What you're paying attention to is a choice.
As Seth says in this video, the Internet is this giant cocktail party where thousands and thousands of people are busy with activity to keep score: Who's talking about me today? Who's "buzzing" about my business today?
Then the day comes, when you need them to authorize a transaction - or do something on your behalf - all this activity doesn't matter. What matters is where are the real relationships? You know, the people (and they could be customers, too) who are connected to you or you feel connected to by real things.
Like Seth, I have those kinds of relationships - because I worked at cultivating them. Doing worthwhile things for each other, exchanging value (often when no requests were made, out of the pleasure of helping someone).
Networking is always important when it's real, and it's a dreadfully useless distraction when it's fake. It's very easy to be seduced by fake networking - it looks easy, it is easier now that more people have access to the Internet.
Go ahead, measure popularity with whatever tools in fashion at the moment. It just doesn't translate. What translates is what has always worked - genuine, real, relationships with people who would go out of their way to help you, and people you'd go out of your way to support.
If you missed this, here's a brand new opportunity: Go out of your way to support those people you want to have a relationship with. That's how, one day, you are connected by real things.
[YouTube 2:12]
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