In the social media world, I’ve benefited in the great popularity battle of Facebook friend count for two main reasons: 1) I went to a big high school. 2) I went to an even bigger college. For that reason, I’ve been lucky enough to meet and know a lot of people. That doesn’t necessarily mean we were “friends” by any stretch of the imagination, but as Facebook standards have dictated over the last half decade or so, does that really matter?

For those reasons, I’ve amassed a pretty respectable amount of Facebook Friends - 957, to be exact. However, I personally want to see that number dwindle to something a lot closer to my amount of Real Life Friends. Given the amount of numbers saved to my cell phone, that would be several hundred less.

I want less friends for the simple reason that it’ll be less people I bother. With new Facebook security measures that give you no choice in posting certain activities, every time I write on someone’s wall or comment on a post, status, video, etc., it’s subject to being published on my friends’ Newsfeeds. Since I’m active on Facebook and like to write on a friend’s wall to keep in touch or respond to a friend’s comment on my wall or respond to interesting video or article posts or share more than my fair share of Tweeted status updates from the hilarious realm of substitute teaching…well, I really have Newsfeed blow-up potential.

I’ve been blowing up a lot lately, especially since joining Twitter a few weeks ago. However, I’m not going to stop or slow down my social media activity because I have a mental affliction that deludes me into thinking I have important or funny things to say. Because of that, I will say them every time. I have somewhat of a filter, and do occassionally decide against writing certain things in a Tweet or a blog post or a Facebook comment, but that doesn’t make up for all the times I do say what I’m thinking.

For that reason, I’m telling you to unfriend me. If seeing my thoughts is becoming a problem and an annoying staple of your Newsfeed, it’s your choice to remove me. I only say this because a friend recently brought up this problem in a complaint on my wall. Since it’s his choice to be my Facebook friend in the first place, whining about this is the same thing as ordering a steak in a restaurant and then bickering with the waiter because you’re a vegetarian. I can only assume other people share his sentiments, though, since there are plenty of people in that population of 957 that don’t know or care about me enough to want to listen to a half dozen Twitter/status updates a day. I absolutely understand. Now simply unfriend me and we’ll both be on our way. Please and thank you.

I don’t intend on changing the way I do things because there are enough people who seem to enjoy what I have to offer. Take this recent status comment, for instance:

“Keil I got to say that I genuinely enjoy your teaching updates. They give me something to look forward to on facebook while I work. Yes my day is that lame and my job sucks that bad. Lol keep it up!”

Since that was so nice of her, we won’t deduct points for mispelling my name. And that’s from someone I rarely see or talk to. Give me one of those a day and I’m happy. The same goes for my blog. As long as I get the occassional “I really like your blog” from a friend, I’ll keep writing. All I need is the reassurance that one person is reading to know that I actually have an audience, or else I’m just talking to myself. That would make me crazy. I don’t want to be a crazy person. They seem lonely.

As social media like Facebook and Twitter begins to develop from its infancy, it’s clearly evolved into more than just a socializing tool. Personally, I will use it to self-promote because I have a product that I need to get out there. The product is Me, a writer who, like most writers, wants to be read. I want to entertain people, whether it’s with a blog post, a short story, or a witty Tweet, the same way I’ve wanted to entertain my peers since I was a wise-ass kindergartener cracking too many jokes in Mrs. Gingereau’s class.

If you have a problem with my means of doing so through these social mediums, the solution is quite simple and I urge you to do it: Unfriend me.

If not, I’m glad to have you along for the ride.