Matt Gemmell on what has changed for him in 2014 — mainly, that he no longer worries about things like stats, follower counts, and numbers. He now writes for him. But he used to.
I’d second-guess tweets and even articles, based on what I thought would appeal to my readers – who were mostly programmers. My online presence was essentially a professional one, under a personal name. It never sat well with me.
If you write for an online magazine or media outlet you need to obsess over such things. But if you have a personal blog or Twitter account, you should really stop.
I can’t tell you how many Twitter followers I’ve lost due to my propensity for unfollowing every account a few times a year and starting over. Some people don’t get it, others take it personally. I’ve learned to stop caring and do what I want to do. I try to explain, through my blog here, why I choose to shake things up from time-to-time and if that isn’t good enough for people, so be it.
And, as far as what I write here on my blog. I have never written for stats. Not here on my personal blog. This place is mine.
Back to Gemmell:
I may bore you. I may offend you. You might unsubscribe, or unfollow. Reading is brutally democratic, after all. If you choose to go, it’s been a pleasure. And if you choose to stay, well… that truly matters to me.
His entire piece is a worth a read.