Saturday, June 4, 2011

FACING UP TO FACEBOOK

Because I have a new book coming out in the fall, and because my publisher is valiant but small, I have been encouraged (that word includes the word "urged") by folks in the know to get involved with Facebook.

Self-promotion does not come easy to me, but I know I must. After all, I write to be read. Another problem is that I'm not a particularly social person; that is to say I don't run with a pack. And the third problem is that I've always been one or more steps behind in adapting to and adopting new technologies. I resisted push-button phones, call waiting, answering machines, fax, email, the Internet, blogging…until, one by one, they all wormed into my life and became necessary. What did I do without them?

Now it's Facebook. I have in the past preached against it. Why do we need "friends"? Why do we need another interruption in our daily life? Another addiction? Who cares about small talk? And all the other unnecessary prejudices against what may be a useful and enjoyable tool?

So yes, I've signed up, as of a couple of days ago. I kept getting this information, from the Lord on High, by email: so-and-so wants to be my friend. Some of these people I never heard of. Some I'm quite fond of. So why not?

Trouble is, I have no idea what I'm doing. Innovations these days don't come with instruction manuals. It seems they're invented for people who already know how to use them. (Yes, I'm an old fogie. Gimme a break, I'll turn 70 this year.) I picked a few friends to adopt just to try this machinery out, and I have no idea if I'm communicating properly. Apparently Facebook doesn't accept my email address as valid, even if they use it to send me urgent messages about friends who want to befriend me.

I know I'll get used to this, and I know I'll come to like it. Or at least learn to use it well. I had the same time trying to learn how to use Word. Now I can use Word well, except for things I don't know how to do but can do perfectly well without.

Anyway, please wish me luck.

8 comments:

  1. Hi John,

    Fogie to fogie (at least we're not "Fergie" though we might be foggy) I'm in the same boat as you. When it was my birthday in December I got so many wishes from hither and yon I almost wore out my day reading well wishes from those I love and many I didn't know, in Italy and places much farther beyond. I wish I could be helpful. All I know is if someone sends me something on my "Wall" there is a place to click "Comment" so I do and then click "Share." Sometimes there is no "share" so accidentally I clicked "Enter" on my computer and that worked. Direct messages are easier. You just click send. You could Write on your wall announcing your blog and put the link. All you need is more friends, and I know you have many. That's as far as my expertise goes. If you learn more, pass it along to me on my regular email. :-) Good luck! Perie

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  2. Perie, thanks the tip. I have posted something on my wall for the first time (unless I've done it before without knowing what I was doing).

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  3. John, you're a funny guy. Thanks for your blog that made me feel like a kid again. Of course I'm only 61, so I am. Good luck with Facebooking.

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  4. Thank you, Grace. I appreciate your encouragement. I'm still wandering lost in the labyrinth, unsure how to write graffiti on my wall. But it will all come clear. Meanwhile it's a pleasure to reconnect with friends, you especially included.

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  5. Okay, let me "splain" something to you, as Ricky Ricardo used to say. I have read this blog and become a follower because I saw something you posted on FaceBook. I, in turn, just clicked on a button and sent the first article to two creative writing teachers who are also going to be OTP authors. I sent the article on memoir writing and the prompt blog to a writers group in Puerto Vallarta. I sent the writing prompts to a woman who just today asked me for ideas. And, I sent the link to my Face Book page to alert all my followers and you should go over there and see how I enticed them to read your blog. So, what does Face Book do? Right now your blog is circulating the Internet and will go into two college courses, a writing group in Mexico and a fledgling author who needs direction--as well as all my hundreds of writing friends on my Face Book page. There is no getting lost in this labyrinth. You market smart and let the rest of us put it out there. But, you have to do the same for us!

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  6. Thanks for the encouragement, Sunny, and for all your generous help in getting the word out! Fact is, I'm coming to enjoy Facebook a lot, and I know it will be helpful in many ways. It's thanks to your encouragement that I'm learning these new tricks.

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  7. come join us in the twenty-first century, john! you're still here so participate-- it's in your best interest. look at all the good that has come of this already. i predict you'll stop yer grumblin' by the end of summer. yes, you'll have a new addiction in your life.

    let's face it, john. addictions are fun. that's why they're addictive. how many healthy addictions can one look forward to in the saber-tooth tiger (after the cougar decade come, first, puma, then saber tooth tiger, i hear from the sexperts) years of life, anyway?

    marta chausée, author, Resort to Murder mystery series

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  8. Thanks for the encouragement, Marta. In fact, I'm already a lot more comfortable with Facebook and enjoying its possibilities. I doubt if I could ever survive in the Saber-tooth tiger world, though!

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