October 27 will mark the day I first joined facebook back in 2007 after years of being a dedicated AOL and then MySpace member.

Since then I'd like to say I have used this social network as a vehicle to drive my meatball business through my various other social media networks. This is something I urge anyone in any business to do, but do it in a fun way so it's not just shameless self-promotion, but in reality that is still what it is! I like social media because I am always engaging with people who in turn consciously or subconsciously could become a customer and to me customers are friends. That's why my profile is 100 percent public, because I have nothing to hide and will continue to share everything in my world with others.

Some may not use facebook like that and that's OK, but I have no qualms about showing pictures of my kids equally as much as pictures of my meatballs. Human interest and relationships are important to me both personally and professionally and I don't use a traditional website, this is my website. Totally interactive at all times, and everything I post has a purpose and meant to appeal to all. That's why I don't engage in divisive conversations.

In six years I am proud to say I have amassed 5,000 friends on here plus nearly 700 more followers, a combined 5,000 “likes” on my 5 fan pages, plus another 600 friends on my secondary seldom used screen name and have a growing Italian chat group of 600+ members. From facebook, I have in turn been able to build another 500 twitter followers, 700 instagram followers, all of which has enabled me to gain over 30,000 views on my 50+ videos on my youtube channel. But I'm not bragging, I'm not a big celebrity or even an internet celebrity by “viral” standards.

These numbers may seem quite low to those who have millions of fans. And at one time I had a reach of millions of people when I was on a national reality show. But I like to take credit for what I've been able to build SINCE that reality show.

I explained in a recent interview on blogtalkradio how I have a cross-section of people who wanna be friends—folks both online and on the streets—half remember me from my VH1 days and half just know me from what I've done since in the food biz. It certainly touches me that I left an impression on reality TV when I can get recognized from that experience which was over two years ago, but I am even more touched when they recognize my work as Johnny Meatballs.

And as I said, I won't alienate anyone by taking a public “stand” on an issue. My wife and I had a conversation about this recently, and she said she “holds back” on her feelings at times out of fear of upsetting others. She too has people who remember her from her VH1 days, but I was quick to point out to her that many of her followers are also based on what she has done since—especially in the last year managing a top north Jersey medical spa with many high profile clients—many of which she brought over from those reality TV connections. So she is kind of in the same boat where alienating potential clients has to always be taken into consideration.

I posted a status on Columbus Day which got over 200 “likes” and 100 comments which was:

I rarely delete friends and I never discuss politics or religion or medicine on here (or anything controversial or divisive). The topic of Columbus Day falls into that category and just like with any such topic, sorry folks, I choose to not engage here in any debates!! I have one thing to say and this pertains to everything across the board which is: stop with the name-calling and rudeness towards others who may not agree with your stance on an issue. You all know who you are. Seeing status updates of people saying things to the effect of you are stupid / ignorant if you don't agree with this or that... it is quite unsettling. Crazy how whether it's the government shutdown or whether one chooses to get a flu shot or not - whatever the topic - people act like they are God and whoever thinks otherwise is the devil!!! And I'm not God and nobody has to listen to me but many of you would be better off in life if you practiced RESPECT - even if you are 100% against something - because chances are you have friends who on the other side of the subject.

I get my enjoyment by spending time with my kids and stirring the gravy/sauce pot, not the gossip pot. See what I did there, I don't even debate the whole “gravy/sauce” thing! And that is what has helped me build and build my social media following. I have friends who are black, white, gay, straight, republican, democrat, you name it... Johnny's Meatballs are for everyone and I look forward to expanding my reach over the next six years and hitting more benchmarks along the way. I'll probably never be as followed as Justin Beiber...although he was discovered on the internet after all!

----------

2014 will also begin my 5^th year of blogging, and I would not have nearly the audience of readers that I have if it wasn't for facebook and all these other sites where my blog links get shared. Being able to continually reach all of you with my writings on food and entertainment each week is a very special thing and I thank you all for your support! Now if we were to sit here and add up everything I talked about, I think it's safe to say that I have reached a total of somewhere between half a million and a million people collectively and the beauty part is it did not cost me one dime in “advertising.” That's why I am such a big proponent of social media and utilizing the world wide web. And I am going to continue at it until I get on Food Network or spark the interest of an investor or make a connection with someone who can help take me to the next level. I got a lot planned in the next few months so stay tuned for some major announcements...