I admit I've been digging my toes in and clinging to the walls with clawing fingernails in an attempt not to join Facebook or MySpace or any of the other timesucks the Internets has to offer.
"But alas..." she says with a sigh.
Harlequin Digital sends out these great emails to their authors telling them about promotional opportunities, and recently they said even if you don't want to get on any of the online networks, you should really just go in and grab your name. Made sense to me. I might like to use one of the networks in the future. Now, MySpace makes me shudder. Every time I've visited one of those pages they take so darn long to load and there's music and pictures and it's just a visual and auditory overload. I can't do it. So I signed up for Facebook and Twitter. Hey, I was just grabbing my name, right?
Yeah right.
Who'd a thought when you sign on to Twitter (a mere one minute process) you're then actually...twittering. I mean, right there at the top of the page there's a little box that asks "What are you doing?" Well, I figured how harmful can it be to answer? So I answered. It was my first official Twitter. I've now Twittered 27 times according to my Twitter homepage, since last Friday. Oy. But you know, it's kinda fun. And I've found this great program called Nambu that organizes all your 'tweets' for you on your desktop so you don't have to go online all the time (Macs only). 
And then I discovered there are Twibes. Yep, you read that right—Twibes. They are Twitter Tribes of people. So I joined a Writers Twibe, and then I created my own Twibe, the VampChix. Hee. Okay, this is really fun! And guess who I'm following? Jeffrey Donovan of Burn Notice. I know, he doesn't know who the heck I am, but dude, it's like he's writing just to me when he tweets. Sigh...
And then I discovered there are Twibes. Yep, you read that right—Twibes. They are Twitter Tribes of people. So I joined a Writers Twibe, and then I created my own Twibe, the VampChix. Hee. Okay, this is really fun! And guess who I'm following? Jeffrey Donovan of Burn Notice. I know, he doesn't know who the heck I am, but dude, it's like he's writing just to me when he tweets. Sigh...And then there's Facebook. Signed up and right at the top of the page it asks "What's on your mind?" Seriously? It was as easy as that to just...start. I hadn't intended to start. I wasonly there to reserve my name. Uh-huh.
So Facebook is interesting. You can post 'what's on your mind' or photos, or join groups (I joined Chipotle! Hey, I love their vegetarian burrito bowls.) And you know, there's probably a group out there somewhere for 'fans of Chipotle's vegetarian burrito bowls'. But I've figured out that Facebook is just some twisted game called 'Let's see how many friends you can collect'. I get friend requests. I can go out and seek friends. It's like a hunt. And they can either approve you or ignore you. But seriously, I suspect some people are just out to collect friends. Even people they don't know. I get requests, and if I don't recognize the name I check their profile. I don't even know these people! How did they find out about me? I know it's not because I'm a world-famous author. I mean, the 21 yr old guy who's only profile notation is that he 'recently took an IQ test and it was 126'. Is that something a normal person would use to attract other friends? I don't think so, buddy.
Anyway, it is fun collecting friends, both writers and readers and some family mixed in there too. (Sorry 126 IQ guy, you just creep me out.) And I'm following links from notes friends have written on my Wall, and again, I'm kinda, maybe, sort of—well, okay, I'm REALLY having fun with this.
So friend me, will ya? (You don't have to tell me your IQ, either.) And tweet me. And join my Twibe if you so desire. I tell you, for someone who spends her day sitting before a computer screen, typing away, with no human interaction at all, it's nice to take a break and go chat with my 'friends' once in a while.
So I admit it, I like Facebook and Twitter. There I said it. Now all my friends who have been listening to me say "I'll never get on those" can say "I told you so".
So what are your thoughts on the various online networking sights? Love it, hate it. Find it fun? Use it only for promotion or family?
Michele
The pic of the pink chick on top 'tis my Facebook persona. Hey, I'm sure I looked like that in the 18th century!
16 comments:
Consider yourself friended (my IQ was 140 even though one question didn't have a correct answer *g* ). I have signed up for Facebook and reconnected with high school classmates (our 40th reunion is this fall but I can't go), folks from the old neighborhood where I grew up and even someone who was a neighbor when we lived in Germany. It's been fun catching up.
I signed up for Twitter than cancelled after a while. Too much in addition to Facebook, our blog, the blogs I follow and life in general.
I'm still dragging my heels, Michele. Feel like the last human on earth not twittering, friending or myspacing. Oh, wait! I do have a myspace. Set one up more than a year ago and haven't been back since!! lol
You're scaring me, Michele. I spent at least 2 hours last night straightening out the membership I got into on Disney's Pixie Hollow for the granddaughters. Their "Speedchat Plus" wasn't working. Help! I'm tangled in nets!
I get e-mails once in a while from people wanting to "friend" me on Facebook. My face isn't booked. It's not just the time I'm trying to protect. It's the brain. Mine is getting so crowded! Plus, I have an aversion to all this verb-ifying of nouns.
Gotcha, Playground!
Helen and Kathy, come on now, it's not so terrible. I dare you. Go get Faced! :-)
*is waiting for friend approval*
Us proofreaders never mention our IQ's because it'll make the rest of you feel inferior.
*snickers evilly*
Michele - Once I grasped HTML (thanks to my daughter) Myspace became a snap. Now I find facebook too boring - and twitter is a time vampire (for me, anyway.)
I believe that writers should be on at least one of the many networking sites available - If we were on all of them, when would we have the time (and energy) to write?
:)
G.
Bell Bridge/BelleBooks has a Facebook and a MySpace and a Twitter and websites and e-newletters and a LiveJournal blog.
I so don't have time for all the networking but fortunately that's where partners come in really handy!
I do think it's very important to build an online tribe.
Since I'm unpubbed, I haven't grabbed my writing name on all the social networking sites. The "real me" did, however, give into the Facebook craze. Now I'm just wondering if Kelsey will be my friend once she registers. :)
I've yet to join Twitter. Just haven't gotten around to it yet. I am on Facebook...
~Caroline
I'm finally on Facebook! I have friends among the family and a few from the writing community. I can easily see how it could become the mother of all time sinks. Yikes, I'm always being challenged to take some quiz or test and compare results with somebody.
How badly do I need to know that I'm really a golden retriever in drag? And I unwittingly signed up for a cell-phone dating service while trying to take an IQ test to prove to my niece that I'm not the source of the family's infamous "moron" branch. That took some fancy footwork to undo.
I tell you-- Facebook can be dangerous to newbies!
What a great post! I've been putting off Twitter since it felt like one more thing, but you've made it sound so easy, I have try. And then I can start a twibe and tweet people...or tweet people and then the twibe...?
Michele, I am a total facebook slut, LOL. And the object of collecting friends, at least to me, to have a larger contingent to convince to join my fans page. And once they're on the fan page you can send messages to the entire group, so easier for promotional purposes. But after signing up for Twitter I decided I do not want to get deluged with all that so I haven't done anything with it since.
Really can't get into twitter, but I love facebook. I still go to myspace for music.
Trish, you could Tweet and Twibe at the same time!
Hey, thanks to all who friended moi. :-)
Hi Michele!
I tweet, I'm on Facebook, and I have to blog (it's an addiction). I've avoid My Space because all my kids are use it, I wanted a grown up place, but now my daughter tweets too. I'll look for your Twibe.
Dottie :)
Michele, I'm on twitter, but I couldn't find you!
Will try back to check again later.
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