Sometimes I like to read books about manners. I think it has to do with my facination with human behavior and the age old dihlema of whether one ought to look out for the one or the many --give into society and its demands or make their own rules. Such thoughts are stuffed full of things to chew on and rich flavors for fiction. So sometimes I read books about manners, wondering how, why, and if any of them are actually followed.
One such book was Judith Martin's Miss Manner's Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior. A section of it described in detail the Victorian ritual of having afternoon tea with freinds ("Afternoon Tea" not "High Tea". High Tea was for the poorer classes, served at six to replace lunchen and dinner rather than at four as a social event and snack between those meals.)Ladies of rich houses would choose one or two days a week to be "at home" for tea and their friends would know they could stop by any week during those hours to say hello. Likewise one the days a week they were not "at home" for tea they would visit two or three of their friends who they knew were.
Blogging has always reminded me of this. We browse through our reading list and visit various friends to see how they are doing. Some days we make a lot of visits and some days only a few. We know which ones are likely to be "in" with new posts and have semi scheduals in which others know we will be "in". And we get to chat a little and be social about something "normal" people don't know how to talk to us about.
Another section of Miss Manner's Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior discusses cocktail parties. Miss Manners doesn't like cocktail parties as much as she likes afternoon tea. She feels it is a more rushed, new fangled way to make sure all of one's friends are mingled with from time to time. Everyone is invited all at once inseat of continuously throughout the day. The parties are held once every six months or so instead of every week and not nearly as much qualitiy, leasurely conversations are had because everyone is talking at once.
I'm not sure I share Miss Manner's opinion about coctail parties (partly because I am not of the higher social classes who had tea in the Victorian age and throws cocktail parties in this one) but I notice a similar difference between blogging and twitter.
I'm new to twitter. I'm still trying to figure it out. I haven't decided if I like it yet but what I do notice is that much less is said. More people are reached at a time but the messages must be brief and to the point (you know that student who always got marked down for essays that are too long? That was me). When I get on to check my feed I feel so overwhelmed, like everyone is trying to talk to me at once. Like I'm in a room full of chatter and it's so much harder for me to decide who I am going to visit with today. If I am going to meet new people or stay in the corner with my champaigne and chat with my friends. Or if maybe I would rather have stayed home today and curl up with a book by the fire . . .
I don't think I would do very well at real cocktail parties.
But like I said, I'm still figuring out twitter. I will probably eventually find a plan of attack that works for me.
So what about you folks? Have you ever had afternoon tea? Do you like cocktail parties? Do you prefer twitter to blogging? What are your methods of exploration? should we adhere to the needs of the one or the many?
And now for the reason you really decided to have tea with me this afternoon . . .
CONTEST RESULTS!
The ARC of MONARCH and signed copy of SILVER PHEONIX will be sent to J.
Here is her winning entry:
She sat alone, feet dangling off the edge of the world. The wind tugged at her hair, teasing long strands of spun gold from the braid hanging down her back. She could feel tears trailing down her cheeks, leaving cool wet tracks in their wake, but she made no move to wipe them away. She preferred to embrace her grief.
It would be so easy, she thought. So easy to scoot forward several inches, to keep scooting until she toppled off the precipice and ceased to exist. But that would go against everything he had taught her. She could hear the words as clearly as if he’d been speaking directly into her ear. “The best things in life are the hardest. Fight for what you want most.”
She closed her eyes and inhaled, holding tightly to her most secret desire, visualizing it as if it had come to be. She exhaled, releasing her doubts and inhibitions on a tide of carbon dioxide. Carefully, she scooted backward and stood up. She had some fighting to do.
Congradulations J! Very well done.
Showing posts with label Social Networking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Social Networking. Show all posts
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
The Top Ten Reasons I Royally Suck At Social Media-- And The Lessons You Should Learn From Me
Okay, so-- to start this post out, I am going to apologize. Herein lie some of my deepest, darkest secrets (at least about social media). So please be gentle! I'm hoping that by sharing some of my biggest (known) foibles, I can enlighten someone else. And not only that, but maybe hold myself accountable for them all.
Here we go!
10.) I have a social phobia. It's minor, and I'm working on it (ALWAYS working on it), but I have a hard time reaching out to people. I tend to wait until they come to me.
Why this sucks: Social media is all about reaching out to other people. I read lots of blog posts, but I rarely comment on them because I can never think of anything clever to say. And when I do comment, I feel like I mostly just have empty things to say.
