It was a regular weekend for me, a cricket practice day. For as long as I can remember, I’ve made it a point to keep weekends reserved for some good, refreshing time at our go-to stadium. There’s something special about walking into the ground, holding the bat, hearing the chatter of players, and feeling the crispness of the morning. For me, it’s both exercise and escape.

But this particular weekend turned out to be different.

When I arrived, I noticed that a match was already in progress. It wasn’t just any casual game, this was a company-wide initiative. A branch of an organisation had organised a cricket day, and you could feel the buzz from outside. The players were cheering, the sidelines were packed with colleagues, and there was laughter echoing across the field.

I was about to walk past, making my way to my regular practice corner, when something unexpected happened.

A man stopped me on the road.

He looked at me for a moment and asked, “Are you… Binu Bhasuran?”

At first, I was a little taken aback. After all, we don’t usually expect strangers to call us by name outside a stadium. But then he smiled and said, “I follow you on LinkedIn.”

That single sentence stayed with me.

As I walked inside, a couple of other leaders from the organisation also came up to me. They too recognised me, not because of cricket, not because of work, but because of the words I had shared online. They knew me from the posts I had written, the ideas I had put out into the world, and the conversations we had engaged in digitally.

And in that moment, something clicked for me.

Beyond Numbers, There Are People

We live in a digital world where we’re constantly surrounded by numbers. Followers. Connections. Impressions. Engagement rates. Comments. Shares.

It’s so easy to reduce our online presence to dashboards and analytics. We celebrate a certain milestone of followers. We worry when the engagement graph dips. We chase after reach, often forgetting what those numbers actually represent.

But this weekend reminded me of something so simple yet so profound: behind every number is a real person.

That follower you see on LinkedIn? They’re someone who’s choosing to spend a few minutes of their busy day reading your words. Does that impression count? It represents actual human eyes scanning through your thoughts. That comment? It’s not just text, it’s a real conversation, even if it happens behind a screen.

We often get so entangled in the race for numbers that we forget the essence of why platforms like LinkedIn exist: to connect people. To share ideas. To build relationships that go beyond likes and clicks.

Why This Mattered to Me

As a professional who writes and shares regularly on LinkedIn, I often wonder how much of it really makes a difference. Does it reach the right audience?

Do people truly resonate with it, or do they just scroll past? This unexpected recognition outside the stadium was my answer.

It wasn’t about how many people had liked my last post. It wasn’t about whether my article had “performed” well. It was about connection. About someone reading something I had once written, carrying it with them, and then choosing to acknowledge it in real life.

That, to me, has an impact. And it’s the kind of impact that no graph or algorithm can fully measure.

The Human Side of LinkedIn

LinkedIn is often seen as a professional networking tool, but at its core, it’s a human platform. It’s where people come to learn, share, support, and sometimes even challenge each other.

Your posts might inspire someone silently. Your words might encourage a young professional who’s just starting. Your reflections might comfort someone going through a similar journey.

And sometimes, as I learned, those silent readers turn into real-world faces who stop you on the street and say, “Hey, I follow you.”

If you’ve ever felt discouraged because your content didn’t perform the way you expected, or if you’ve questioned whether it’s worth putting your thoughts out there, remember this:

Every post, every article, every reflection has the power to reach someone. Maybe you won’t always know who. Maybe they won’t always tell you. But your words are making their way into the minds and lives of people.

That is the true beauty of writing and sharing.

And the greatest reward isn’t a number on your dashboard, it’s the realisation that you’ve touched another person’s journey in some way.

For me, that weekend at the stadium was more than just another cricket practice. It was a reminder that LinkedIn is not about numbers, it’s about people.

What about you? What has been your LinkedIn experience? Have you ever had a moment when your digital presence crossed over into the real world?

I’d love to hear your story.