What Are the Cons of Having a Large Number of Followers Online?

Nik Communication, Productivity, Quora, Relationships, Writing

Sample conversation:

Jay: Hey Nik! I like your answers! I loved the one about how you approach college.

My name is Jay, I’m 18, just about to finish high school and I was wondering if maybe you could help me with something? I’m really struggling with this.

Sooo in a few weeks I’ll graduate and my parents are telling me to study medicine, because they’re both doctors, but I’ve never really identified with medicine. I thought about mechanical engineering. I really like that.

You know, maybe I can even come to Germany and study there? I know you guys are the best when it comes to cars, I’d love to work in the auto industry over there! By the way, how much does it cost to live over there?

Oh and how’s the university of Aachen? I know you went to Karlsruhe and Munich, but what’s your take on Aachen? And Darmstadt maybe? Which one’s better?

Anyhow, what do you think I should do?

Thanks Nik!

-Jay

Nik: Thanks! Don’t try to make your parents happy. Make yourself happy. You’re only responsible for your own happiness, no one else’s. You can live on 500–1000 € a month here, depending on location and level of comfort. Just google the other stuff.

Jay: You really are German aren’t you? Straight to the point. -.-

To all the Jay’s out there: Sending messages like this hurts me just as much as it hurts you. Still, I’m sorry.

  • Sometimes, I’m really pressed for time because I have an exam that day, like today.
  • Sometimes, I’m frustrated because you’ve asked a question I’ve been asked 157 times before.
  • Sometimes, that question is also one Google could answer in 2 seconds.
  • Sometimes, I’m the wrong person to answer that question altogether.
  • Sometimes, I just don’t feel like small talk on the internet.

I’m not arrogant, lack conversational skills or trying to be mean. I’m just a guy who’s self-employed, in college full-time and writing as much as he can.

The best part of having a large following online is I get many humble reminders I’m only human.

The worst part of having a large following online is that these reminders sometimes come at the expense of my fans.

I make mistakes and a lot of them land in your message folder.

I hope you’ll forgive me.

Nik

Niklas Göke writes for dreamers, doers, and unbroken optimists. A self-taught writer with more than a decade of experience, Nik has published over 2,000 articles. His work has attracted tens of millions of readers and been featured in places like Business Insider, CNBC, Lifehacker, and many others. Nik has self-published 2 books thus far, most recently 2-Minute Pep Talks. Outside of his day job and daily blog, Nik loves reading, video games, and pizza, which he eats plenty a slice of in Munich, Germany, where he resides.