facebook is still not twitter
So my post from yesterday generated a lot of discussion and thoughts about a few things. Probably I could have expressed myself more clearly as there were several issues that got tied up together.
Firstly, I was intending to comment on the usage of social media purely from the perspective of as (self) promotional tools. I totally understand being time poor, or squeezed for time and not wanting to waste it across a variety of sites. And, after all, these are *social* media and everyone is free to use them as they wish and for whatever they wish. However, I do still think that when using these tools for promotional purposes, as an element of promoting your business, it's in your interest to find the time to use them effectively. I personally do spend a lot of time across these sites. I mentioned at Conflux that I spend a lot of time chasing down the sales that I make for Twelfth Planet Press, the great majority of which come from internet sales. I see a large part of this as from my presence online. So for me, the time I spend on these sites is worthwhile, from a business perspective.
And this comes into the second point that I was trying to make. Social media sites are not about passive consumption. They aren't bulletin boards or newsletters. Users aren't sitting around waiting for you to come past and tell them about your new thing. Social media sites are like bars or coffee shops or parties. There are people yelling into and over the din. There are groups of people chatting amongst themselves and ignoring all the rest. And there are people wandering around trying to get an in. For me, I am looking for the buzz, I'm looking for what's new *right now* and I'm looking for interesting people to talk to *right now*. When I see material that has been crossposted, ie not uploaded from that site, I know that that person is not really there. And not really interested in interacting. They are somewhere else and they've couriered in their information by proxy. And it makes me hesitate to comment or respond - will they even see my interaction? Will they care? Are they interested? Is this an afterthought? And for promotion of your product, these are the last questions you want potential consumers to be asking.
Twitter and Facebook and I spose blogs to some degree are about value adding. If you just want to tell me when your new book comes out, why shouldn't I just subscribe to your publisher's website or newsletter? Having an account in a social network, whatever the medium, implies value adding. And you kind of need to follow through and add that value.
A friend was telling me today about her own experience of Facebook which frankly sounds a helluva lot more interesting than mine. Turns out her flist is filled with commentators, reviewers, critics and activists. And yeah, her flist is lively and interesting. I probably need to diversify mine.
So that leads me horribly to the final and least palatable part. The issue of the content. Again, yep, I can totally not read what I don't want to read. And if I'm not interested in material, I can go read elsewhere. But when specifically using social media for promotion, you kind of want people to want to stay around. Personally, I use networking sites in part to, well, network. I like to keep in touch with writers, editors, publishers and critics. Interacting with people - conversing, exchanging ideas and information, can be a form of mentoring. And I have been lucky to be mentored by some pretty awesome people. I also like to pull information relevant to the scene and blog or post it as news on the ASif! site. I *care* about the kind of information a lot of writers blog about - projects, new releases and so on. And in some respects, through ASif!, I act as a gate keeper for that information - because a lot of other people don't have the patience to wade through it. And I suspect I hang around some places a lot longer than others for "work" rather than interest. I have to be there. But it's amazing how boring some writer's blogs are. Most of the time I'm skim reading. And it makes me wonder - are they saving it all for their books or is this what their writing is like? I guess that's kind of like having a shop window on Fifth Avenue, NYC, and not putting your best of next season's fashion on display.
Firstly, I was intending to comment on the usage of social media purely from the perspective of as (self) promotional tools. I totally understand being time poor, or squeezed for time and not wanting to waste it across a variety of sites. And, after all, these are *social* media and everyone is free to use them as they wish and for whatever they wish. However, I do still think that when using these tools for promotional purposes, as an element of promoting your business, it's in your interest to find the time to use them effectively. I personally do spend a lot of time across these sites. I mentioned at Conflux that I spend a lot of time chasing down the sales that I make for Twelfth Planet Press, the great majority of which come from internet sales. I see a large part of this as from my presence online. So for me, the time I spend on these sites is worthwhile, from a business perspective.
And this comes into the second point that I was trying to make. Social media sites are not about passive consumption. They aren't bulletin boards or newsletters. Users aren't sitting around waiting for you to come past and tell them about your new thing. Social media sites are like bars or coffee shops or parties. There are people yelling into and over the din. There are groups of people chatting amongst themselves and ignoring all the rest. And there are people wandering around trying to get an in. For me, I am looking for the buzz, I'm looking for what's new *right now* and I'm looking for interesting people to talk to *right now*. When I see material that has been crossposted, ie not uploaded from that site, I know that that person is not really there. And not really interested in interacting. They are somewhere else and they've couriered in their information by proxy. And it makes me hesitate to comment or respond - will they even see my interaction? Will they care? Are they interested? Is this an afterthought? And for promotion of your product, these are the last questions you want potential consumers to be asking.
Twitter and Facebook and I spose blogs to some degree are about value adding. If you just want to tell me when your new book comes out, why shouldn't I just subscribe to your publisher's website or newsletter? Having an account in a social network, whatever the medium, implies value adding. And you kind of need to follow through and add that value.
A friend was telling me today about her own experience of Facebook which frankly sounds a helluva lot more interesting than mine. Turns out her flist is filled with commentators, reviewers, critics and activists. And yeah, her flist is lively and interesting. I probably need to diversify mine.
So that leads me horribly to the final and least palatable part. The issue of the content. Again, yep, I can totally not read what I don't want to read. And if I'm not interested in material, I can go read elsewhere. But when specifically using social media for promotion, you kind of want people to want to stay around. Personally, I use networking sites in part to, well, network. I like to keep in touch with writers, editors, publishers and critics. Interacting with people - conversing, exchanging ideas and information, can be a form of mentoring. And I have been lucky to be mentored by some pretty awesome people. I also like to pull information relevant to the scene and blog or post it as news on the ASif! site. I *care* about the kind of information a lot of writers blog about - projects, new releases and so on. And in some respects, through ASif!, I act as a gate keeper for that information - because a lot of other people don't have the patience to wade through it. And I suspect I hang around some places a lot longer than others for "work" rather than interest. I have to be there. But it's amazing how boring some writer's blogs are. Most of the time I'm skim reading. And it makes me wonder - are they saving it all for their books or is this what their writing is like? I guess that's kind of like having a shop window on Fifth Avenue, NYC, and not putting your best of next season's fashion on display.