Every day I find more and more influence graders online.  The basis for these false metrics are number of followers or friends, number of tweets, retweets and links.  All of these things are arbitrary and do not speak in any way to the impact we have on other people’s lives.

Have you ever wondered about the people whose lives you impact daily simply by being online and having conversations?

You don’t have to be a “person of influence” to be influential. In fact, the most influential people in my life are probably not even aware of the things they’ve taught me.

- Scott Adams

So tell me, what is “real”

Many times I have seen social networking minimized, put in a sad little box called “much ado about nothing”.  People who think they know and understand, comment that online relationships aren’t real; that there is something wrong with those who connect and form so-called friendships online.  Let me assure you if you are questioning online relationships – they are very real, very tangible and for many of us,  very important.   There is nothing fake or virtual about online friends and I believe it is an insult to put “online friends” in a different category from “real friends”.

What is a real friend? Does a real friend share life experiences?  We do that online.  Does a real friend comfort you, celebrate with you, cry with you?  We do that online too.  Do you have to be in the same physical space to be a real friend? If so, cross off all those friends of yours who live across the state, on a different coast or in a different country.  In fact, cross off all those “phone friends” too – you know the ones you haven’t seen in months or years but still live across town from you but you never seem to make time to visit them in person.

Outside of the people you interact with every day online, do you think about those you don’t talk to, those who are reading your words, those engaged by your lifestream?  Do you realize that you impact their lives too? 

It all depends on what IS is…

There are people I follow, people whose blogs I visit, whose lives and commentary are priceless to me.  I feel for them.  I am engaged in their very existence in the world.  If I don’t see them online or read something from them with the same frequency I’m used to seeing things from them, I wonder.  If enough time goes by, I worry.  Online people are pretty habitual in the frequency of their interactions. Even when life gets busy, you know this.  I have lost friends who I have only known online.  It has been  no less emotional, no less tragic, and I grieved no less than I do for what some call my “real friends” because my connections are just as deep and just as real. I don’t let distance get in the way of my emotional attachment to others.  Love and friendship know no bounds in my life.

I didn’t think too much about how I might influence or impact others until recently when I was told that my presence would be missed if I went offline.  This caught me off guard because I don’t see my life as particularly interesting to anyone but me, or my words so powerful as to impact others.  Clearly I was wrong – not because I am some sort of superstar, but because we ALL impact people when we interact online.

You never know who is reading your blog, your tweets, or viewing your photostream.  You never know when something you say online reaches into the heart of someone in a bad place and lifts them up.  You never know when your words alter someone’s path, give them hope, give them inspiration or give them the kick they need to act rather than react.  Each of us does this whether we realize it or not.

I am thankful for the people who influence me daily.  I haven’t thanked them…yet.  But I have decided that those who touch my life, who inspire me, who lift me up will know about it whether I interact with them or merely watch them from the sidelines.  I will find opportunities to tell them, to thank them, to let them know they have reached into my life and made me a better person.

Who can you thank today for their influence in your life?

Share and Enjoy

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