On my YouTube account I post a variety of tutorials for those interested in the same subjects that interest me. While some YouTubers are Influencers who see this sort of thing as a side gig that they hope to make money at, I aim mainly to do something I enjoy, which is talking about subjects I like and engaging with others who share my interests. YouTube is a video sharing platform, so my videos are meant to be seen by anyone but of course only those who are interested in the subject will take the time to watch them. They do not get many views. The most my views any of my videos has received is 1300 views. Most get from a range of 50 to 250 views. I have tried to replicate the kind of thing I did with my most viewed video but it has never gotten me the same number of views, so I am not sure if that one was a fluke or not.
The tie-signs being displayed on my channel include like signs and comments from people who follow or visit my channel. I will post responses to comments and so over time it becomes apparent that we have a social media relationship. These are the two main tie signs, but I will also show who I follow on my main page, which is a third tie sign.

I demonstrate these tie signs without really thinking about it but just because they are the nature of the medium: likes show how many people appreciate the uploads you post, showing who you follow helps to drive traffic to other people so you can help them that way, and posting messages to people leave comments is a great way to keep people coming back to the page, which can drive up the view count. So in a way, the tie signs are for my own personal benefit, but they are also for the benefit of others on social media as well as for the general public.

I do not fabricate any of these tie-signs, but I am aware that some people do on social media. For example, I have heard there are click farms where people pay money to a company that will drive up the clicks on a video and increase the views by a hundred thousand; I have heard that one can drive up the number of one’s followers on Facebook or Twitter by paying a company to create fake accounts to increase one’s followership. These are all examples of fabricated tie-signs that are meant to make it look like one is more popular with the general public than one really is. I do not engage in these strategies because, one, they cost money, and, two, they seem deceptive—though if one is going to think of social media as a type of business it is understandable that some people would resort to these tactics.

People I interact with on my YouTube page are generally interested in the same subject that I am making videos about. Many of them are YouTubers as well and post their own videos on subjects. We exchange comments about different details about the subject of the video and it is always in good spirits. I very rarely receive any mean or nasty comments from posters. As Granovetter states, these are “strong ties” rather than “weak ties” because we have something in common and enjoy leaving comments for one another: in fact, it is one of the highlights of...…tone should be upbeat and friendly. People who act aggressively or with hostility towards others are routinely blocked on social media as the space is supposed to be positive rather than hurtful. So I do not have to ask people to be courteous on my pages, I it is just an assumed rule that most will follow. Of course, I always have the option of turning comments off, but I like to keep it open because it encourages people to come back to the page more and more to catch up on conversations and to see what others are posting. It is a way to encourage discussion and debate and I think that is an important part of social media socialization.

The one danger in it all is that people can begin to get down on themselves if they are comparing their channels with the channels of other people who are essentially putting up the same content but have way more followers and views than you do. You can begin to lose confidence in yourself and feel silly for even trying to gain an audience in such a busy platform. However, I have to remember that comparison is a thief of joy and that everyone is different so there is no point to compare oneself to others. The better thing to do is to try to identify what it is that makes your own channel special and unique and focus on developing that aspect more because that will help the real you to come out and provide others with an even more interesting viewing experience because it will be one that is different and not just the same old same old. At the end of the day, we are all entertainers on social media.

Works…