I'm sorry this happened to you. I can't say whether your friend meant to screw you over or not, because I have no way to know, but it seems as if telling you about the contest would have been fair.

I disagree that social media measures our greatness. I don't think it means squat, actually. I've seen some pretty scummy people with an awful lot of friends, both on social media and in real life. Because you don't have followers is no reflection on your talent. You could be an undiscovered genius.

There's a quote I read somewhere, can't remember where it came from, but I think it fits here. "The only thing anyone needs to know about awards is that Mozart never won any."