 | 19 Jul 09 |
Social networking sites are all the buzz, and although you usually here about the BAD things that happen because of them–i.e., predator stalks victims pretending to be interested in them romantically; people get fired because of the stupid things they post or pictures they put on their pages; teenagers cyberbully other teens to the point of suicide or murder–I do think they have a place in our world.
And all of the things posted above give me ideas for books, although that is NOT why I am on Facebook, MySpace, or Goodreads. Now, right off the bat here I’m going to be honest. I don’t remember the last time I logged in to Myspace. I HATE it. I am going to drag my butt in there as soon as I am done with this post, and update my site, but dragging I will be. I find the layouts clunky and hard to read, the updates hard to follow, and in short, I don’t get what I am looking for there.
Facebook? A whole different story. In a bat of an eye I can see status updates, check out people’s profiles pages without busy backgrounds, cloying music, or hours of searching. I can read the funny things that people say, and decide when and if I want to follow them, or even more, if I want to possibly read their work.
Because I am not just a writer, I am also an avid reader.
I have reconnected with many old friends on Facebook, as well. And I have met many new fans of my books, which is a fabulous thing. I love meeting people who have read my work.
As a result of Facebook, one of my old high school friends told me that not only had she READ Wives and Sisters, but she had loved it and then loaned it to her mother. All without having any idea that I had written it! When she started looking at my profile, she saw a picture of it and it clicked.
The one thing I DON’T like about Facebook? I can’t seem to find a way to send people directly to my page. Anyone have any idea how to do this? If you do, let me know.
My friend Mandy, who is a dance teacher, has found it is a great way to connect NOT only to people who want to join our dance studio, but also with teachers and choreographers! In short, it is a SOCIAL NETWORKING site, emphasis on the NETWORKING.
And I find it entertaining and fun. Sometimes TOO entertaining and fun.
So, tell me, do you Facebook? Do you like it? Do you think Myspace’s days are numbered? I do!
Oh yeah, and how do I link to my page?
© 2009 Natalie R. Collins. All rights reserved.
Natalie R. Collins was born in Logan, Utah and attended the University of Utah. She worked for eleven years at The Salt Lake Tribune, Utah's largest daily newspaper, before leaving to devote more time to her family. During the ensuing years, she wrote five novels. She also worked for the 2001 and 2002 Sundance Film Festivals as an editor. Natalie is a member of the International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, and Romance Writers of America.
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Yes I have a Facebook account, but don’t really use it too often. I’m still not sure how to make my way around the site quickly although it is easier than Twitter. I’m just not tech savvy enough for all of this.
by Patricia Barraclough July 19th, 2009 at 10:06 pmYep, I use facebook. It’s the best way to keep in touch with out of state relatives and friends. I do have myspace for my business but I don’t go on there often. I’m with everyone else on that – facebook offers more immediacy. I recently opened a second facebook account though for ‘writers and readers’ (for when I get the second) so I can keep them seperate from family, who are allowed to see pics of my naked 2yr old in the pool
by ban July 20th, 2009 at 5:43 amps: go to your profile page, highlight the address in the location bar (at the top) and send that ‘link’ to others. If your page is open they will be able to see everything if it’s private, they’ll have to send a friend request. Hope I helped
I have a facebook, a myspace, and a goodreads page. I hate myspace, and all I do over there is accept friend requests and copy and paste my blog. I love that my blog feeds to goodreads and facebook. And now I’ll have to go look you up!
I’m still refusing to Tweet, though.
by Terry Odell July 20th, 2009 at 5:54 amwhat blog format do you use – I’d love to have mine feed to FB …
by ban July 20th, 2009 at 6:06 amI use Blogger — but I believe the feed setup is through Facebook. I’m not much of a tecchie, so it’s a lot of trial and error. But I think if you go to your facebook page and click around feeds, you’ll probably find it. Actually, mine feeds twice — first I set it up as a ‘note’ feed, and then I did the networked blog thing. I don’t want to mess with change. If only MySpace had that option, I’d be set.
by Terry Odell July 20th, 2009 at 8:18 amNat, I facebook but I’m not very good at it! And myspace won’t let me back on. I evidently forgot my password and can’t get the help thingie to work!
by Debra Webb July 20th, 2009 at 8:37 am