Follow Friday

"Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me
In the jingle jangle morning I’ll come followin’ you."

If you're a Twitter user of any duration, you have probably noticed the hashtag FF designation (#FF) from time to time. FF stands for Follow Friday. It is a form of "shout out" to other Twitter users that this person is interesting and someone they not only follow but also recommend following.

Following in history is nothing new. Dylan's Mr. Tambourine Man was about following. The song was an anthem to a discontented generation to follow the beat of a different drum, to dance to a different tune from the culture's reigning materialism. Many parents saw rock and roll as a Pied Piper leading their children astray.

Follow Friday was a spontaneous activity that is now a Friday tradition. There are now even websites that count all the #FF recommendations and rank them, the most recommended Twitter users in the world.

One Twitter user, taking advantage of the Follow Friday tradition has given himself the username @FollowFriday, which is amusing to me.

In the Twitter world being followed, and following, is what the community is all about as you find people with similar interests and share.

In the "real world" I am not so sure being "followed" is quite as enjoyable. Being stalked by strangers is a recurring theme in horror and suspense films... and for good reason. As for online social communities, blogging and Twitter make it easy to be followed in anonymity... and if you are one of those anonymous followers of this blog, I hope I've been making it worth your while to return. And if you'd like to follow me on Twitter, it's @ennyman3

For what it's worth.

Have a very special weekend.