Here’s my terrible admission: I hate social media. Yeah, I’m on five different platforms and I kick out a blog post everyday, but I hate it. If I could hire someone to do this for me, I would. So why the %&$* am I still here?
I apologize, this is a continued whiny post from yesterday, but I figured this deserved its own rant. If you continue reading, you have been warned.
So why am I still on social media? Simple–so I can get people to read my words. I mean, that’s the great democratization of the Internet. You want to be heard. That’s what anyone wants, right? When I ran for Congress ten years ago (8% of the vote for a third party) what I learned on the campaign trail is that everyone has an opinion and everyone has an issue. Well, you can join an organization for your issue (Mine? Cigar and pipe smoking rights), but your opinion? Someone needs to listen to you.
This is what sucks about being a political candidate. You have to listen to everyone. Issues you don’t care about, people who can’t edit themselves, folks who ramble on and can’t stay on topic. And since everyone’s vote is the same, you’re going to stand there and take it.
When trying to sell something low cost like… my book, everyone’s purchasing power is roughly the same, so just like on the campaign trail, you have to reach out to as many potential readers as you can. It’s like campaign signs on the corner. No, you’re probably not going to their website, but when it comes time to go to the ballot box, you’re going to think, “Oh, yeah, that name sounds familiar,” and click it.
Sound stupid? Yeah, it is. But it works. Historically, in a “safe” district where one party has held the seat for decades, the candidate can die and still get reelected. That’s how powerful the familiar is.
I feel safe saying this further down the blog, but WordPress is my favorite. People who read blogs are “readers” and hopefully want to read my books. So I spend the most time on it. Twitter is my second favorite, mostly because I’ve muted all the political rants out, and have focused on the #writingcommunity. So I’ve carved out a small pocket of internet peace. Who knew?
Facebook is next and I was ready to leave it before I starting my writing jihad. Now it’s there to just repeat my blog and occasionally find out what my hobby club is doing. Goodreads falls after them. I’m still mad they got rid of Shelfari and I had to absorb that into Goodreads. But… it has readers and I go where the readers are. Finally is LinkedIn. When I was a travelling consultant, this was vital to getting the next job. Now that I’ve had the same job for two years… eh, it’s where I put my online resume. But I get a strange amount of feedback from it, better than Twitter, so I keep at it.
Am I alone? Are you compelled to stay connected even though you’d rather disappear into the woods? Are there some platforms you prefer above others? Let me know in the comments below!
Albigensia Press 
While I had a livejournal I posted like twice so poof for now go away! Oh yeah it did 😉
While it raged, simplified clicker appliances internet, webtv msntv, I taught my mom computing and email,. I was a proud person when she thought a laptop was worth her money. I enjoyed a friend for a season or so.
Xanga.com now absorbed into wordpress for the diehard community not me was 2004-2013 and a unique place where one found long lasting readers who like talked! Conversed! But a few bogeys of behaviours got them sued ad revenue plummeted and bye bye xanga.
Facebook is still kinda false but it’s nowhere near as horrid as the old myspace was! It was so sad to read something interesting and from a real person and they meant it as a flyer… How to feel used In 10 s condos!!!
Or I still keep up with people from all to msn groups etc 20 years or more. Or I can’t say I don’t appreciate social media. Down to even getting laid. It’s proven tepidly useful as in I found a few pros to aid in an occasional project. I’ve read a few books I wouldn’t. But large I’ve not made money by my creations through it. I write so writing ad-copy counts and bypassing craigslist anti spam was my mission advertising bridge loans… I made a couple hundred dollar a decade ago. But still largely the internet has been poop for lasting romance, real life connection friends, making serious money and only recently growing consistently any audience. Apparently I’m not shallow enough or as you had nted edited heheh
I completely agree with this. I’m not a fan of social media. And sociopolitical rants on Twitter trigger something dark in me. I’m definitely trying what you did and carving out a Twitter niche. Thank you.
Do what makes you happy. And you can outsource everything. I don’t know if it’s necessary to pump out a blog post every day. If you’re in the public eye, there are ways to be out there without becoming attached to the process. You could arrange to be a regular guest on a podcast or be invited for an interview on a blog.
Twitter is a cesspit – a horrible place teeming with bitter, angry people and I avoid it unless there is something unique I want to see there. I think blogs in general are on the outskirts of what I would consider “social media” – you can write a very academic or obscure blog with little engagement or one that is more of a business site. You can keep what you write “sticky” and not see it scroll off immediately, forgotten the pit of time.
I’ve mentioned my disdain in a recent reply. I don’t really consider blogging as social media, although I suppose by a proper broad definition it is.
The rest of it… Kill it with fire!
And yet, I’ll probably still find myself back on it when I finally start trying to publish… God help me.
This might sound like a cop out but I try not to worry about it. i write, I am learning as I go and trying hard to improve my product, books if you like. I use social media as a learning tool about people and their behaviours. it helps my understanding. Do I like it? It doesn’t matter and I do have my rant when necessary.
I think this sometimes myself and how technology has made us more lazy.
Social media has helped and it has hurt us. I don’t know to what extent is has contributing to dumbing down society. It has revealed just how uneducated and impulsive people can be. I basically use social media has a tool to help promote various things I do. I am a writer and artist. I write fiction, nonfiction, and I also do comics and illustration. So, lots of content. What I can say is that some social media works better for me than others and that has a lot to do with how much time one invests in it. For someone dealing in a lot of visuals, and has a specific brand, Instagram is great. I get more productive feedback there than I ever will on Facebook. Now, on Facebook, it is totally a tribe mentality. It is hard to break into these clusters and cliques if you are not regularly stroking their feathers. Twitter is okay. The WordPress blogosphere is wonderful as you have so many liked-minded souls out there and the general mindset is more careful and thoughtful communication.
Interesting thoughts my friend.Social media is an addiction difficult to come out.People have deactivated accounts, strangely not deleted for the same reason