What you should learn from me: Well, uh, be more clever? Leave insightful, relevant comments when you can. The people who comment the most on my blogs are the ones whose blogs I read religiously-- whether I comment back or not. And by all means, reach out to other people. Leave your comfort zone and talk to new bloggers-- we were all new bloggers once! Let the others you read know that you care about them, too!
9.) I don't embrace all forms of social media. I have a hard time thinking I will EVER be able to Facebook with any degree of seriousness.
Why this sucks: Well, for starters, I had to pick freaking Facebook to hate-- only the largest social network on the planet. But I just don't connect to it on an emotional level. There is nothing there but emptiness for me.
What you should learn from me: Facebook can be a very useful tool, and I do know some people who embrace it wholeheartedly. But to me, it's still sort of difficult to use, and I don't agree with their privacy practices. Still, if you are looking for a guaranteed place to connect with other people, Facebook is probably the best place to start. There is, as of yet, no other place where you will find nearly everyone on the planet. (Though Twitter is coming up fast!) But the overall lesson here is to embrace as much social media as you feel comfortable with. If something doesn't appeal to you, don't do it just because you think you have to. It will show, and you will suffer. A lot.
8.) I am, most of the time, a very awkward person. Rumor has it I can be funny. On occasion, I even make people laugh. But for some reason, either my sense of humor or my in-person confidence do NOT translate electronically. When I try to be funny online, I nearly always end up with things like "Haha! Look at that cat jump, I bet it's full of springs" or some such nonsense. And see there? That last sentence? I was trying to be funny with my unfunny example, and I bet you didn't even laugh! Not even a little inward smile!
Why this sucks: I LOVE BEING FUNNY OMG. I want to BE that person. I want to be clever and witty and have people go, HAHA THIS GIRL IS HILARIOUS LET'S ALL BE HER ARMY AND TAKE OVER THE WORL--- Uh, sorry. Wrong blog post.
What you should learn from me: Dude, you're all safe, don't worry. Everyone else I know on the internet? Yeah. Totally funny. HILARIOUS even. Sigh...
7.) I like my cats too much. There's a saying about too much of a good thing. Well, just about everyone likes cats, right? I ask you internet, is there such a thing as cute cat pictures in moderation?
Why this sucks: Because I really do love my cats and think they are absolutely hilarious and want to share them with everyone. To be fair, this applies to all my animals, but my horse doesn't usually stick her butt in my face when I'm lying down on the couch trying to write blog posts or Twittering. Usually. However, whenever I share something about my cats, I feel like I come across more "HAHA LOOK AT ME I HAVE SIXTY CATS THAT I DRESS UP IN LITTLE OUTFITS AND PLAY TEATIME WITH" than, you know, entertaining. (See Reason #8).
What you should learn from me: Maybe don't talk about your cats all the time. Or do, like, a lot, so I won't look so crazy. Thanks for helping me out here. You understand, don't you?
No-- but really. There are some aspects of your personal life that don't need to monopolize your blog or Twitter or Facebook or whatever. Keep things mixed up and light, and people will keep coming back.
6.) I don't know when to stop. Sometimes on Twitter or in blog comments, I will get into a conversation with someone. Eventually, this conversation needs to come to an end, right? But much like a real-life interaction, I find myself unable to pull away if the other person is still talking to me.
Why this sucks: This can be totally fine if the other person is not afraid to end conversations. But if I find someone else who doesn't like to end them either, we always somehow wind up in a conversation taking place entirely through non-committal noises and emoticons. "Ha! :)" "I know! :)" And so on and so forth.
What you should learn from me: Don't be afraid to end a conversation that's not going anywhere. If you don't respond to my non-committal noises and emoticons, I'm cool with that. It makes me feel less like a weirdo. (See Reason #8).
5.) When I fangirl, I don't go halfway. There are some people I interact with on some social media sites who I am totally cool with and perfectly comfortable talking to. And then there's Nathan Fillion. To be fair, I'm not actually interacting with Nathan Fillion. Interaction implies he would talk back to me. No, aside from my dreams, Nathan remains unattainable. But that doesn't mean I don't try to completely embarrass myself every chance I get.
