I have a thing for palindromes, which makes my clapping even more random. And with brilliant writing, by writers I love (particularly fiction and poetry, because I know how much work is involved in writing the good stuff) I’ve been happy to give the full 50, or close to it. Thing is, there’s such a huge variance in the quality of writing on this platform, I now quite like that we can put different gauges on our response to individual pieces. But I don’t like this clapping without reading, just because you feel you have to. I’d prefer sincere response, or else it becomes meaningless. And all this angsting about how much to clap and what it all means — clap as you feel, I reckon, and not as others tell you to do.

The follower thing is also slightly problematic. I’m noticing a lot of recent followers popping up, who never seem to engage with or even read my work — so I wonder, why? Are they trying the “follow for follow” technique? Because I see no point in that.

The most meaningful part of this platform, as I’ve found, is when you find your true community, your peeps, so to speak. For me, that’s mainly nestled amongst the wonderful literary publications scattered across this wide platform. And that’s where I’ve found the true support, and burgeoning writer friendships. That — THAT — is what makes it all worthwhile.