To have hundreds or thousands of followers is one of the most awesomest feeling ever. Gaining the community's attention on something you've painstakingly worked on is such a rewarding experience since this somehow validates your talent and skills on whatever field it may be.
Having something to say, and to be heard, is wonderful. This is why we find great joy seeing our 'Followers' pool grow, why we deem it a milestone reaching a certain number of audience. We take comfort to the knowledge that whatever we showcase will reach a significant number of people who can get value from us.
We share our thoughts, our talent, our experiences on social media platforms in the hope that our audience have a positive experience from these.
Growing your 'Followers' is essential in the hope of positively influencing a wider population.
Growing your 'Following' is, at the least, equally important.
Relationship-building must start somewhere. Imagine a world where everyone prefers not to initiate introducing one's self to others- all will be by themselves in this case, waiting for someone else to reach out. But no one would.
Growing a community should start somewhere.
Why I grow my 'Following'? It's because I enjoy being heard, and would want others in the community be able to enjoy this, too.
I understand some prefers to only see in their feeds people whose work they've seen in the past, people who've already proven their worth. I don't belong in this group. My view is this- by limiting the material I see, I am placing myself in the position to possibly miss out on something big, refusing myself the possibility of getting value from others.
This is my message to everyone I am following- I believe that each and everyone here has something valuable to say. And I am ready to listen.