Why this sucks: If there's someone you really admire from afar, it can be really intimidating to talk to them. Really, really intimidating. And if you eff it up, chances are they will forever see you as "that creepy stalker who totally threatened to come steal my underwear." Ahem.
What you should learn from me: DON'T ASK FOR FAMOUS PEOPLE'S UNDERWEAR. Okay, okay, that never happened. Ahem. No, but seriously-- don't be afraid to talk to people you admire. You admire them for a reason. They might have something to teach you if you just speak up. But if you know you're awkward online, maybe don't try to be funny. Restraining orders really aren't as hilarious as you think. (See Reason #8).
4.) I get busy and social media is always the first to go. This is not an uncommon reason. But it still sucks.
Why this sucks: I love being busy. I thrive when I'm busy. But that usually means that when I'm busy, I'm not blogging, or Twittering, and my readership suffers. At least, I like to think it does. You guys cry when I'm not around, right?
Right?? Guys??!?!?
What you should learn from me: Busy is good and fine and dandy. But if you make a commitment to social media, you should do everything in your power to keep it.
3.) I sometimes feel like I need to wait until I have something to talk about to post online. I always get novel ideas by the dozen, it seems. I have more books to write than I have lifetimes. But blog posts? Yeah. Empty well.
Why this sucks: It makes me feel boring. Like I'm rehashing the same old jazz everyone else blogged about three years ago when it was, you know, interesting. Or I go the other way and blog only about personal stuff because that's all that's going on at the time. I also wind up feeling like I'm waiting around all the time for something interesting enough to blog about to come to me.
What you should learn from me: Give yourself a theme. And here's a life-changing thought: be a writer, but DON'T MAKE YOUR THEME WRITING. I know, right? We're even breaking that rule here at the Archives! The most successful bloggers I know (measured by my own very arbitrary Success-O'-Meter, fueled by admiration and the applause of fairies), don't blog about writing. Sure, they mention their writing. But it's not why people read their blogs. It's a perk. They bring something else to the table entirely.
Bring that something else.
2.) I occasionally come across as a b!$(#. I never, never, EVER intend to hurt anyone's feelings. And I never say mean things to people (unless they cut me off on the freeway. Then you're fair game, (*^&*^* (*&(&((*&^%&^%). But sometimes, something I say comes across as TOTAL SNARK.
Why this sucks: Well, like I said, I'm not a mean person. And I generally like everyone I interact with on a regular basis. Sometimes though, it's like my mouth just WANTS to eat my foot. Like it's just going along, and then suddenly drives by a fast foot place and then all it can think about is having foot for dinner.
What you should learn from me: This is a hard one. It requires a large degree of objectivity and obsessive self-analysis. If you mess up and say something weird or snarky sounding that you don't mean, fess up and apologize. Best case scenario: the other person will say "oh I totally didn't take it that way!" and you'll start to learn when it's something to worry about and when it's not. Worst case scenario: you have already apologized if they do take it the wrong way.
And the biggest reason I royally suck at social media:
1.) I don't post regularly. This actually ties in a lot with Reason #4. Most of the time, I don't post regularly because I don't have something interesting to say. I feel like when I have something interesting to say, I'll blog more often. But if I don't have anything to say now, what makes me think I'll have anything to say-- ever?
Why this sucks: The thing is, I have plenty of interesting things to say. But they all involve a lot of work. Guess what? Work is often required for something to be good.
What you should learn from me: Don't be lazy. Put the effort into social media, and social media will put the . . . um . . . you know, there's not really anything I can say there that won't sound creepy and near-innuendo. But I think you get my point. No free lunch, gotta work before you can retire, etc., etc., and so on. Another helpful tool? Regular features. Give your readers something to expect and come back for-- but make it interesting.
There you have it, folks! The Top Ten Reasons I Royally Suck At Social Media. I hope you learned something. From the looks of my Twitter feed, I sure haven't. Gulp.
Here we go!
10.) I have a social phobia. It's minor, and I'm working on it (ALWAYS working on it), but I have a hard time reaching out to people. I tend to wait until they come to me.
Why this sucks: Social media is all about reaching out to other people. I read lots of blog posts, but I rarely comment on them because I can never think of anything clever to say. And when I do comment, I feel like I mostly just have empty things to say.
What you should learn from me: Well, uh, be more clever? Leave insightful, relevant comments when you can. The people who comment the most on my blogs are the ones whose blogs I read religiously-- whether I comment back or not. And by all means, reach out to other people. Leave your comfort zone and talk to new bloggers-- we were all new bloggers once! Let the others you read know that you care about them, too!
