TGIF ~ Tame the Tags

Facebook is infuriating, frustrating and, I have to admit, strangely addictive. Many of my pieces are a direct result of a post or article that has come across my timeline. There's no doubt the ghosts in the facebook machine control the content that graces my newsfeed, still, I visit willingly, hoping creativity and intelligence might sneak itself in under the radar.

It's not that I don't enjoy the pics of my "friends'" recent meal, or knowing their four year old is out of diapers. I understand that many are driven to let us know they have lives, by all means necessary. I'm sure my constant posting of my poetry and overdone literary quotes more than annoy most...and yes, cats. I am one of those.

At least, these posts, often slide by without notice. Gone and forgotten. They don't trigger the desire to unfriend or unfollow. So...why is it, many of my "creative" acquaintances feel the need to public display their insecurities and tag me, along with 200 others, in their most recent work? If you're tagging 200 and getting only 50 likes...perhaps you're doing it wrong.

Subjecting true appreciators to the onslaught of notifications that follow will in no way win you any friends. Forcing them to the dark realm of settings to remove the tag is not going to force them to share your post, and, will often annoy them to the point they won't read it at all.

It's okay to get only a few likes. It's okay to let the ghosts in the machine have their way with your content and control the number of people who see it. It's okay to drop some coin and sponsor a post you think is particularly worthy from a page reserved for your content. If it's a mind blowing poem or an earth shattering piece of art, it will find its way out into the world.

Have faith...in yourself...in your work...in your "friends". Don't fool yourself into thinking you're outsmarting the machine when in reality, you're pissing off quality readers and appreciators who one time enjoyed what you were doing.

And always, take the time to enjoy Friday...we're all just working for the metaphorical weekend.

TGIF