Naturally I have a few favorites in mind that I want to tell you about. But none of this is set in stone. What works for me may not be good for you and then there is the odd fact that these things tend to change faster than your first grader's smile once those teeth start falling out.
And I'm not just talking about what network is currently in fashion. Have you ever noticed that just when you get used to a social network site they change it? Recent changes to Facebook come to mind. it seems to make it easier to play games or use apps. Nevermind the thousands of us in the I don't care about your farm or mafia family group. It made it harder for me, on dialup, to see and interact with the different groups I have set up there. Still I like Facebook; it lets me interact with writing friends across the country.
I like crimespace too. The on-going dialogue there assumes we are all writers and mystery writers at that--so it's not a place for Bsp. You'll see some of that of course, but it is more of a writer's community. I like it for some of the same reasons I used to love Dorothy l. I tend to lurk on Dot L now, catching up on digests way too late to participate much. I don't know why. I still love it for getting suggestions on books to read, but tend to prefer that some of those suggestions would come from folks other than the author of the books.
I'm on Twitter and I like it but it feels a little bit like being in the crowd in Target right before Christmas. You are there with a bunch of other people and you might recognize some but you probably will not catch your best friend or sit for a long chat. Plus after having my account taken over early last year probably because of responding to a "bad" direct message, I'm a little leery there now.
The last group I love is Jeff Mark's murder must advertise. You can sign up on yahoo too if you like. I skim the list many days but I tend to keep it because of the ability to brainstorm with a bunch of other authors on something that we're all up against--promotion.
None of these groups is new anymore. These are just my keepers. Places where I can go and be a writer. What about you? Where do you network and why?
2 comments:
Thanks for the great post. I'm on most of those sites myself. I did drop off Dot's because of reasons very similar to yours. I find that each has it's own very real opportunities. I've had quite a few chances come my way from people noticing posts on my blogs or Facebook. There is the debate that they are a timesuck, but if you use your time wisely these social networking places can work to your advantage.
Teagan Oliver
www.TeaganOliver.com
www.TeaganOliver.blogspot.com
I think that belonging to a social networks is perfect because we can exchange ideas and important current information, I think we should be informed not also in real life but also through the network.m10m
Post a Comment