9.) I don't embrace all forms of social media. I have a hard time thinking I will EVER be able to Facebook with any degree of seriousness.
Why this sucks: Well, for starters, I had to pick freaking Facebook to hate-- only the largest social network on the planet. But I just don't connect to it on an emotional level. There is nothing there but emptiness for me.
What you should learn from me: Facebook can be a very useful tool, and I do know some people who embrace it wholeheartedly. But to me, it's still sort of difficult to use, and I don't agree with their privacy practices. Still, if you are looking for a guaranteed place to connect with other people, Facebook is probably the best place to start. There is, as of yet, no other place where you will find nearly everyone on the planet. (Though Twitter is coming up fast!) But the overall lesson here is to embrace as much social media as you feel comfortable with. If something doesn't appeal to you, don't do it just because you think you have to. It will show, and you will suffer. A lot.
8.) I am, most of the time, a very awkward person. Rumor has it I can be funny. On occasion, I even make people laugh. But for some reason, either my sense of humor or my in-person confidence do NOT translate electronically. When I try to be funny online, I nearly always end up with things like "Haha! Look at that cat jump, I bet it's full of springs" or some such nonsense. And see there? That last sentence? I was trying to be funny with my unfunny example, and I bet you didn't even laugh! Not even a little inward smile!
Why this sucks: I LOVE BEING FUNNY OMG. I want to BE that person. I want to be clever and witty and have people go, HAHA THIS GIRL IS HILARIOUS LET'S ALL BE HER ARMY AND TAKE OVER THE WORL--- Uh, sorry. Wrong blog post.
What you should learn from me: Dude, you're all safe, don't worry. Everyone else I know on the internet? Yeah. Totally funny. HILARIOUS even. Sigh...
7.) I like my cats too much. There's a saying about too much of a good thing. Well, just about everyone likes cats, right? I ask you internet, is there such a thing as cute cat pictures in moderation?
Why this sucks: Because I really do love my cats and think they are absolutely hilarious and want to share them with everyone. To be fair, this applies to all my animals, but my horse doesn't usually stick her butt in my face when I'm lying down on the couch trying to write blog posts or Twittering. Usually. However, whenever I share something about my cats, I feel like I come across more "HAHA LOOK AT ME I HAVE SIXTY CATS THAT I DRESS UP IN LITTLE OUTFITS AND PLAY TEATIME WITH" than, you know, entertaining. (See Reason #8).
What you should learn from me: Maybe don't talk about your cats all the time. Or do, like, a lot, so I won't look so crazy. Thanks for helping me out here. You understand, don't you?
No-- but really. There are some aspects of your personal life that don't need to monopolize your blog or Twitter or Facebook or whatever. Keep things mixed up and light, and people will keep coming back.
6.) I don't know when to stop. Sometimes on Twitter or in blog comments, I will get into a conversation with someone. Eventually, this conversation needs to come to an end, right? But much like a real-life interaction, I find myself unable to pull away if the other person is still talking to me.
Why this sucks: This can be totally fine if the other person is not afraid to end conversations. But if I find someone else who doesn't like to end them either, we always somehow wind up in a conversation taking place entirely through non-committal noises and emoticons. "Ha! :)" "I know! :)" And so on and so forth.
What you should learn from me: Don't be afraid to end a conversation that's not going anywhere. If you don't respond to my non-committal noises and emoticons, I'm cool with that. It makes me feel less like a weirdo. (See Reason #8).
5.) When I fangirl, I don't go halfway. There are some people I interact with on some social media sites who I am totally cool with and perfectly comfortable talking to. And then there's Nathan Fillion. To be fair, I'm not actually interacting with Nathan Fillion. Interaction implies he would talk back to me. No, aside from my dreams, Nathan remains unattainable. But that doesn't mean I don't try to completely embarrass myself every chance I get.
Why this sucks: If there's someone you really admire from afar, it can be really intimidating to talk to them. Really, really intimidating. And if you eff it up, chances are they will forever see you as "that creepy stalker who totally threatened to come steal my underwear." Ahem.
