My art page just hit 500 followers and it feels weird

I started posting my digital paintings on a small site about four years ago, just for fun. Back then, getting ten likes felt huge. The other day I saw the follower count tick over to 500 while I was working on a new piece, and it just stopped me. It's not a huge number, but it's real people who chose to see my stuff. Makes me think about all the art I almost didn't post because I thought it wasn't good enough. What's a milestone that made you pause and look back?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_richard5d ago

Man, I get that weird feeling completely. For the longest time I was convinced that unless you had thousands of followers, it didn't really count for anything. Seeing a number like 500 would have made me shrug. But my cousin is a musician, and he pressed a hundred CDs of his own songs just to give to friends. Watching him hand them out and seeing people actually listen, it flipped a switch for me. That number is a whole crowd of people, all choosing to have your work in their space. It's not a shrug anymore, it's a real thing you built. Hitting that point where it feels solid is a big deal.

susan_ward5d ago

Ever think about how a sold out small club feels compared to a half empty stadium? That hundred CDs is a packed room of people who really want to be there. The connection is totally different. It's not about filling seats, it's about everyone in the room choosing to listen. That kind of attention is way more powerful than a big, quiet number.