Whats More Important, Tweets or Followers?

I lose precisely one follower every time I tweet. It's been happening for a while. I once enjoyed the prestige of having over 3,000 followers. Today I'm down to 1884 followers. After I post this blog, it will fall to 1883. It's a phenomenon that makes me question if any tweet is worth bringing my false sense of importance closer to zero. 

My predicament is a classic representation of Law 4, "Always Say Less Than Necessary," from Robert Greene's book The 48 Laws of Power. 

"When trying to impress people with words, the more you say, the more common you appear and less in control. Even if you are saying something banal, it will seem original if you make it vague, open-ended, and sphinxlike. Powerful people impress and intimidate by saying less. The more you say, the more likely you are to say something foolish." 

I agree that my espresso martini tweet was a bit banal (to use one of Robert's words) and maybe too precise, but only enough to make one person click "unfollow." That is worst than losing hundreds of fans of espresso martinis. Why? Because with each carefully thought-out tweet, I spark no emotion, just a sigh from a single person thinking, "I don't need to see this anymore." 

I'm unsure if the platform will survive its new owner, so none of this should matter. But like the many blue-checked celebrities who have declared an exit without ever leaving the site, I can't seem to let go of my followers. Even if writing this causes me to lose another. 

So I continue to ask myself, is being silent with followers better than expressing myself to a few? Robert Greene might enthusiastically say, "Yes!" But, like training a dog not to greet you with licks upon your return, what's the point? You risk dog slobber on your pants and frizzled visitors, but you'll miss out on all the good stuff. 

The satisfaction felt by tweeting a comment when forced to be in the company of a stranger's facetime call or sharing a pic of someone's toes peeking out from the edge of your airline seat is unmatched. Even if no one replies, you know the masses agree. 

I will miss you follower 1883, but I'm sticking to my tweet. If your date orders an espresso martini, there is much to overcome, and I think the world should know.