What you should learn from me: DON'T ASK FOR FAMOUS PEOPLE'S UNDERWEAR. Okay, okay, that never happened. Ahem. No, but seriously-- don't be afraid to talk to people you admire. You admire them for a reason. They might have something to teach you if you just speak up. But if you know you're awkward online, maybe don't try to be funny. Restraining orders really aren't as hilarious as you think. (See Reason #8).
4.) I get busy and social media is always the first to go. This is not an uncommon reason. But it still sucks.
Why this sucks: I love being busy. I thrive when I'm busy. But that usually means that when I'm busy, I'm not blogging, or Twittering, and my readership suffers. At least, I like to think it does. You guys cry when I'm not around, right?
Right?? Guys??!?!?
What you should learn from me: Busy is good and fine and dandy. But if you make a commitment to social media, you should do everything in your power to keep it.
3.) I sometimes feel like I need to wait until I have something to talk about to post online. I always get novel ideas by the dozen, it seems. I have more books to write than I have lifetimes. But blog posts? Yeah. Empty well.
Why this sucks: It makes me feel boring. Like I'm rehashing the same old jazz everyone else blogged about three years ago when it was, you know, interesting. Or I go the other way and blog only about personal stuff because that's all that's going on at the time. I also wind up feeling like I'm waiting around all the time for something interesting enough to blog about to come to me.
What you should learn from me: Give yourself a theme. And here's a life-changing thought: be a writer, but DON'T MAKE YOUR THEME WRITING. I know, right? We're even breaking that rule here at the Archives! The most successful bloggers I know (measured by my own very arbitrary Success-O'-Meter, fueled by admiration and the applause of fairies), don't blog about writing. Sure, they mention their writing. But it's not why people read their blogs. It's a perk. They bring something else to the table entirely.
Bring that something else.
2.) I occasionally come across as a b!$(#. I never, never, EVER intend to hurt anyone's feelings. And I never say mean things to people (unless they cut me off on the freeway. Then you're fair game, (*^&*^* (*&(&((*&^%&^%). But sometimes, something I say comes across as TOTAL SNARK.
Why this sucks: Well, like I said, I'm not a mean person. And I generally like everyone I interact with on a regular basis. Sometimes though, it's like my mouth just WANTS to eat my foot. Like it's just going along, and then suddenly drives by a fast foot place and then all it can think about is having foot for dinner.
What you should learn from me: This is a hard one. It requires a large degree of objectivity and obsessive self-analysis. If you mess up and say something weird or snarky sounding that you don't mean, fess up and apologize. Best case scenario: the other person will say "oh I totally didn't take it that way!" and you'll start to learn when it's something to worry about and when it's not. Worst case scenario: you have already apologized if they do take it the wrong way.
And the biggest reason I royally suck at social media:
1.) I don't post regularly. This actually ties in a lot with Reason #4. Most of the time, I don't post regularly because I don't have something interesting to say. I feel like when I have something interesting to say, I'll blog more often. But if I don't have anything to say now, what makes me think I'll have anything to say-- ever?
Why this sucks: The thing is, I have plenty of interesting things to say. But they all involve a lot of work. Guess what? Work is often required for something to be good.
What you should learn from me: Don't be lazy. Put the effort into social media, and social media will put the . . . um . . . you know, there's not really anything I can say there that won't sound creepy and near-innuendo. But I think you get my point. No free lunch, gotta work before you can retire, etc., etc., and so on. Another helpful tool? Regular features. Give your readers something to expect and come back for-- but make it interesting.
There you have it, folks! The Top Ten Reasons I Royally Suck At Social Media. I hope you learned something. From the looks of my Twitter feed, I sure haven't. Gulp.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Social Networking for Fun and .... Well Maybe Not for Profit
I first found out about this strange innovation called Blogs a few years back, when I was in college. I loved the idea, and tried to start one up while I was still doing my undergrad.
Yeah ... that didn't work out too well.
It took another few years until I figured out the platform I wanted to write on -- Steampunk, Writing, and Video Games -- and that only happened after I came around to the realization that pure Fantasy wasn't the genre I should write in. That brainchild was Free the Princess, which is the name of a now-defunct idea I had for an online Video Game Encyclopaedia. I still want to craft that resource, if no other reason than I'm a hardcore gamer geek, but that's beside the point.
Anyway, since that July 2009 day I launched my blog, I've had the good fortune to meet some fantabulous fellow writers working across the country and around this great world of ours. I've also joined the Twitter-verse, and maintain a personal Facebook page for no other reason than to keep in touch with friends from college. (And now post to three separate blogs, including one that's an ad-supported review blog.)
