As a writer and blogger, I would be the first to tell you how important social media is in getting your work out there, sharing it and finding kindred souls who find something of value in your words.
That value may be information, inspiration or entertainment.
If you’re really fortunate, occasionally you win what I call the Writer’s Trifecta and hit on all three.
Pulling back the curtains on social media’s supportive role in wordsmithing, it’s referred to as ’building your platform’.
You work hard to develop, maintain and (hopefully) grow the community of readers who choose willingly (!) to come along on your writing journey.
For me, I use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ to engage, share and connect. That’s in addition to email (multiple addresses to help keep projects sorted), and of course, my blog.
Why so many? Because I believe firmly in the concept that you engage people in the medium they prefer. And because I clearly see that it is a generational thing: young people do not, repeat, do not use email.
That’s for the ‘older generation’. You know, those of us over thirty forty types.
Each social medium is very different in terms of who uses them and in what manner.
They have an unwritten code of conduct as to how you meet and interact with others, what and how you say something, and how you share information and acknowledge those whose contributions you enjoy.
Leave it to my good friend and fellow expat Russell at In Search of a Life Less Ordinary to write a post that hints at the challenges and potential dark side of what I think of as the ‘social media time suck’.
It raised interesting and provocative questions, and the timing couldn’t have been better.
But let’s not kid ourselves. Social media as a time waster isn’t limited to those of us who use it in our work.
In our personal lives, who hasn’t fallen down the rabbit hole searching the internet for story after story, article after article, blog post after blog post?
I dare say that most of us are guilty of spending a little too much time online, flitting between email, Facebook and Twitter, Pinterest and Skype and Google+. Facebook even cheekily reports on who’s playing what online game and with whom.
Yet we all know the advent of these social media venues is precisely what keeps us connected and in the loop with family and friends. I can’t imagine not having FB messaging to share up-to-the-minute info in a crisis, or Skype to video chat with my elderly parents and other family members.
By now you may be wondering how a post about social media ends up with the title of ‘Bilingual Baby M’.
This is where the positive effects of social media come in.
It was during personal time catching up on Facebook awhile back that I learned my nephew was making a concerted effort to learn Spanish to be able to converse in his wife’s native tongue to their soon-to-be born baby girl (the aforementioned M). They’d decided to raise M bilingually from birth.
As an aunt, I’m proud of the dedication of M’s parents to building and strengthening their family unit.
As someone in a committed partnership (that would be with Husband), I appreciate the importance of each spouse letting the other know that they truly value the entirety of the other.
As a writer, I hold dear the honored ‘show, don’t tell’ doctrine: my nephew and his wife aren’t simply telling people that raising M bilingually is important, they are demonstrating it by their actions.
And as an expat, I know the richness that comes out of combining cultures, rituals, language.
Shortly after M was born, I found an article about new findings in the study of language learning and multi-lingualism. I happened upon it while checking out the website of one of my favorite newspapers, and I shared it with others on various social media.
But it was more than that.
Suddenly thoughts about the recent birth of M, her parents and the latest research findings came together in my mind in a light bulb moment. The ‘aha’ result is my most recent article in the Telegraph, Can Bilingualism Make You Smarter? (their title, not mine), which coincidentally was published the same day as Russell’s post.
Often, as a writer, you keep your family separate from your work. In this instance, I was thrilled to be able to meld the two together.
Call it a labor of love.
[Image credit: Nutdanai Apikhomboonwaroot, portfolio 1786, FreeDigitalPhotos.net]
Great Linda! I love your topic, and as a fellow writer/blogger I would love to message you, regarding the entire social media platform subject. Obviously, you have more knowledge of its importance, and I need to pick your brain.
It’s interesting that you send out this post, and I find another post regarding writing or being a “writer”, all within a several day timespan. For me, both are so necessary at this juncture of mine.
Do you mind if I FB message you in the next several days
Again, a great article of truth and sharing!
Thanks Carol, I appreciate that. Of course I don’t mind your messaging me, happy to help. We bloggers/writers stick together, and I’ve been on the receiving end as often as I’ve helped. As for my brain, it’s more picked over than pickable, but ask away!
Hello, Thanks for visiting my blog and taking time to leave a comment. I find this article very interesting as I am one of the “old ones” when it comes to social media. I could learn a lot from you for sure. Looks like lot’s of good info here so I will be back to visit you.
Thank you Jane, appreciate that. I was telling Husband about your site last night: ‘the photos of the villages, houses and countryside look like a movie set. We have to move to the Cotswolds’. Poor guy was shaking his head trying to figure out how he’d commute to his work at his UN org here in The Hague!
Yes – it can work. I read Russell’s blog and it gave me a twinge of guilt – I spend far too much time on social media probably, but do “physical face to face” things too so try to keep a balance. I have avoided Google Plus and won’t take on any more. But writing blog posts, writing in general and reading also take up chunks of my time. And very pleasurable it is too – no regrets! (What I am doing with social media is not only building the platform for my writing but also trying to support and promote causes I care about, as well as to empower others by sharing information; which I find positive).
Agreed, Petchary. Sharing information on subjects we are interested in – and believe that others, especially our readers, would find of interest as well – is very much part of ‘platform building’. I try to be mindful of time spent online (other than for pure writing), and strict against overuse or timewasting. Enjoyed your post on the Writers’ Conference you attended; you obviously had great panel discussions, and was informative and inspiring.
Thanks for sharing the link to my post, Linda, and I think your own post captures the issue of ‘balance’ regarding social media.
On the one hand, it can be a massive ‘time suck’ but, particularly for us expats, it’s a crucial way of keeping in touch and staying connected. I’ve decided to also limit my use to the key tools – Facebook, Google+, Twitter and LinkedIn. And I’ll only share what’s useful and necessary, rather than adding unhelpfully to the current Internet noise.
I don’t think this issue is going away any time soon and it’s great to be able to understand other’s own issues with their use of social media. Talking of which, I need to get back to my ‘paid’ job because it’s just turned 11am and I’m still going strong on SM!
You’re welcome, Russell. It was a very good post that raised excellent questions on the use and meaning of social media and the potential for frittering away precious time. Nice to ‘work’ together again
The way social media is changing our lives and even how our brain works, is amazing. I barely use email or the mobile to make calls these days and I’ve been seriously thinking of cancelling my landline.
We do spend a lot more time than we need checking FB or Twitter but I guess it’s how human behaviour is again adapting to new tools / technologies. I bet having to travel by carriage from wherever you lived to see your family back in the olden days was a time sucker as well…
Great point, Aledys. So often we resist change simply on the basis that it’s new and different. Just because it’s new and different doesn’t automatically make it better, but it also doesn’t automatically make it worse or not viable. Ditto with me on not using cell phone much to call, mainly to SMS. I still use email (I’m a little older than you so my generation still uses it), but I have to send a msg via FB to tell my kids to read an email I may have sent them, lol!