It might seem like a no-brainer to most people what it is that determines how successful a person is on social media but for me, I'm still in a position of trying to work out exactly how this all works. Whether it's because someone's profile picture might have some kind of bearing on other's perception of them at first glance or whether people just seem to intuitively know what a person is like through social media even if they have never met that person in real life. Like they can just pick up on their personality traits right off the bat and whether that alone influences their decision to identify with that person and follow their life? In this case, I think it'd make sense to call myself new to the whole social media thing, not because I've literally only just started creating online accounts and such, in fact I've been active on social media for a number of years, but because I've never really experienced or enjoyed the kind of success that comes so easily to others on social media.

What kind of success is it you seek? All you get on social media is praise, and maybe some kind of adulation, or rep points, or LIKES. Is that your goal? Define success, so we can know what the heck you're talking about.

Success on social media is the modern day equivalent of the famous Fifteen Minutes of Fame, coined by Andy Warhol.

15 minutes of fame is short-lived media publicity or celebrity of an individual or phenomenon, but in the this online age such fame is transient and fleeting...

I spend most of the day on Facebook. It's heaven for me and other seniors who don't get out. I also live in a very rural area. I first connected with a few high school friends who live near me, and gradually connected with many friends from all the decades of my life. Then their friends, some anyway - those who wrote things I liked, OR argued with. I am not about likes. I enjoy really feisty arguments, but have some friends who won't tolerate people who disagree on politics, religion, abortion, pot, vaccines, you name it. I now have FB friends in Europe and India. Family too, and extended family! Although my brother recently unfriended me for being sarcastic about his pseudo science....

My advice is to take it slow, and to ignore the concept of 'success!' What's that, number of friends? I have a friend who accepted the maximum (5,000? 500?) just for fun. Meaningless.

You can spell and write just fine, so WRITE your thoughts and experiences! It isn't all about photos, you know. How many times do I want to see the same person? I try to write something interesting, with a funny last line, once a day or so.

Don't look at "Success" as a factor on social media. You will only be fooling yourself. Because define success? What difference does it really make? Social media today really is no different than hanging out at the mall with your friends was 20 years ago. There really wasn't a real "success " parameter involved there either.

Look at it as am I having fun or not... which is a more reasonable expectation of social media.

For me social media is a way to connect with people I otherwise wouldn't be able to connect with. I started on Facebook because a friend from this site nagged at me until I set up a profile. I really had no interest in it at all. But once I set up a profile I realized how wonderful it could be. I added friends, and family, especially my family in Germany who are too far away for me to talk to on a daily basis. I also added people I had met online, and continue to do so, but for me to add someone I have to have a connection with them, not just a friend of a friend.

For me it's about having fun, and also about having a place to vent when crap happens in my life. I don't care about likes, I don't want to have 500 friends most of which I don't know. For me it's truly about connecting with people I like. I also enjoy a good debate and FB is a great place for that, if you can find people that also don't mind a good debate.

So stop worrying about success, whatever that means, and just have fun. If you want recognition then start a YouTube channel, post interesting stuff people want to watch. But good luck with that, it's not easy.