If you work in midtown Manhattan, you’re likely to know the food cart I’m talking about. It’s the one on 53rd and 6th with 30 people waiting in line. They’re waiting to eat middle eastern food sold from a cart the size of a mini-copper. And they wait at all hours. When I passed by at 10 pm at least 50 people were in line. When I asked them if the food was “that good” to merit the line, they responded, “well, I saw the line, so it must be.”

I believe the same psychology of lines applies to Twitter. So often people use following / follower ratio to determine who they want to follow before actually “trying the food.”

There are many ways to cause lines to form, yet far fewer to cook a great meal.

There is something beautiful about building a profile in an online community for the first time.
It’s a bit like falling in love.
Here you are with a blank slate in front of you.
You chose what to show this new world.
What books you read. Songs you like. Pictures you wish to share.
You select who you will friend.
And why.
You determine how much to share.
And whether to connect this world to others.
If you want to be discovered.
And by whom.

When is the last time you joined a social network you made a deep commitment to?