As a newbie to Facebook and Twitter, I have probably unknowingly and unintentionally overstepped many rules of social networking etiquette. Terms such as “like”, “block”, “confirm”, “friend” (as a verb), “link”, and “tweet” still knit wrinkles into my brow and cause me to tap my chin as I ponder just what these ordinary words might mean in an online context.
Being honest, I joined these networks at the recommendation of author and businessman Daniel Gasteiger, who teaches on social media marketing for writers. He insists that an online presence is essential for today's writer.
In an article in the Michigan Quarterly Review, Preeta Samarasan, author of Evening Is The Whole Day, says it is practical for a writer to use Facebook. “Writers need audiences . . . we need people to show up to our events, to read our stories and our essays and our blog posts, perhaps to be lured by our views on politics and culture into seeking out our work offline.”
If we are serious about a career as a writer, Joanna Penn of www.TheCreativePenn.com offers five more reasons why we need to embrace technology and social networking:
- People are online. If we engage on social network sites, provide information on our blogs or produce our work in podcast audio format, we are more likely to get readers.
- It is the best way to build an author platform. If we have an online presence, we will reach people globally and will gain a following.
- The tools have never been easier and they are free. Point and click is all we need to do to access the most influential websites in the world--Facebook, Twitter and Flickr.
- Publishing is changing and e-books are exploding. We need to enable people to buy our books in any format they like.
- Mobile devices are exploding and the internet is going mobile. Millions of people who can’t afford a computer can surf the web on a mobile device—opening up a whole new world of readers.
To read Joanna’s entire article click HERE.
So, to help spread the word about the Christ-centered and encouraging blogs that are available, I plan to tweet or post a link on Facebook to a few of these uplifting devotionals each day. After all, like Paul, we want to “become all things to all people, that save some of them may be saved by whatever means are possible.”
Blessings!
Pam
©2011 Pamela D. Williams
