Begging is adorable from dogs, but from humans, not so much. Creative Commons photo credit: Melanie Levi [link]

“Oh my God, I’m really desperate!”

“How about some pity sex? No? At least follow me back on Twitter…?!”

No mature, well-adjusted person would ever stoop to that level, right? And yet…

Here are a few examples of groveling that are, shall we say, unbecoming.

  1. Tip jars at self-service fast food joints.
  2. “Please subscribe to our newsletter before reading any of the article hidden by this popup!”
  3. “Aw, come on, I took you to a nice dinner! How ‘bouta kiss?”
  4. Senator Ted Cruz asking each of his supporters to find nine friends to vote for him.
  5. And… [drumroll]……….. imploring people to please, pretty please click the little heart on your Medium post.

The last one, at least, has some reasonable justifications.

Not everyone knows how (or why) to recommend an article, and I think Medium could do a better job surfacing this feature.

Also — playing devil’s advocate for a moment — some espouse that “If you don’t ask, you won’t get!” aka “Be direct and ask for what you want in life.”

Still, there’s that unmistakable whiff of desperation when you ask people to “like” (or favorite or recommend or share) your content online.

Let’s take the high road together, encouraging Medium to do more to surface talented-but-not-yet-popular writers…

…while at the same time, confidently allowing our writing be lauded and shared without begging.

Now if you liked this article…

…I’m glad. :)