I\u2019m not all that into the social media scene, although I network all the time. I have visited Facebook (SPAWN has a Facebook presence) and I am on Twitter. I Tweet when I remember to. I read and hear about problems in social media world\u2014people being rude, sarcastic, mean-spirited and even crude. <\/p>\n
I don\u2019t even know if there are still chat rooms. But I remember visiting a few of those some years ago. I happened into some with what appeared to be some pretty stupid people with a lot of time on their hands. Somehow, they even appeared in chat rooms for gardening, pets and grandparenting, for example. So many of the messages were nothing but swear words, non-words with lots of exclamation points and comments that didn\u2019t relate to anything reasonable. I guess some of this is going on at the social media sites, too. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s as if people think they have an air of anonymity\u2014or there is no tomorrow. They can say and do what they want no matter who they hurt and it will never affect them. They adopt a similar attitude as some people do behind the wheel of a car\u2014\u201cI\u2019m invisible.\u201d<\/p>\n
I know that many of you who are seeking freelance writing work and who are promoting books use Facebook and other such sites. How is it working for you? How are you using it? Maybe you\u2019re overusing it\u2014being too pushy with your sales pitch.<\/p>\n
Yesterday I came across Alice Wisler\u2019s article in Dan Case\u2019s Writing for Dollars<\/em> newsletter on how to more successfully (and politely) use social media and she gave me permission to post her suggestions here. <\/p>\n 1: Be polite and treat others kindly. Remember words are powerful, and you can\u2019t retrieve them once they are out there for all to read.<\/p>\n 2: Ask yourself why you are joining the site. What do you expect to get out of it? New friends or only a way to sell books?<\/p>\n 3: \u201cChange your status often,\u201d says the staff at Writers Digest <\/em>in their recent article on social networking. This shows you are a constant presence, serious about being \u201cpresent\u201d as well as an active participant.<\/p>\n 4: \u201cThink about being a respected expert,\u201d is advice given by those who feel that Facebook will get you more visits to your personal website if you have something noteworthy to say. I write for a website on grief, and hope that by sharing that link, fellow Facebook friends will read the articles and learn how to reach those with broken hearts.<\/p>\n 5: \u201cGetting others to gain an interest in your work takes time,\u201d the team at my publishing house tells its authors.<\/p>\n 6: You are part of a community. Always be willing to lend a helping hand.<\/p>\n 7: Show that you are more than what you\u2019ve had published. True, you might have joined to push your books, but if that\u2019s all you do, others will soon tire of you. They might even \u201cunfriend\u201d you.<\/p>\n 8: Have fun! Others will see that you are an exciting and caring person and then might be interested in heading out to purchase your novels or read your articles. Think of your presence on Facebook as you would if you were at a party or family reunion. Bring some life and laughter, compassion and encouragement and show others who read your words that you are someone worth getting to know.<\/p>\n Published in Writing for Dollars <\/em>March 2, 2010.<\/p>\n Alice J. Wisler, author of the Southern novels, Rain Song, How Sweet It Is<\/em>, and Hatteras Girl<\/em>, lives and writes in Durham, NC. She teaches online grief-writing courses and designs remembrance cards. Visit her website to learn more and read her blog: http:\/\/www.alicewisler.com<\/a> <\/p>\n Leave your stories of social media abuse or successes here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I\u2019m not all that into the social media scene, although I network all the time. I have visited Facebook (SPAWN has a Facebook presence) and I am on Twitter. I Tweet when I remember to. I read and hear about problems in social media world\u2014people being rude, sarcastic, mean-spirited and even crude. I don\u2019t even […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t