Like Me · 22 December 2012
I never used to care whether people liked me or not. I just wanted a little respect. Now, I want everybody to like me.
Actually, I still do not care much whether people like me or not. At least not in person. In person, I still just care if people respect me. Online is another matter altogether. Online, I want everybody to like me.
I originally joined Facebook primarily to promote my blog. I created a fan page and asked all my friends to like or follow that page. I got a few fans and realized that I do have some real readers and not just a few imaginary ones. That was exciting. (Since then, I found Facebook to be a great way to, at the very least, peek in on the lives of people I know and love but do not see much in person. But that is a different story. Probably even different than what I wrote before.)
Now, I know writers cannot function without readers, but I was never inclined to ask all my Facebook friends to be my fans over and over again. I figured if they did not like me the first time I asked, they would not be willing to do so the second (or third) time. It still goes against my grain to ask again. After all, “Will you please like me?” seems like such a pitiful plea.
Even though it feels like begging, I now have new online friends who are not my fans. So I am ready to ask people to like me. Maybe for a second time. It does not seem any less like a pitiful plea, but I can at least say that I am not sure whether I asked them to like me before since it was so long ago. I can plead ignorance. Or at least feign it.
Still, asking people to like me is a strange thing. It is merely a digital plea for attention. And like a plea in person, it can go ignored. In fact, it is even easier to ignore. But I need to do it regardless of how pitiful it might seem. After all, I want to get past my latest plateau.
I have had just under 300 fans (296) for quite a while now. (I know Facebook changed the wording, but continuing to think of “likes” as “fans” makes me feel like a rock star.) It was exciting when I first asked people to like me and I zoomed right up to 150, then 250 fans. I did not get many more fans for a long time, then the count climbed up to 296. The fan count dropped down to 295, then back up again to 296. In some ways, it was painful watching the numbers go up and down.
I know I should not care too much whether people actually like me or not. I really ought to care about my faithful readers (both real and imaginary). They (especially, the ones who comment on my fan page or talk to me in person) are the ones who help keep me motivated. Whether they have liked me on Facebook or not.
I hate to ask others to like me. Instead, I would rather have people respect me for who I am and what I do. Even digitally. Still, I would like a few more fans. Actually, I would like a lot more fans. So even though it goes against my grain to ask (even if it is only once every few years or so), please like me.
(And tell your friends to like me too.),/p>
© 2012 Michael T. Miyoshi
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