The last big party I threw was five years ago. It was my 30th birthday costume party, and a ton of guests came, and there was music and booze and lots of pictures… It was epic. Since then, however, I have tried to throw other big parties, and dutifully posted each event on FaceBook; but it doesn’t seem to matter whether I invite twenty people or fifty, the only ones who show up are the same four loyal friends, over and over. It’s odd.
Last week I decided to throw one of my old Chicken Kiev parties, where I cook Russian food and invite people to eat it. Pretty straightforward. I used to do this annually, but stopped when it got too depressing, what with no one coming and all. So this time I didn’t even post it, I just called five people and told them it was happening.
Six showed up.
So, for the first time in years, it wasn’t 10% of my guest list that arrived…It was 120%. What could this possibly mean? Is it a fluke? Am I crazy? Or is there an actual inverse correlation between social media and social reality? Perhaps it’s not just me; perhaps others have noticed that the more they see friends online, the less they see them in person. And that posting an Event on FaceBook is like advertising a farmers’ market on the front of a vending machine. People will notice, nod…and go for the junk food interaction instead. Why not? It’s right there.
So, I will no longer post events online. If I’m inviting you to a thing, you will know because I’ll contact you, personally; with a text, or a phone call, or a snailmail invite, or smoke signals. One of those.
This may not change anything, but I already feel better.
Last week I decided to throw one of my old Chicken Kiev parties, where I cook Russian food and invite people to eat it. Pretty straightforward. I used to do this annually, but stopped when it got too depressing, what with no one coming and all. So this time I didn’t even post it, I just called five people and told them it was happening.
Six showed up.
So, for the first time in years, it wasn’t 10% of my guest list that arrived…It was 120%. What could this possibly mean? Is it a fluke? Am I crazy? Or is there an actual inverse correlation between social media and social reality? Perhaps it’s not just me; perhaps others have noticed that the more they see friends online, the less they see them in person. And that posting an Event on FaceBook is like advertising a farmers’ market on the front of a vending machine. People will notice, nod…and go for the junk food interaction instead. Why not? It’s right there.
So, I will no longer post events online. If I’m inviting you to a thing, you will know because I’ll contact you, personally; with a text, or a phone call, or a snailmail invite, or smoke signals. One of those.
This may not change anything, but I already feel better.