Since I've now bored you with my own experience in blogging, Twitter, and Facebook, it's time to move on to what I really wanted to talk about: how I've used my platform to connect with people.
Just writing to your own blog is great, but there's only so much word-of-mouth of your readers can do to build your platform. Granted, if you're already a celebrity or have a built-in audience waiting, you might not need to worry (Literary Agents like Nathan Bransford, Janet Reid, and Mark McVeigh have huge numbers of followers partly because of their positions in the book world, for example). Since I'm not a wildly famous author like Neil Gaiman, a literary agent like the aforementioned Ms. Reid, or an editor like the fabled Moonrat, I had to work to build my meager following.
How'd I do this? Comments!
I started following other blogs and became a regular commenter on some of them. There's a culture of reciprocity in the blogosphere, and many of the proprietors of blogs I followed in turn became my followers because they clicked on my profile and saw what I was writing. I'm up to nearly 75 followers as of today partly because of this strategy. I'm kind of half confident that I'd have more if my blog was of a more general focus, but Free the Princess is focused on what I want to focus on already; so I have no intentions of changing. Anyway, the end result of this is that I've gained 4,000+ hits since I started tracking visits to FtP.
Twitter is another animal entirely. My success there is partly due to Gary Corby and his network of followers, but also because I'm a regular contributor in the discussions that occur there. That's the key to success in both places, truth be told. Contribute regularly via your own blog, comments on others blogs, and in Twitter and you'll end up building a network quicker than you can say "Hey look I built a network!"
Twitter's also allowed me to talk to people I otherwise wouldn't get a chance to. Like Gail Carriger, Cherie Priest, and other published authors who in an earlier time I'd have to communicate via letters and their agents. Now I just Tweet @ them and can, depending on my tweet, get a response decently fast.
Facebook is a more personal outlet for me, and I've yet to really connect professionally with anyone through there. Which I intend to remedy once I have something interesting to a wide audience to share through it. But as I don't quite yet, that's not done.
Anyway, if you take one thing and one thing only away from this ramble, it should be that participation is the key to growing your presence through social networking. Unless you're ridiculously famous ... then pretty much all bets are off and you can do whatever you want.
Yeah ... that didn't work out too well.
It took another few years until I figured out the platform I wanted to write on -- Steampunk, Writing, and Video Games -- and that only happened after I came around to the realization that pure Fantasy wasn't the genre I should write in. That brainchild was Free the Princess, which is the name of a now-defunct idea I had for an online Video Game Encyclopaedia. I still want to craft that resource, if no other reason than I'm a hardcore gamer geek, but that's beside the point.
Anyway, since that July 2009 day I launched my blog, I've had the good fortune to meet some fantabulous fellow writers working across the country and around this great world of ours. I've also joined the Twitter-verse, and maintain a personal Facebook page for no other reason than to keep in touch with friends from college. (And now post to three separate blogs, including one that's an ad-supported review blog.)
Since I've now bored you with my own experience in blogging, Twitter, and Facebook, it's time to move on to what I really wanted to talk about: how I've used my platform to connect with people.
Just writing to your own blog is great, but there's only so much word-of-mouth of your readers can do to build your platform. Granted, if you're already a celebrity or have a built-in audience waiting, you might not need to worry (Literary Agents like Nathan Bransford, Janet Reid, and Mark McVeigh have huge numbers of followers partly because of their positions in the book world, for example). Since I'm not a wildly famous author like Neil Gaiman, a literary agent like the aforementioned Ms. Reid, or an editor like the fabled Moonrat, I had to work to build my meager following.
How'd I do this? Comments!
I started following other blogs and became a regular commenter on some of them. There's a culture of reciprocity in the blogosphere, and many of the proprietors of blogs I followed in turn became my followers because they clicked on my profile and saw what I was writing. I'm up to nearly 75 followers as of today partly because of this strategy. I'm kind of half confident that I'd have more if my blog was of a more general focus, but Free the Princess is focused on what I want to focus on already; so I have no intentions of changing. Anyway, the end result of this is that I've gained 4,000+ hits since I started tracking visits to FtP.
