Estimating My Facebook Reach

I'm no longer arguing with people on Facebook. There's no point in trying to convince anyone about anything using arguments. However, I still present facts on Facebook because properly presented facts cannot be argued with. Only opinions and value statements are open for discussions.

The problem with this strategy is that hardly anyone clicks on the various like buttons, so I end up with the feeling that I'm talking into a void. There's also no way to figure out if the information I present is appreciated. However, there is a way to monitor both reach and degree of appreciation on Facebook, and I've recently applied this trick.

I posted this picture of myself with with no other text than: Me and my #sunflower.

Me and my sunflower

The only thing remotely political about this picture is that it is taken on June 28 in Porto, when temperatures normally are in their mid to high 20C. Why am I wearing a sweater? But I don't think anyone picked up on this detail, and it wasn't my intention to make this about the climate. The day just happened to be cooler than normal.

As it turned out, I got 25 reactions and several comment, all positive. That's more than enough for me. I'm not out for likes and friends. My political agenda is not about me. I want to stoke the network effect, and 25 people is plenty for this purpose.

Not everybody is inclined to hit the like button, so my reach is most likely wider than 25 people. But the 25 people that did react positively to my picture are likely to be especially susceptible to my posts. They may not propagate my presented facts directly, but they will likely develop some apprehension when it comes to things and ideas that I target.

I present monthly updates on notable deaths, and Wikipedia's numbers for this June look likely to come in at levels similar to 2020 and 2021.

Notable deaths according to Wikipedia

This is a fact. There's no arguing with the figures. It's also a fact that there's been unusually many cases of SADS since May and June 2021. I don't need to present my personal opinion about these facts. People can connect the dots themselves. I may add that SADS remains a mystery despite great efforts by medical researchers to find out what may be causing it. That's borderline mockery of the entire medical establishment, but still a fact.

Now that I know that I have a willing audience of 25 friends, I can present my updated numbers next week, safe in the knowledge that the information will register with about that many people. They will in turn be reluctant to take their boosters, and they will discourage their nearest and dearest from taking it as well. As many as a hundred people may in this way change their minds about the vaccine, which is sufficient reach for me to make my presentation of facts worth while.

By Facebook, Inc. - http://en.facebookbrand.com, Public Domain, Link