Social Media – an update


Oh, how the mighty have fallen. I remember the days when I was sniffy about Facebook. I called it an empty, echoing, confusing shopping mall. And now … I’m there every day. Every day!

Not only that but I’m there as a person and as an author page.

I still think Facebook is clumsy. I resent how it hides friends’ updates from me, and shows me ridiculous ads. But …

Everyone seems to be on Facebook, and so, there I am, too. And I’m hooked by the people I chat with. It’s not Facebook that I enjoy. It’s the people on it.

It’s also one of those places where readers hang out … and authors need to get their books in front of readers somehow. On a side note, I’ve not had any luck with Facebook advertising for my books.

I still adore Twitter. So much random goodness and people being clever in 140 characters.

But other social media have vanished from my day. I rarely visit Google +. Tsu is but a distant memory. Pinterest, yeah, Pinterest and I never clicked. Tumblr quietly died for me. I never found my community there. Goodreads is too overwhelming, but I love BookLikes.

Surprisingly, over the years, discussion boards have held their own. I was once a daily visitor at AbsoluteWrite’s Watercooler. That ended, not for any bad reason, but just because things do change. People move on. It’s like moving neighbourhoods. Currently, I lurk on Romance Divas and visit at KindleBoards. Plus, I belong to a number of Yahoo Groups.

For me, the power of social media is in discovering your community, the group of people who add joy and interest to your day.

Where do you hang out?


8 responses to “Social Media – an update”

  1. Wow! You couldn’t have written that any better. I liked the moving neighborhood comparison. Perfect! I like Facebook but I find it hard keeping up with everyone. I don’t spend as much time there as I’d like to. I do like sharing pics/looking at pics. I check out Twitter daily but that takes a lot of time too. I just created an Instagram profile. Yikes. Learning the ropes there. Google+? Well, i post or reblog certain things there. Pinterest: Lord, help me when I get there. I don’t pin like I used to but it’s fun now and then. Great inspiration though. My favorite places to be or Goodreads (my happy place) and Booklikes.com. I’m really comfortable at both. You’re right about Tumblr. I think I may have three followers. Lol. Who cares! I hardly ever go there, if only to post a review. Oh! And I like your blog, Jenny. I love stopping by for a chat. ?

  2. I think you hit the nail on the head. We have to find “our” communities, the places where we feel most at home.

    Facebook is fun for me, but like you, I’m frustrated when it only shows me a portion of my friends’ posts. I wish I understood why they choose to show me this person but not that one. Where is the logic?

    • Maria, I’m not sure FB has any logic!

      Way back (20 years *sob* so old) I studied sociology, and I still have that lurking fascination in how people organise, create norms and enforce them. The evolution of online communities is fascinating!

    • I agree, Maria. I’ll get some random person’s notification. Like, someone I played a game with two years ago and know nothing about. Close friends…nothing. Logic schmogic. Facebook is illogical.

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