I've been reading through Facebook groups, pages, conversing with "friends," etc., and finding much discussion of "likes."

Turns out, there a lot of people out there who place more importance on how many "likes" their photos get than I would have thought.

Honestly, I rarely even notice how many "likes" my photos get. I post my photos so people can see them. I know clients and potential clients like to see them, and I know I sure do enjoy looking at photos of nails, so I figured other nail techs might enjoy seeing mine too. But whether or not you make the effort to "like" them doesn't faze me.

But what kinda surprises me — and maybe concerns me a bit — are some discussions that lead me to believe that if someone "likes" my photos, I'm supposed to return the favor.

What if your photos aren't any good? What if your nails aren't any good? What they're perfectly fine, but not to my liking? Really? I owe you a "like" just because you "liked" mine?

Well then stop "liking" my photos. I don't want people randomly going through "liking" my photos just because they're trolling for some love. I want you to "like" my photos because you like them! "Like" them because you like the nails, "like" them because you like the photo, "like" them because you like them, not because you hope that I will notice the "like" and then feel obligated to reciprocate.

I had no idea that's how people were using the "like" button. And it seems that some people consider failure to reciprocate very rude. Who knew? Here I thought people were "liking" my pictures out of a genuine desire to communicate that they appreciated my work.

Live and learn. But meanwhile, if you are really on a mission to collect "likes," you need to make sure your photos are sharply focused and well lit enough to make out the details of the nails. Post more than five photos. Don't post 30 photos of nails that all look exactly the same. Make your photos public — this allows more people to see them. More viewers = more people to "like" what they see.

Meanwhile, I just have to go on record to let everyone know, if I don't "like" your pix in return, it isn't personal. I probably like you just fine. But I'm pretty lazy about "liking" things on Facebook. I just don't feel obligated to follow back everyone who follows me on Twitter, or "like" back everyone who "likes" something on Facebook.

Honestly, this social media thing is getting too much for me to keep up with.