Last weekend over coffee, Swami started, not with a question as he often does, but with an observation.
“A few years back, I was told that I need to post on LinkedIn regularly twice a week for it to work,” he started. “Only then will there be recognition of my knowledge and expertise as a consultant, they said.”
Jigneshbhai who wasn’t much into LinkedIn looked up in eagerness but didn’t say anything. Swami continued.
“I need to blog or write or post something or keep commenting to seal it. That’s what they said. It doesn’t matter what I post, as long as there is a base volume.”
I could identify with what Swami said. I generally end up listening to my friends talk but this time I couldn’t resist.
“They said the same thing about Amazon and Instagram for me,” I said. “You should post your book covers on Instagram and make sure that the reviewers comment or like or repost them. Only then your books will get noticed, they said,” I added.
Jigneshbhai looked up to me this time, surprised, but still remained silent. So I continued, much like Swami does.
“Then they said I should have a website. I should have a blog and post articles there that should have keywords, they said,” I reported. This seemed to have triggered Jigneshbhai into some action.
He kept his coffee cup aside and asked, “Who are they?”
Swami and I stared at each other. We didn’t quite have an answer to this upfront question. We scratched our heads.
Like always, it was Swami who replied. “Well, they are the people who had supposedly used these platforms successfully before.”
“So, you tried it based on what they said. Did it work for you?” Jigneshbhai asked a pointed question again.
Swami and I glared at each other again. None of it had worked – for us, at least. Both of us shook our heads without saying anything.
“Why?” asked Jigneshbhai, a question for which again we had no clear answer.
“Maybe I didn’t persist,” Swami said.
“Maybe I didn’t spend enough,” I said.
“Maybe you don’t know,” Jigneshbhai said, with a snigger. Maybe, no – definitely, he was right. We remained silent.
Jigneshbhai took a couple of sips from his coffee cup. We knew something was brewing.
“Did you get any job or clients due to your reputation on LinkedIn?” he asked Swami.
Swami scratched his chin, and replied, “Umm.. not really. Clients never came looking for my LinkedIn, nor did jobs come based on LinkedIn. But some of them did check my LinkedIn after I started working with them.”
Then Jigneshbhai turned to me. “Did you get any readers from Instagram or your blog?” he asked.
It was my time now to scratch my chin. I never found a single reader who chanced upon my website while searching for something to read. Or a reader who went to Amazon looking for something to read, and because I turned up in some search, went ahead and bought my books.
“Umm.. not really. But after someone told them about my writing or they read something about my books that triggered their interest, they went and checked my site or Amazon or Instagram, sometimes,” I replied.
“There you have it,” Jigneshbhai remarked, and set us thinking.
But before we could put on our thinking hats for more, he said, “If everyone is trying to establish their reputation with LinkedIn posts, and everyone is on Instagram or Amazon trying to get their books searched on, who is everyone working for?”
Swami and I were blank, and stayed that way while Jigneshbhai continued.
“Is everyone working for the algorithm? If that is the case, won’t the algorithm stop working for you?” he asked.
Swami and I did not have an answer. But Jigneshbhai had one.
“It is better not to work for the algorithms. It is best to work for yourself,” he said. “Let the jobs and clients and readers come if they do. They will come due to your work, not just the algorithms,” he said. “And if they don’t, you might as well enjoy working for yourself,” he added, with a loud guffaw.
Swami and I grudgingly noted that Jigneshbhai had switched on some light, as always.
As we were lost in our thoughts, we noticed that the wealthy, old man in the sprawling bungalow had been listening to our conversation. He walked up to us, and left us with more as we took the last few sips of our coffee.
“Work for yourself well. Maybe you will find others who like it. Then work for them. That is far better than working for the algorithms and wondering who do you work for?”
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