Remember back to junior high and high school when all you wanted was to be popular? You would have done anything to get invited to one of the "cool" parties, and if certain people ever looked your way, you would totally freak out.  There were all of the stereotypical cliques, The Breakfast Club personified. What does this have to do with social media? Actually, more than you might think.

Let's compare: There are the well-known, popular bloggers, who have the highest readership, the most trackbacks, subscribers and Twitter followers. Then, there are the people who are super involved in everything. Not only do they blog, but they have accounts on every social network and bookmarking site imaginable, and they're always looking for more. They have seriously considered getting a tattoo that says I heart Twitter.

We all have blog crushes and idols. There are certain bloggers who we totally admire, and who we aspire to like. These are the people we measure ourselves against, and on our toughest days, when self-doubt consumes us, they're the ones who make us wish we could be more. 

Sometimes, publishing a post is like wearing a new outfit to a party. We read over it millions of times, second guessing, until we finally manage to quiet the voice in our head and just go for it. Once the post goes live, we wait for the first comment, hope for discussion, and keep glancing at our Twitter feed so we don't miss any RTs.

You're probably thinking, wow, she's got me figured out. To think about the similarities this way is kind of depressing, but don't worry, there are good comparisons too. It's through these same social media outlets that we form communities. These sites connect us with people we would never have met otherwise. Among them, we will likely find some true friends, and great supporters. One meaningful comment can make up for several posts with none.    

In my opinion, it's worth dealing with the "social" part of social media because the positives far outweigh the negatives. What do you think of this analogy? Have you noticed any social media stratification? Is it worth it for you?