The Surprising Benefits of Writing Online

You’ll never guess who follows me

This is not me. But this is probably how I’d react if an actual famous person genuinely engaged with a story of mine. Photo by Boudewijn Huysmans on Unsplash

I have a famous follower.

She is a big-time movie star. It’s very possible it’s not her but somebody using her name. It could even be a bot.

But it’s fun to imagine the big-time celebrity, sitting in her fancy house surrounded by fancy stuff, looking at her phone. Stumbling onto the story I wrote about her last year.

It’s fun to imagine, period. That’s part of the beauty of writing and reading. Creating images with your words and making other people see them.

I could see Angelina Jolie being here to give fans behind-the-scenes access to her life or clear up rumors. Maybe diss Brad Pitt or explain her political beliefs.

But she hasn’t done any of those things. Did Angelina Jolie create her account just to follow me?

Author’s screenshot. It’s a little weird for a celebrity to only follow two people and never do anything else. If you’re trying to scam me, you’re doing a terrible job. You didn’t ask for money or provide a telegram number like everybody else. Also, for all of the talk about eliminating disingenuous comments, it’s not very reassuring to see a (most likely) disingenuous account here.

You’re probably saying to yourself, “Wow, that’s impressive. Well done. I wish an Oscar-winning humanitarian followed me.”

But after you’ve thought about it for a second, you’re thinking “So what? It’s not her. And even if it is, it’s not like Angelina Jolie…