There’s a lot being said about social networking these days – some of it good, and some not so much. I crept into the blogging world a couple years ago to initiate my internet visibility, and since then have discovered many wonderful online friends.
Then I was coaxed into the world of Facebook, mostly to keep in touch with family and close friends, although now writing connections are also among my ‘friends’ there.
During the recent SiWC conference, everywhere I looked people were texting and tweeting, and meeting and greeting ‘peeps’ they knew from online but had never met in person. Tweet-ups happened all weekend long and by the time I returned home, I found myself venturing into Twitter territory, too, just to stay in touch with my new conference friends.
During this month of frenzied NaNoWriMo writing, I’m spending a lot of time squirreled away by myself, and yet I’m not alone. As I work on my computer there’s a whole community of similarly occupied people out there. And occasionally I take a break to check in. The bits of encouragement tacked on at the end of this post were snippets from Twitter that came in during just one brief period. When I need inspiration or motivation there’s always someone ready to provide it. Now that definitely is something positive to say about social networking!
Question for you: What social networking opportunities do you take part in? Have they been mostly positive experiences for you, or have they had some negative aspects?
~
- Managed to write 3600 words for #NaNoWriMo today. Pretty happy w/that. Puts my total @ 6925. Not bad for 4 days work – I think. #amwriting
- I didn’t quite hit 2K but I did write 1775 words. That makes 3902 so far today. 5K here I come. #amwriting #NaNoWriMo
- ooohh keep it up #vancowrimo We are presently #18 for highest overall word count. #2 in Canada behind Toronto by 500K words.
- After spending most of the day preparing to move tomorrow, I #amwriting for a bit before bed.
- I’m going to finish chapter 3 tonight. #amwriting
- I’m back and feeling better. My head still hurts but not as bad. Time for #nanowrimo I #amwriting again! Woooo! :3
- Didn’t realize I broke 10K on my WIP. Up to 11,875. That gives me a little more #amwriting motivation for tonight…
- 3067 words! Goal for the day met, spanked and sent on its way. Yes, I’m still writing. #amwriting #nanowrimo
- Today is over in 30 min so word count for today is 3290 #nanowrimo #amwriting I shall write on, for tomorrow…
- I think I just wrote at least 1000 words of new stuff. Shows what I can do when focused. Wrote most of it on the kitchen bench. #amwriting
- When a Wrimo reaches quota, an angel gets her wings. Or something like that. 10261/50k #nanowrimo #amwriting
- #amwriting Getting TONS done tonight. Not sure where the inspiration is coming from, but I’m not going to ask questions.
- 15k. Still going! #NaNoWriMo #amwriting
- Nudging 12,000 words but some o’ them ain’t pretty! How y’all going? #NaNo #amwriting #shutupandwrite.
- Awesome job!! RT @Xxxxxy: 8,161 words today — personal best. 31,163 words total. #nano #amwriting #amgoingtobed
- @Xyyyz Glad you reminded me. Guess the only rule for #Nano is to keep writing even when the muse is silent. #amwriting
~
MUSINGS 
I’m not a big Facebook fan & only use Twitter to “discuss” political topics. I should make more of an effort in blogland, maybe follow more blogs (I routinely follow only a handful) & write more posts, but there’s this problem called time. Hope NaNo is working out well for you.
Carol,
I’ve been blogging and on Facebook for over a year, but only recently ventured into Twitterland. I’ve yet to take advantage of all the features.
I just added you as a friend on Twitter :).
Christi Corbett
http://christicorbett.wordpress.com
I have had a blog for a few years, and I’ve been on Facebook for quite awhile, too.
About a year ago I was dragged, kicking and screaming, to Twitter. I have to say the initial foray didn’t go too well. Within the first three months, my Twitter account got hacked twice.
I’ve slowly gotten better accustomed to using Twitter, though I would be nowhere without TweetDeck to keep things organized and allow me to update Twitter and FB at the same time.
I really like twitter for have short exchanges with people about life in general and about writing and for sharing news.
I like blogging.
Facebook hasn’t interested me enough to post regularly. Twitter would require more thinking than I want to do at this time, so I haven’t signed up. I’m sure both Facebook and Twitter can be valuable networking tools, but so far I’m content without them.
Definitely positive!
I’m not sold on twitter yet, mostly because I can’t access the internet on my phone. :0)
Your progress is impressive, Carol. As for twitting, nah. Not me. I like facebook, but I don’t do much on it. I belong to three writer’s groups. I read blogs in the morning and catch up on all the news. I don’t like using the cell, and only carry it when I go to town. I don’t feel alone either. I guess it’s blogging that keeps me up to date on what all my cyberpals are doing. Met some excellent people.
I love blogging and FB. I”ve made some great friends, and receive encouragement when I need it. These are fun tools if not overused.
Blogging is my favorite online activity. I’m on Twitter, too, mostly for quick updates and fun exchanges.
Like anything else, social networking is what we make it–waste of time or community building; the choice is up to us. 🙂