How Many Followers Can One Person Handle?

It seems to be a hot topic in the past few days.  Is it good to have a lot of followers on Twitter, or just a few?
I was first intrigued by the video blog of Steve Witsen.  He likens having a great many followers to trying to make an announcement to everyone at a U2 concert.  You'd have a lot of people to tell your message to, but most of them wouldn't listen.  Nor would they care.
By having a couple hundred (or less!) dedicated followers who are truly interested in what you have to say,  you target your message to those for whom it is relevant.  Lightbulb moment!
Another worthy blog that shares this sentiment and expands on it is that of Aliza Sherman on WebWorkerDaily (10 Things to Avoid in Social Media).  #8 goes a little something like this:

"Avoid the numbers game. Sure you can use automated following tools and maybe get a slew of people following you back. But they’re not listening. They don’t care. I’ve always said that I’d rather have 100 friends, fans or followers who care than 1000 who ignore me.  Social media is not about the big numbers but what you do with the numbers you have — and what they do in return. Devoted actions of a few can have an exponential impact, far greater than inaction by many."

This game seems to change daily, so keeping up with it is at turns exhilarating and exhausting.  But somehow, the conventional rules of social interaction and traditional etiquette still hold. (Thankfully)  Building relationships and trust takes time and attention.  Or as we used to say "If you want a friend (follower, tweep, connection, link...) , be a friend."

Living Your Brand: Lessons Learned from Tiger Woods

Unless you've been living under the ocean for the last month, you no doubt have heard of the foibles and tribulations of Tiger Woods.  There are lessons to be learned from this frenzy of mass information.  We live in a world where no secret goes untold.  The more exposure one has in mainstream media, the harder they are destined to fall.
This is not some new phenomenon.  I remember being in 5th grade (well before Tiger was born- in fact probably even before his parents met) and writing an essay.  The assigned subject for the essay was to discuss whether it is right to look up to sports figures or actors as heroes.  It's been too long ago for me to recall who it was, but at that time some "hero" actor had been caught doing something.  All I can say for sure is that it wasn't a DUI, a drug arrest, a beating/stabbing/killing of a loved one or embezzling millions.  At the time, I argued that an actor's job is to perform, and it is the general public that holds him up as a hero when we do not know the real person behind the character. 
How times change.
Tiger was nearly everyone's hero.  The squeaky-clean wonder kid's videos from the age of 4 were plastered all over the airwaves as he came into his game.  The dedicated Dad-coach who taught him to love and excel at the game of golf was at his side to see him win time after time.  Remember the "I'm Tiger Woods" Nike campaign?  Children of every color learning golf, loving it, and there being no barriers for them because of this amazing golfer who broke through the barriers.  He won, he gave back, he spread the word about love and fellowship in golf, respect, honesty and perseverance.  He met a beautiful girl from Sweden who was working as a nanny and swept her off her feet, married her and had 2 beautiful babies.  And they all lived happily ever after.
Or not.
The problem comes in his branding.  We all bought into the ideal Tiger with the happily ever after because that is what his dad/coach/manager/PR agent sold us.  And he did a damn good job.
The problem with any brand is that you can't sell a bill of goods that isn't there.  Eventually, your consumers will turn your back on you if you cannot provide what you are selling.
Ask Tiger.  Since November 29, not one single endorsement ad of Tiger Woods' has been played on any network or cable channel.  Not one.  Gatorade pulled it's Tigerade line.  Tiger's popularity ranking among star athletes has dropped to 24th.  And the Congressional Medal of Honor he was to receive for excellence, integrity and dignity?  Nope.
At this point, no one wants to be Tiger Woods.

Have you tried Freak Up dot Com?

So, it's pretty clear that I'm a runner.  I love it, the sweat, the soreness, the athleticism, the (sometimes) comraderie.  This last part wasn't obvious to me until I started to run with my good friend Audge.  Problem is, she lives about 2,000 miles away, so we only get run together a few times a year.
For some reason, finding friends to run with has been... challenging.  My husband runs, and we do run together, but he prefers a slower pace.  Also, it's fun to run with a girlfriend.
Ahh.  Interesting choice of words.
Maybe you've heard of Meetup.  Theoretically, it's a place where you can find people with like interests to do things with, but it is NOT a dating site.  I do have other friends who run, but the one who lives closest is a nurse with odd working hours. (She works 9 to 5, who does that?  Sheesh!)  Ok, by that, I mean she goes out at 5 or 6am, which is akin to hell for me.
Anyhoo-

I had been told by well meaning folk that this would be a good place to find a running group, or any kind of group that might interest me.  I also love to knit and to read (which qualifies me as a dork, but I've accepted this).  So, I gave it a try.

I typed in Women's Running.  On page one, here is what I found:

In the words of Austin Powers "that's not my bag, Baby!"

Yep, that says Boulder's biggest LBGT- Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender- Party.  Huh?  Those silhouettes look like strippers.  How is this a running group?  This was the first listing.

Next came Not Just a Walk in the Park.  Ok, this could work.  I clicked on it.  Ooh- their next meeting is... September 9.  'Kay.  Seems this group may have given up, as it started in August and each event had about 1 attendee, aaaand it looks like she organized the "group".  Sorry, Mary.

As I went down the list, I found Bake for Hope (hosting bake sales to benefit breast cancer research, last met in May; wonder why it didn't work?); Denver Single Women's Group (next meeting is tonight- at the Denver Center for Cosmetic Surgery. What's the subtext here...?  Plus, the aforementioned husband might not dig this idea); and Denver Golf Gals (ok, there's still about 6 inches of snow on the ground.).  I might be missing something, but where is the running aspect of any of these groups?

A little further down, I noticed Bodies Built By God.  Not sure what to say about this one, but with 90+ religious wars raging around the world at any given time, I'm thinking God doesn't give a crap about the cellulite on my thighs...  This is apparently a private group, but here is, in part, their statement:

If you thirst for worship and could use a little exercise at the same time, or maybe you are curious about Jesus but have never been involved with church or community, then we would love to invite you to come join Bodies Built By God. All fitness levels are welcome so please give us a call or email to reserve your spot in one of our classes. We would love to have you be part of our community where God works your body and your soul at the same time.

Wow.  Does this mean God is leading the class?  I wonder what he looks like in a leotard?

I'm going to Hell, no doubt about it.

Next I tried Knitting.  1. Practice Chinese in Denver.  2. Tots at 5280- "focused on developing new friendships for toddlers between the ages of 1-3 ".  Do toddlers really have that much trouble finding friends?  Do toddlers even care about finding friends??

Ok, I am ON A ROLL!!  What if I wanted to to join a book club near me?  This is kind of fun... I typed in: "reading."

Really?

I think I'll run alone.