Ellen Hart writes:
Social networking. Facebook. Twitter. Linkedin. MySpace. Yup, it’s here to stay.
Is it worth the effort?
Is it a black hole, sucking our time and our brains into the abyss?
Is it the wave of the future that we can ride to publishing success?Is it something in between?
7 comments:
Personally, I think it's something in btwn.
I've actually never heard anyone say, "I spent the perfect amount of time on Facebook". People are always complaining that they've wasted too much time on it.
I'm a big believer in limiting my online time. I set a kitchen timer to keep myself honest and only check blogs or surf the web in the morning and at night. I only check my email three or four times per day (I usually check Twitter then too, since it's a quick read).
If I don't set limits, the day gets away from me and I don't write enough.
I find that too much time with email and microblogging, such as Facebook, lets off too much 'writing steam.'
Social networking via text (as compared with chatting on a phone, or at the grocery store) releases the 'need to write,' so that I don't feel as compelled to 'Write!'.
Even commenting here required me to use word-choice energy & editing-energy. ;>
Depends upon my mood. If I'm in my writing mode I can pop on & off quickly. Yet, if I'm struggling with my muse --I can waste time & creativity playing on Facebook or online instead of working.
Time suck. Oops, no, the hope for the future. Talk about a love/hate relationship!
One of my problems with Facebook and Twitter is that I'm not on there often, and I'm always sure I'm missing something important. But if I tried to stay current, I'd never get anything else done.
Depends on my mood and how many other things are vying for my attention. Like Valerie, I find that too much typing online takes something out of my real writing. And it all eats up more time than I have to spare. I'm not sure the benefits can be quantified. I still regard DorothyL is the one must-use list/site for mystery writers. I know I've gained many readers just from posting on DL occasionally. Facebook -- I haven't been on it long enough to make an assessment. I have a Twitter account but have never "tweeted" -- mostly because I can't imagine why anyone would want to read quick little posts about what I'm doing.
It's good for me because I enjoy when I want, not according to who posts what. I kind of like checking in at my convenience and catching up with friends.
Mostly a time suck. There's no telling how much promotional value it has, but with traditional means of promotion going away, people are looking for a replacement. 'Course, as Advertising Age recently said, we are in a recession.
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