So, the academic paper that I started working on two and a half years ago, finally came out today. It is my first-ever peer-reviewed publication (co-authored with my PhD supervisor), and I am quite proud of it. I let my family know and mailed it to them and a few friends, posted about it o Twitter and Facebook and went back to working on my PhD. I was monitoring how many likes and retweets it was getting on Twitter and till noon it was barely getting any love. I was a little disappointed but didn't give it much attention thinking people were off Twitter as it was the weekend. But, then my supervisor and co-author, who has 50 times as many as Twitter followers as me posted about it, and it exploded. Nothing that I have ever posted has got anywhere near as many likes, tweets and comments as this, and I felt a little overwhelmed. Social media is addictive and ever like or retweet is a nudge of validation that wears of quickly and keeps you wanting more. It is possible to spend inordinate lengths of time staring at your screen, waiting for the likes and retweets to come in. I know because that it was I did today, barely managing to get any work done today. I felt like I was walking on clouds for most of the rest of the day. I realise that this is just the initial reaction. Once people read it and if it half as good as I think it is, they will disagree with parts of it. On Twitter, disagreement is often expressed freely and aggressively. And the nudges of validation could quickly turn into jolts of disapproval which a sensitive soul like me might struggle with.
But, I can worry about the popularity of this article going to my head, I can worry about potential challenges. I can worry about how some glaring errors may have sneaked into the published version, which would be unforgivable for a former journalist like me. And, all this worrying won't make a jot of difference. The simple story is an article that I worked hard on and am proud of has finally seen the light of day. The fuss will settle down sooner than I think and I will go back to working on my PhD.
But, I can worry about the popularity of this article going to my head, I can worry about potential challenges. I can worry about how some glaring errors may have sneaked into the published version, which would be unforgivable for a former journalist like me. And, all this worrying won't make a jot of difference. The simple story is an article that I worked hard on and am proud of has finally seen the light of day. The fuss will settle down sooner than I think and I will go back to working on my PhD.
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