Well, it was bound to happen. While my procrastination personality was winning the fight over my "I really want to write" identity, something came along to force my hand. For some time now, I have been pondering on the enigma which is micro-blogging. I have been trying to arrive at a personal comfort zone on what I want and what I can get from it. Meanwhile, many times it is in the content of the discussions on and about Twitter itself, that highlights how two diametrically opposed concepts are at play here. To be followed is the goal of any real tweeter, while "not to follow someone who is following you is rude". It is obvious (especially now that mainstream celebrities have joined in, en mass) that the answer to the question "To follow or to be followed" is indeed the latter. The "Top People" of Twitter have the most followers. While those who follow the most "must be spammers".
As someone who has always been proud to consider himself as part of the audience, I am appalled but not surprised that most of the people doing all the talking have little concern or regard for the ones who are actually listening. Its just the "little people" who are following all these "personalities" and not out there pursuing more and more followers for themselves. Its not that I don't admire many of these content providers, on the contrary those are exactly the people I chose to follow. Many of these people were the early adopters of Twittering who are the true "personalities" of the "tech community" have paved the way for the populous to now reap the benefits of what's already been developed.
So when tonight I learned that someone as erstwhile as Natali Del Conte is attacked for her follower to following ratio (who as it turns out is following less than she is), I can't help but wonder why her when all the movie stars, sports heroes and social butterflies not only have a much worse ratio but supply limp, useless and trivial content. Really, everybody is following Perez "I'll wank him any time! ha xoxo" Hilton? Yes, that was one of his most recent quality posts.
I have been wondering all long I would continue to worry about and work at improving my Twitter rating, Plurk Karma and Facebook Friend count and now I know. No more.