As you know I have another online life aside from the blog world. I've been on "social media" as far as the hobby since 2010, first on Twitter and then in the last couple years on BlueSky.
Social media is weird no matter where you are but I like my online friends I've found over there and it's nice to have a place to show cards that doesn't take an hour of dedicated writing.
Still, it's a weird place. When I moved to BlueSky I tried to carve out the niche I had created on Twitter with more than 4,000 followers. I was figuring out the lay of the land. BlueSky is not Twitter -- and thank goodness for that -- but it's not exactly the hobby hub that the old Twitter was.
In an effort to have something to say -- because, brother, I don't care about most of the stuff that is discussed that isn't cards -- I posted a "late night card of the day" from my collection. Just a random card, uploaded after midnight. I have a lot of cards -- why not show how varied they can be and give the night owls something to see when everyone else is asleep?
It kind of caught on. Not a lot. The late night card of the day averages around 25 likes per card (I have 1.4 thousand followers there). And I've been posting a card almost every day, somewhere between midnight and 2 a.m., for just about two years.
Once in awhile, a card really connects with a lot more likes. Nothing viral -- I'm not that kind of an account, and thank goodness because I couldn't handle the replies. It's just interesting to see which cards explode. Most of the time it's totally unexpected and I can't figure out why it received so many likes -- much like when a blog post gets an unexpected number of comments.
The most recent card explosion happened Thursday night/early Friday morning. I posted the above Maury Wills card. Wham. 105 likes. Where'd that come from? It's a nice card. He's always been a favorite of mine, but that rarely means anything.
So I went through and found the 10 "late night card of the day" posts with the most likes, just to see if I could make sense of the reaction. Let's do it.
1. 1973 Topps Willie Mays, 245 likes
Granted, Willie Mays' most famous Mets card and there aren't a lot of Mays Mets cards. But I posted the 1956 Topps Mays as a late night card and it got less than 30 likes.
Reason: There are a lot of Mets fans on BlueSky, maybe more than any other team.
2. 1981 Donruss Mookie Wilson, 229 likes
A well-loved player from the past (if you're not a Red Sox fan). But, again, I posted a different Mookie Wilson late-night card and it didn't come close to this total. It is Wilson's rookie card, I guess.
Reason: See above. Lots of Mets fans over there.
3. 1969 Topps Tony Conigliaro, 197 likes
Reason: One of baseball's most well-known tragic figures. Baseball fans love tragic figures.
4. 1973 Topps Steve Carlton, 144 likes
The most baffling of all the most-liked cards. I posted a different Carlton card, the 1981 Topps one, and it got 22 likes. But this one got people to tell me how much they enjoyed Carlton's career.
Reason: I don't really know. It's an interesting card?
5. 1977 Topps Mark Fidrych, 139 likes
I like this card so much, and it is such a big part of my childhood that it's like a well-loved, well-played song, it's lost its meaning a little bit. But I was made aware of how popular Fidrych and the card was (again, another Fidrych late-night card didn't come close to this total).
Reason: Baseball sensation, tragic figure, All-Star banner AND rookie cup, baby.
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6. 1991 Fleer Ultra Shawon Dunston, 118 likes
I post a lot of cards that I consider "interesting," whether it's the subject or the picture on the card. But many cards with interesting photos draw 10-20 likes. Why this one?
Reason: It's a great shot and it also shows a Cubs player and an Expos player, two popular teams on BlueSky? But I'm guessing.
7. 1983 Topps Willie McGee, 106 likes
I've been a Willie McGee fan since 1982, even though I rooted for the Brewers in that year's World Series. He's also one of those well-loved, "pop culture" players. But I didn't expect such a reaction.
Reason: It's a cool photo, too, and it does show off Shea Stadium.
8. 1999 Fleer Sports Illustrated Greats of the Game Maury Wills, 105 likes (update: it's now at 108)
Reason: Great-looking card. I got to read about fans' interactions with Wills, all of them positive, so maybe that has something to do with it. But it was unexpected.
9. 1986 Topps Tony Phillips, 80 likes
Reason: Great shot. Glad it made an impression.
10. 1980 Topps Dave Stieb, 79 likes
Reason: Rookie card of a player who has grown in stature since he retired. Also there are many BlueSky Blue Jays fans. I certainly was made aware of that during the last World Series.
So, that was interesting-to-me exercise, anyway. It also caused me to realize I've repeated a few cards as late-night card of the day, which I guess was inevitable since I'm super-casual about this and don't have a check-off list or anything.
People will look at these cards and think, "of course, these are all iconic cards, that's not difficult to figure out." But you don't know all of the late night cards I have posted, more than 600 of them, and a lot of those cards are just as iconic if not more. Then there are cards like the 1986 Fleer Dave Henderson that got 50 likes out of the blue (probably because he's a well-known Mariners broadcaster).
So I don't think there is any definitive reason, other than, that's social media. It's weird.
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