how is it now that some of have several hundred - or even thousand - friends or fans on Facebook…or thousands of followers on Twitter (Ummm, I’ve only got a couple hundred on Twitter, is that a bad thing?)? (And let’s not forget MySpace, which still has hundreds or thousands of friends for a lot of us.) It’s obviously impossible to keep in touch with everyone out here, as the numbers are just a little insane to handle. I guess if being on Facebook, or online in general, was your full-time gig, you could do it…maybe. I still doubt it.

For me, I know that it’s hard to keep in touch with everyone whom I’ve “met” out here. And specifically speaking about my music presence on Facebook, where I currently have 264 263 fans, it’s very tough. I try to keep things interesting with updates or adding some new content - be it sharing some new photos, or one of my songs. But, every now and then, a “fan” will disappear. I wonder why this happens…

You’d think that if someone actually decided to be a fan, they’d stay a fan. Or they’d even tell someone else whom they know “Hey, there’s this guy who makes some cool music, check it out.” But, I’m finding that my fan count seems to bounce around - people disappear (and to be truthful, at times reappear). Or, they just give up being a fan altogether. I’m guessing it’s because it is just too easy to friend someone in the online world, or be their fan - and just too easy to turn the other way, too. It’s all just a click away, now.

Back in the day, you got to know people in person, and over several months/years of time…in this online environment, a click takes seconds to execute. Is this quick-clicking making some of us fickle about our friendships out here? I guess it’s easy to get caught up the online world, clicking your way to hundreds/thousands of friendships, adding on hundreds of fans…and then forgetting that there are actual PEOPLE behind those clicks.

I think we all need to remember - and I’m going to try my best to do so as well - that there are real humans behind these online profiles. It’s time to make these clicks count - stand behind your clicks. :)