Connections. That seems to be the word of the week followed by followers. Everything is about connecting to others, but have you considered the type of connection you'd like to have with people?In a previous guest post on Chris Brogan's blog, I wrote about my frustrations with the decrease in connections as my network increased. I highlighted popular and increasing problems with managing a network or community of over 500 people. One topic I failed to touch is whether or not those connections were short-term or long-term.
Short-Term Connections
If the connections are short-term, then an increase in followers might not be very hard to manage after all. You'll get immediate gratification and so will that follower, without the headache of maintaining that relationship. It's practically a win-win situation for everyone.
Long-Term Connections
However, if the connection is long-term an increase in followers might be the worst thing to ever happen to you. Previous connections may start to fall off the map and new connections may become harder to make.
Think about what type of connection you want to make with the majority of your readers. I use the word majority because it's hard to sustain long-term connections as the number of connections you attempt to make increases. You can't always pick and choose what type of connection you'd like to have with individual people across social networks. To tools to do so effectively just aren't available yet. Nevertheless, it's important that you establish what type of connection you'd like to make and apply the strategies you have for that type of connection with the majority of your audience.
In the long run, it'll make managing and making connections a lot easier on you and your audience.
Read more by Corvida Raven at SheGeeks.net.