Danger, danger, land sharks! I'm having a moment. That kind of moment where I know there's so much more in life that I enjoy doing than just keeping up with my Social Media platforms.
Ouch! Some of my best friends live on the Internet, we've never met IRL. I love them. Ouch! There's so much of interest to link to, one can continue clicking on and on, without ever really feeling there's an end to that fascinating network. And there isn't.
The Social Media are jealous lovers, they'll let you sniff at something. Yes, you may glance in passing, yes you may temporarily lose yourself, but don't have the nerve to really get involved. Ai-ai-ai.
Don't get me wrong, I love the interlinked platforms and the endless possibilities of engagements as much as every other creative entrepreneur, designing personal and fan Facebook pages, tweeting and blogging for business, for a cause or just plain to stay in touch.
But, no matter how efficient your process, your marketing plan, there's always the text that needs to be conceived of, written and published. If you're a writer, you spend your time creating content to market something you may never finish because you're so busy promoting your abstractions.
There's got to be a way to check whether what you're doing makes sense, whether you're not spinning your wheels and really losing precious time. Mari Smith has some ideas about that. Check out her post on measuring your Facebook engagement.
I'm going to publish this post and get back to my "Forgiveness" WIP lest it becomes the never ending novel, marketed and promoted but not existing IRL.
Do you experience moments when you've had it with all the Online business? How do you deal? Do you go off line, get out of town, visit a slow dial-up coffee house, or do you use/choose "Freedom!"?
This work by Judith van Praag is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
10 comments:
As I replied to you on Twitter (cough): i have called twitter my mistress..luckily my present WIP is not to be rushed, nor does it demand to be fulltime occupation.
Here's a question about being a creative entrepreneur active in social media: is finishing the project (in isolation) more important than growing it (in collaboration)? What if you finish but exist in a vaccum? Or what if you have strong connections and growth and the thing takes longer? Could this conundrum be likened to a journey vs. a destination?
Dearest Judith - sometimes I feel like it's a magic act ... the one where you get all these teacups spinning on the tops of sticks. You first get them all balanced, then you start spinning one, then the next, then the next. Once you get to the end you run back to the beginning to get that one spinning again.
The solitary work I do (offline) and the collaborative work I do (online) both contribute to my personal and professional growth. I make a point to be attentive to what needs more of my energy and focus each day or week because it changes.
And as I mentioned in our LI discussion (http://lnkd.in/gQr7ZU) once you get the platform built, the maintenance takes much less time and energy.
Not to mention how we would miss you if you weren't here on your blog, or tweeting, or Facebooking Judith. The way we're spread out across the globe, there's just no other way for us to be with you than virtually.
Not having you here would be a big loss.
Hello Judith
I have struggled with the idea of social media and completely understand why I was only half-hearted in following the blogging route, but with Warriors I met you and bunch of amazing writers.
I confess I am not a natural networker but that's the beauty of the writer's internet - we don't need a sales pitch to befriend or help each other.
And that is the reason I remain online. And I decided to blog once a week and update comments etc twice so there will be days when you won't find me around- and for those days you do see me online I will be tweeting, facebooking, blogging, surfing, commenting and skyping all at the same time....
Love
Tee
Hey Judith
Come on over to my blog and collect your Stylish Blogger Award
http://wp.me/p17lsE-3d
:) Tee
Dear Anastasia, Per definition the road has been more important to me than the destination. And that's exactly why I need to focus on getting my book(s) finished, to show what I've been working on for so many years.
The next version of the illustration in the post I am a Tree should show bright blossoms, followed by one with fruits to be picked and enjoyed!
Dear Tara, Sounds like you've got a handle on balancing the SM acts, personal growth and public imaging.
Thank you so much for your kind words at my address. No worries though, there's not a hair on my head (and I've got plenty of those) that has the intention to discontinue my web presence. On the contrary I should say.
The discussion on Linkedin has provided some interesting other links and proves my point: it's so easy to lose yourself in reading, reading, reading all those interesting point of views. More on this later on my blog ;-)
Typo in bold: That would be pointS of view
Dear Tee, Thank you for visiting and for sharing your way of dealing with interactions on the WWW.
You're right, the Word Warriors are phenomenal, I'm so glad our pal the versatile Kim Koning connected me with that writers' tribe!
In my previous life (in the theater and art world in the Netherlands), I was a networker, albeit with a great need for solitude. Now the scale has tipped over in favor of writing, I work in solitude and network Online.
So glad we've connected thanks to that possibility!
What a great sitel. So glad I found you. I've put you on my blog list.
Hi Helen, Thanks so much for stopping by and leaving a comment, it's great to know our writing is read isn't it? Will take look at yours as well!
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