It was my first high school job. I worked at a bakery and had a lot of time on my hands to think in between the occasional homeless person asking for a slice of bread. At one point, I had a good handful of bills in my palm and it dawned on me how ridiculous the idea of money was. Simple, yet complex pieces of paper that we pass back and forth for this and that.
Money is not valuable - what it represents means everything.
So then again the other day, as I was driving and both the kids had fallen asleep, my mind wandered back to that moment (I don't know, maybe I was hungry for a good slice of bread). And I started to think about commerce in this new way of living.
The commerce of likes.
In the world of blogging, we trade back and forth likes, shares, and comments. Virtual pats on the back for this and that.
Some people never participate - they are the homeless stealing peeks. Or maybe they just feel like they don't belong, like the internet is a club and they don't want to be noticed for fear of rejection. Some people participate in everything they see - like an interactive newspaper filled with doodles and mustaches drawn on all the faces for giggles. And some take value in what they see, participate meaningfully, and actively share.
I get that this is silly. I get that it might not mean anything to some people, but to those of us who work hard to contribute, a like has a whole new meaning. One like here and there is nice, but just like money if you stack up a whole bunch of likes into a big heaping pile, people start to notice. People who have actual money to give. People who have actual jobs to offer. People who actually have an interest in investing to see what comes next.
So, if you like something you see on the internet and usually do nothing but scroll on by, please slow down and offer some currency in the form of a like.