Twitter is another animal entirely. My success there is partly due to Gary Corby and his network of followers, but also because I'm a regular contributor in the discussions that occur there. That's the key to success in both places, truth be told. Contribute regularly via your own blog, comments on others blogs, and in Twitter and you'll end up building a network quicker than you can say "Hey look I built a network!"
Twitter's also allowed me to talk to people I otherwise wouldn't get a chance to. Like Gail Carriger, Cherie Priest, and other published authors who in an earlier time I'd have to communicate via letters and their agents. Now I just Tweet @ them and can, depending on my tweet, get a response decently fast.
Facebook is a more personal outlet for me, and I've yet to really connect professionally with anyone through there. Which I intend to remedy once I have something interesting to a wide audience to share through it. But as I don't quite yet, that's not done.
Anyway, if you take one thing and one thing only away from this ramble, it should be that participation is the key to growing your presence through social networking. Unless you're ridiculously famous ... then pretty much all bets are off and you can do whatever you want.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
White Noise
The whole idea of blogging seemed ridiculous to me a couple of years ago, and, honestly, sometimes I still find myself wondering what the hell I'm doing (I think this in part has to do w/ my lack of platform, but that's a discussion for a different day or one of my colleagues who actually has a handle on the topic -- SD and MD both have a great sense of this, IMO).
For the longest time, I'd comment on a few agent blogs, but never actually had my own. In the few months I've been running mine and visiting others, these are the pros and cons of blog social networking as I see it:
Pros:
- Greater exposure to and involvement with the writing community at large
- Online presence for agent, publisher, consumer exposure
- Dissemination
- An impetus to consider industry, craft, etc. elements that might otherwise be outside one's purview
Cons:
- Time, Time, Time
- Possible foot in mouth syndrome if you sometimes lack a filter (yeah, this is a mirror statement right here :)
Despite my reticence toward blogging, I can happily say that it's provided me more benefit than detriment. I've had great interaction w/ fellow writers (from Betaing to people suggesting specific agents to me who they've heard are looking for what I write) because of my blog and I've had an agent contact me b/c of a blog post (which I wasn't expecting at all). And perhaps the biggest benefit for me has been the empathy from fellow writers who suffer through the solitary persistence of rejection, revision, and madness (thank you).
All that being said, I don't think one needs to blog, twitter, or facebook. Heck, even if you're a classic INTJ like me who hides behind an esoteric moniker and an icon, you can still network w/o any of these by commenting on agent/writer blogs and/or participating in the various anon writing contests (e.g., Miss Snark's first victim monthly Secret Agent contest, Mary Kole over at Kidlit runs contests and workshops every so often).
Ultimately, it's important to sift through all the stochastic noise out there to figure out which frequency(ies) best suit you, if any.
Given my limited experience, I'm sure I'm missing many of the pros (and maybe a few of the cons) of the blogging epidemic. What have you learned from blogging (or not blogging)?
For the longest time, I'd comment on a few agent blogs, but never actually had my own. In the few months I've been running mine and visiting others, these are the pros and cons of blog social networking as I see it:
Pros:
- Greater exposure to and involvement with the writing community at large
- Online presence for agent, publisher, consumer exposure
- Dissemination
- An impetus to consider industry, craft, etc. elements that might otherwise be outside one's purview
Cons:
- Time, Time, Time
- Possible foot in mouth syndrome if you sometimes lack a filter (yeah, this is a mirror statement right here :)
Despite my reticence toward blogging, I can happily say that it's provided me more benefit than detriment. I've had great interaction w/ fellow writers (from Betaing to people suggesting specific agents to me who they've heard are looking for what I write) because of my blog and I've had an agent contact me b/c of a blog post (which I wasn't expecting at all). And perhaps the biggest benefit for me has been the empathy from fellow writers who suffer through the solitary persistence of rejection, revision, and madness (thank you).
All that being said, I don't think one needs to blog, twitter, or facebook. Heck, even if you're a classic INTJ like me who hides behind an esoteric moniker and an icon, you can still network w/o any of these by commenting on agent/writer blogs and/or participating in the various anon writing contests (e.g., Miss Snark's first victim monthly Secret Agent contest, Mary Kole over at Kidlit runs contests and workshops every so often).
Ultimately, it's important to sift through all the stochastic noise out there to figure out which frequency(ies) best suit you, if any.
Given my limited experience, I'm sure I'm missing many of the pros (and maybe a few of the cons) of the blogging epidemic. What have you learned from blogging (or not blogging)?
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