Do You Have a Friends List?

I’m taking a class at the moment that explains the mysteries and usefulness of social media outlets for the writer. Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Yahoo… you name it, they’ve covered it. I can’t believe the overload, I mean wealth, of information.

I came to the world of social media kicking and screaming. All the other Playfriends had Facebook accounts far earlier than I did. I just didn’t want to do it, because I simply didn’t have more time in my day for anything else. Plus, I don't like taking the time to learn new programs. Now, I’m addicted to my Facebook account. But I’ve found that I don’t spend nearly as much time on it as some folks. I open it about 4 times a day, read status updates, and only post 1 of my own about once per day. Usually writing related. Personally, I don’t think anything else I do is that interesting. And I’ve never been good at “social chatter”, so I feel like anything I post along those lines sounds stilted, although I enjoy reading other people’s posts about their everyday lives.

After reading all the class information, I’m really glad I don’t Twitter. Although now I understand the language better, which is important because some author’s have their Twitter posts also show up on Facebook. Before, I’d always tried to decipher the language and symbols, trying to understand who said what and what it was about. Confusing. Makes more sense now, but I’m still not tempted to jump in. Although, I kept all the info in case that ever changes.

To me, the most interesting part has been some author Q&A’s where they talked about why and how author’s use these outlets to keep in touch with readers. As a whole, they agreed that if your feed looks like one long commercial, your readers will lose interest really quick. I think that’s an important point. Yes, I enjoy hearing about author’s new releases, but more than that, I’m learning about the author as a person (no matter how personal/professional their posts). You get the flavor of their conversation, and want to know more (or in some cases, less – and I have defriended a few people after reading their posts). It has also built name recognition. I’ll be looking through books and think, I recognize that name. Where do I know that author from? Facebook! I’m more likely to pick up the book and read the back cover blurb if the author’s name strikes a chord with me.

So tell me, do you Facebook, Twitter, MySpace??? Which do you like best? What do you find most interesting and/or useful about social media outlets?

Angel

Coming Soon!
Author Julie Miller joins us on Thursday, April 1st!!!