Do You Matter?

Let’s explore a simple question: do you matter?

If you were to suddenly disappear from the Facebook News Feed, would people miss you? Would someone call you and beg for your return? If you were to stop Tweeting today, would your followers notice? Would they care enough to do whatever it takes to get you back?

I probably don’t matter (at least in those places). Blend doesn’t really matter either (yet).

In a world in which we have an infinite number of Facebook friends and Twitter followers, it’s hard for any one of them to matter more than the next. The truth is that with so many options on the table, almost each and every one of them can be replaced by someone else. In fact, with modern technology, you can probably write a script to replace people for you automatically. Social media and social networks make finding a better you easier than ever before.

This is a problem for anyone who wants someone else to listen. Even if you have listeners today, if your audience doesn’t shed at least a little tear when you disappear, they’re really only along for the ride. They like you, but they haven’t yet fallen in love.

If Apple were to close its doors tomorrow, an army of fanboys (myself included) would be up in arms outside of Steve Jobs’ house. If TED stopped posting its daily talks, its online following would flood Chris Anderson’s inbox. If Seth Godin stopped writing his blog, his subscribers would start a new page on Squidoo entitled “What happened to Seth?”

Why? Because Apple, TED, and Seth are irreplaceable. For a variety of reasons, the things they do are so important to people that if they were to suddenly stop doing them, they’d have a tiny riot on their hands.

If you’d like to see if you matter, stop Tweeting for a week. Don’t post a blog. Ignore everything on Facebook. If even one person cares enough to want you back, you matter (at least to somebody). If the world goes on as usual, do something a little differently. Be weirder. Be smarter. Be funnier. Be someone that people want to fall in love with. Be someone who’s missed even if you’re only gone for a second. Be irreplaceable. Oh, and matter.

• By Patrick Widen

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About The Author

Patrick Widen

Patrick began his career in design at the age of twelve, later starting his design firm, Foozoo Design, while still a senior in high school. In the rebellious years of his youth, he virtually ignored his high school curriculum in favor of pursuing his own academic career in marketing, psychology, and design. 400 books, three companies, and a cocktail of interesting experiences later he opened the doors of Blend to help companies dive into design and create products, services, and experiences that make people smile. When he's not working, Patrick is also student at Vanderbilt where he is exploring the connections between neuroscience, design, marketing, and economics. It is his hope that through these connections he will soon begin to find the answers to the questions that he believes will change the world for the better and make each and every inch of it a better place for the people that live there.