This is a tricky one. On the one hand I can’t stand what social media has done to our world. It started off so great, and I was hooked, but it has become a weapon of mass disruption and even destruction, literally ruining people’s lives. And yet, if I want to make a living as an author. I just don’t think I can survive without it.
I’ve quit Facebook four times. I dumped Twitter. I stopped using Linkedin. I’ve almost gone Google-free, deleting all my accounts but one, and using non-Google apps. About the only “social” app I never stopped using is Goodreads.
Wait … I also closed that account too, and then kicked myself for losing all my books. 🙂
So, I have issues, obviously. And this is something I’m working on.
If you’ve found a way to safely, enjoyably, and privately use social media, then more power to you. This may seem like a strange way to promote my own social media, and it is. I’m resisting this one, kicking and screaming, but to paraphrase an oft used Trekkie quote, resistance appears to be futile!
You may, or may not be able to find me on the following sites, someday soon. I’ll be the one gritting my teeth in the corner, wondering just why Facebook needs me to make a post to create traffic, or some overgrown adult (probably a white male, or a politician making some noise for their agenda) starts making outrageous comments about people of any colour or persuasion other than their own.
Yeah, kicking and screaming…
But it’s the whole “privacy” thing that really bothers me, especially after a visit to the Stazi Museum in Berlin. None of the guides were on Facebook. That got me thinking. But, here’s the list so far anyway:
The social sites I use:
- Goodreads (This is my author page. I use Goodreads privately too.)
- Kickstarter (to find interesting projects and for my book campaigns)
- Renderosity (3D art – just getting started)
- Daz3D (3D art gallery)
The social site I am currently exploring and secretly enjoying:
The social sites I don’t like but probably should use to make make a living:
- Working on it …
The social sites I am casually exploring but not frequently:
Oh, and if you’ve got this far without rolling your eyes, then check out The Age of Surveillance Capitalism among many other interesting books about privacy. Oh, and these guys! Definitely: Tutanota!
And not forgetting one of my favourite books: 1984. I hated reading it in school, when we were forced to read it. But today, I think it is an amazing book! And I fell for the cover (above) when I found it in a bookshop when speaking at the literary festival in Óbidos, Portugal. 😉
Chris
