10,000 Likes - The 5 figure like club!

A short while ago, my NamePros account crossed the mark of 10,000 likes. It comes with an instruction:



I guess this is like "Fight Club" only apparently I am supposed to say something.

If you would have asked me 18 months ago about that topic, I would have said with absolute confidence that this would not be happening.

I find "likes" useful for one simple reason — it is a resonance indicator, i.e. a barometer of whether or not your message is helpful to the community, regardless of whether or not everyone agrees with it.


So with that as context, here is my free advice for anyone seeking to establish a foothold on NamePros and to join this 5-Figure Like Club:

• Be helpful: Regardless who you are, it is for sure that you can be helpful. Know your strengths and talents, and just start being helpful or at least encouraging. People will appreciate you.

• Be engaged: If you read someone’s stuff, engage with it. A like, thank, tag, or follow is feedback, even if you don’t comment on it. This means engaging as a registered user rather than lurking anonymously.

• Be authentic People value consistency. You can only be consistent if you are authentic. So, I advise to be clear on who you are and to know what you are about. I think it helps to have purpose.

• Be kind: This place can be hostile at times. I find that you can be genuine without being snarky. Authenticity should come from a place of love, not ego. Easier said than done but try anyway!

• Be courageous: If you are active on NP, you can expect to draw hostile fire. I find it is better to be loved by a few than to be tolerated by many. This is easier for those with eternal perspective.

• Be tolerant: It is not a secret that I am a Bible-believing Christian. As such, I sincerely try to judge nobody. I also sincerely try to love everyone and to be optimistic about their (hidden) good qualities.

• Be patient: NamePros is a place where you get out of it, what you put into it. There is a payoff. However, it comes late, is hard to measure, does not come easy, and comes with consequences.

• Be curious: There are some very clever and connected people here. You can learn a ton from them, both from reading public posts but especially via PMs and offline engagement.

And when in doubt about what to post or not post, I suggest: when in doubt, leave it out. If you think there is a risk that your post will backfire horribly, I would probably leave that out. However, don't be timid.

I am not sure how big this 5 figure like club is, but I hope that there will be many more inductees in the years ahead as we all work together to make NP awesome and to make the pie bigger for everyone!

I want to thank @MapleDots for starting it all. I also want to thank @Mod Team Alfa, @Mod Team Bravo, @Mod Team Echo and @Mod Team Foxtrot for being patient with me while I learned the rules!




Good luck.