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So, Social Media....
It's a time sink.
If I didn't have to do it in the modern economy, would I? Yes, but I'd probably use it differently. I'd hit it fast early, or late at night, see what friends and family were up to, and then flit away. But for various reasons my friends and family are entwined with writers I know by reputation, fans, old school acquaintances, former coworkers, and friends of friends.
Some of that is good--I've gotten to know a lot of people a little better, met some of my great fans, and through their interests learned a lot of fascinating things. I am an absolute magpie for new information. I consider that a blessing--if I live to be 105, I will be taking harp lessons and learning a foreign language while reading more nonfiction on odd new genetic stuff. And writing fiction to support myself.
A few idiots and trolls have crossed my path. (There are one or two people on my list that I have not blocked for various reasons, but if that was all Facebook content was for me, I'd be long gone.) If there were more of them, I'd abandon Facebook and look for another medium. I am building a new blog now. Eventually it will feed into all my other paths.
I need to set up the group filters that crashed in one of Facebook's updates. But when you lost filters for 800 people, fixing that is rather mind-boggling.
The things I use the most are Twitter for news and interesting articles, Goodreads for posting book reviews and reading other peoples' reviews, and LinkedIn for networking for potential work. Live Journal is for deeper writing and conversation (but they are getting flaky, cutting the link to Twitter all the time, etc.) The people whom I followed on Live Journal I've tried to connect with on Facebook. I don't like to post heavily about book stuff at LinkedIn--someone else does that, and I'm about ready to strike her from my networking. It's all she does. I am blessed to have a couple of writer groups I interact with.
My biggest problem right now is figuring out what to do about Linkedin. LinkedIn in one important way is like Facebook was supposed to be--it's supposed to be people you really know. But LinkedIn has a very good reason for that. What if someone wants an introduction to someone else? What if someone asked you about XX--their personality, their way of working, their skills?
If they are someone you met through Facebook, how do you know that they are real, much less that they are who they say they are?
I connected with one fan who has been a follower for quite a while. I think she's real, and although I don't know that our being networked will benefit us, that's fine. But other people are starting to ask...and I realized, how do I do this? Can I do this, and still be able to say, Yes, their work is XXX? I've had fans I met fifteen years ago at a convention ask for a connection. But I don't know their current work. I know one isolated instance of their work, which due to unavoidable circumstances, I may not remember in detail. I can attest to the work ethic of someone I went to high school with when he was in high school.
But today?
So, I'm curious as to how other people are dealing with this. And warning you that I might decide to accept connections to all these people.
But then if someone asks, if all I can say is "They have an interesting Facebook page, and are always courteous in political discussions" then that's probably what I'll say.
If I didn't have to do it in the modern economy, would I? Yes, but I'd probably use it differently. I'd hit it fast early, or late at night, see what friends and family were up to, and then flit away. But for various reasons my friends and family are entwined with writers I know by reputation, fans, old school acquaintances, former coworkers, and friends of friends.
Some of that is good--I've gotten to know a lot of people a little better, met some of my great fans, and through their interests learned a lot of fascinating things. I am an absolute magpie for new information. I consider that a blessing--if I live to be 105, I will be taking harp lessons and learning a foreign language while reading more nonfiction on odd new genetic stuff. And writing fiction to support myself.
A few idiots and trolls have crossed my path. (There are one or two people on my list that I have not blocked for various reasons, but if that was all Facebook content was for me, I'd be long gone.) If there were more of them, I'd abandon Facebook and look for another medium. I am building a new blog now. Eventually it will feed into all my other paths.
I need to set up the group filters that crashed in one of Facebook's updates. But when you lost filters for 800 people, fixing that is rather mind-boggling.
The things I use the most are Twitter for news and interesting articles, Goodreads for posting book reviews and reading other peoples' reviews, and LinkedIn for networking for potential work. Live Journal is for deeper writing and conversation (but they are getting flaky, cutting the link to Twitter all the time, etc.) The people whom I followed on Live Journal I've tried to connect with on Facebook. I don't like to post heavily about book stuff at LinkedIn--someone else does that, and I'm about ready to strike her from my networking. It's all she does. I am blessed to have a couple of writer groups I interact with.
My biggest problem right now is figuring out what to do about Linkedin. LinkedIn in one important way is like Facebook was supposed to be--it's supposed to be people you really know. But LinkedIn has a very good reason for that. What if someone wants an introduction to someone else? What if someone asked you about XX--their personality, their way of working, their skills?
If they are someone you met through Facebook, how do you know that they are real, much less that they are who they say they are?
I connected with one fan who has been a follower for quite a while. I think she's real, and although I don't know that our being networked will benefit us, that's fine. But other people are starting to ask...and I realized, how do I do this? Can I do this, and still be able to say, Yes, their work is XXX? I've had fans I met fifteen years ago at a convention ask for a connection. But I don't know their current work. I know one isolated instance of their work, which due to unavoidable circumstances, I may not remember in detail. I can attest to the work ethic of someone I went to high school with when he was in high school.
But today?
So, I'm curious as to how other people are dealing with this. And warning you that I might decide to accept connections to all these people.
But then if someone asks, if all I can say is "They have an interesting Facebook page, and are always courteous in political discussions" then that's probably what I'll say.