5000+ upvotes? Really!
Not more stuff about the Internet!
Most of my writing for the Internet on Quora might as well be consigned to outer space.
Some might feel despondent at the futility of their heartfelt, and occasionally insightful thoughts.
I have written about my rather unique travels in Papua New Guinea, for instance, and received limited attention.
On the other hand, I’ve dashed out a few short pieces that seem to garner plenty, for no apparent reason.
My most read pieces on Quora are as follows:
An overheard conversation in a restaurant: has reached a big 267K worldwide readers.
A short airline flight: 162K.
Escapades growing up in the 1970s: 155K
Freaky nighttime animals in Australia: 142K
Of these, my piece about a free-range childhood has resonated with the most people. Now more than 5000 upvotes.
That’s the random nature of the Internet.
I’m not intending this blog as a standard humblebrag. It’s more as astonishment as what spread of thoughts is possible with this Internet thing.
Many people leaped on board Facebook around 2009 or so. Few of my friends had a smartphone prior to that, and were regarded as a curiosity. Someone who had a lack of attention to what was occurring around them, at that time was regarded with pity. A crazy distraction.
In 12 years or so our minds have been captured by this thing on a fragile box we carry everywhere, that plots our gross movements both in physical space, and online.
We have devolved some of our intimate thoughts to the world of strangers, because, as we know, our family and friends express absolutely no interest in what we have to say.