I ‘like’ you, you ‘like’ me..

…we are happy ‘family’!

Happy, fake and useless family created by algorithms, that is.

Lately I’ve seen a rise of FB pages, groups and other websites that promote sharing links amongst commenters and members in order to click on ‘Like‘ for their respective profiles or pages. An actor acquaintance of mine spends hours ‘liking’ other people’s IMDb or FB pages in hopes that the same people return the favor. Hours!!! In the past, I let myself be guilted into taking part in this madness (in one case, I was actually forced into it unless I wanted to be dropped from their ‘clicklist’), but found it to be such a timesuck that I quickly dropped it like a bad habit. Needless to say, I’m not on that ‘click-list’ anymore. Oh snap! Silly me! I’m sure my acting career is plummeting at the same accelerating speed as my plummeting STARmeter rank! *sigh*.

Those are hours I’d much rather spend working on a monologue, writing a scene or meeting an ‘industry’ friend in person. You know…in real life….with real people that I actually like…for real. I’d rather go out there and audition; or better yet, make friends on a film set or stage after (hopefully) doing a great job.

“Oh, but it’s for marketing yourself and putting your face out there“,  blah blah…

I get it, but really? Wouldn’t you rather have people like you for you? For your talent and what you actually do? Call me naive, but I’d rather not beg strangers to ‘like’ me on a page that isn’t even part of my own website.  If I ‘like’ somebody online, it’s because I actually do. Or I’ve actually seen their performance and loved it! Sometimes I wish there was a ‘love’ button. There are so many other, interactive and fun ways to put yourself out there!

Don’t get me wrong – I spend a lot of time on the internet myself (helloooo….blog much?) and I use the amazing array of info available on such sites as ActorsAccess, CastingAbout and yes, even IMDbPro, but this whole ‘I like you, if you like me’ thing just feels icky to me and I’d rather spend my time in a more productive way.

If I’m wrong, please educate me! I’m sure it has some use, somehow, right? Otherwise, why would people do it? Or is it just a fad? People being ‘sheeple’? Seriously, anybody with real and concrete insight, please, please tell me how an IMDb STARmeter ranking is important to me; or how the number of ‘likes’ is useful to me as an actor (besides stroking my ego)? Much appreciated!

Meanwhile, I’ve got some casting notices to peruse. Toodles!