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{Freshman college girls between classes. By standards of the time, they would have been considered very "dressed up." Memphis, Tennessee, 1973
photo by Ed Uthman, Houston Texas}
{Karmen Pedaru, model, at Anna Sui 2011
photo: Christopher Macsurak}
ARE WE HERD ANIMALS?
Rachelle Gardner, agent extraordinaire, has posted "SHOULD ALL AUTHORS BLOG?"
In essence, the blog is no longer "novel" and we should reflect on whether we should blog or continue to do so.
For those of us who write novels to not be "novel" apparently is the kiss of death.
Talli Roland (love her last name in her pen name) posted today SHOULD NOVELISTS BLOG?
Talli wrote:
"I know many of you ( like me) have cut down on the amount of time you spend
blogging, turning to Facebook and Twitter."
The Cliff Notes summation of both posts seems to be that Twitter and Facebook posts are shorter and easier to read and keep up with.
But is shorter necessarily better?
Take the mini-skirt
(yes, there was actually a reason for those pictures):
You can only get so short before it gets impossible (and ridiculous) to get shorter.
Twitter and Facebook are the new fads authors just have to join to be with the herd. But do you want to be a "herd author?"
Pinterest was the new craze until the danger of lawsuits for copyright infringement dampened the fun of that site.
If something is important to say, it is hard to twitter it in so few characters.
Facebook is the new scrapbook of the eternally popular ME.
But as authors, don't we blog to communicate, to reach out and INTERACT with other dreamers? Listening and replying to the hurts and thoughts of others ... not merely to talk about our own?
Do we let the diminishing attention span of most people turn us into strange WALKING DEAD, aware of only our own needs while we stumble blind beside one another, hungering only for sales?
What do you think?
I doubt I'll ever get on Facebook and often Twitter still confuses me. Read Talli's post this morning and as I told her, I don't intend to give up blogging and I haven't seen it slack off any. It's how I connect best with others.
ReplyDeleteI am in favor of short mini-skirts though.
Alex:
ReplyDeleteLOL. Yes. I am doubtful of Twitter but certainly in favor of the mini-skirt! :-)
I don't do FB or Twitter due to time restraints. I'd rather spend it blogging, and I don't blog as often as others for the same reason. I know it takes time to create an interesting post than to create 140 characters. I don't like chatter or the herd instinct.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Alex and you, Roland, EXCEPT about the mini-skirts. They are strictly eye candy. There were and have always been: terrible in drafts and cold weather, hard to sit in and bend over while wearing, and just try climbing into a SUV, truck or anything higher than the ground. I speak from experience.
Interesting viewpoint, Roland, we don't all have to be part of the herd.
D.G.:
ReplyDeleteMini-skirts are a guy thing. Alice asks you to forgive Alex and me! :-) She has to put up with Victor so she understands!
I imagine high heels are uncomfortable, too. We guys are sure hard on the ladies.
Blogging seems to me to be more INTERpersonal and less self-focused. I have met so many fascinating, fun friends like you through blogging. :-)
Roland, speaking of heels, my daughter was an extra in White Chicks and she mentioned that the Wayans Brothers came over and were commenting on how bad it was to wear high heels. (since they were dressed in drag).
ReplyDeleteThey said they didn't know how women do it. It's one way for a guy to 'walk a mile in our shoes' but I don't think I'd recommend you try it.
I find Facebook and Twitter to be annoying. My twitter feed is filled with nothing but advertisements for six hundred thousand books that I haven't read all screaming buy me. When I post a question like "How was your day?" I get like one response. Everyone is hooked up to Triberr and stuff like that. They all follow you so you will follow them so that they can sell you stuff.
ReplyDeleteI prefer blogging.
D.G.:
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a cub scout, I played Mae West in a skit. I have always had compassion for women in high heels since a little one!
Wow! Your daughter was an extra in WHITE CHICKS. That must have been an experience and a half.
I wrote of McCord's compassion for what ladies of the Victorian Age had to go through for fashion in RITES OF PASSAGE. :-)
Michael:
I, too, find Facebook and Twitter to be mostly all self-sell and eternally needy.
Like you, I try to post a compassionate, other-directed tweet only to be met with silence or BUY ME! Twitter is like looking at an endless line of Amway sellers all asking you to buy their merchandise. Sigh.
I, too, prefer blogging ... though with my job as eternal rare blood courier, I have so little free time these days.
And I was hoping from your post title you meant short as in height! (;
ReplyDeleteI'm not a big fan of twitter either. A lot of book marketing and links, but once in a while I'll find something interesting.
Right now, I prefer blogging. It has connected me to so many amazing folks in the writing community, like you!
Elise:
ReplyDeleteA stick of dynamite is tiny, but it certainly packs a punch! Twitter was made famous by Amanda Hocking. But if everyone is shouting, can anyone hear?
I prefer blogging right now too. Meeting you has been one of the happier surprises in the blogverse for me! :-)
I think you have to ask yourself your reason for blogging. If it's just web presence and name exposure, go Facebook and Twitter. If you have something you want to say and people you enjoy interacting with, blog.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I like the maxi skirt. :)
Roland, below is the link to my reviews of Burnt Offerings and Ghost of a Chance. Didn't know if you had seen them as I posted them a couple of days ago. I liked Ghost of a Chance a lot, but also liked learning more about McCord and Meilori.
ReplyDeleteDG Hudson-Rainforest Writing
...it's indeed a growing trend, the shortening list of blogging storytellers.
ReplyDeleteI stand guilty as charged ;)
For it's not so much a decision, but rather, forced into time restraints. Too many deadlines, meetings, and agendas to honor. Unfortunately.
Not a fan of Twitter. Blogger is where we connect, us storytellers still running the gamut. And it's where I'll remain loyal, when Father Time allows.
Well done Roland ;) (Huge fan of "The Dead,")
El
So sorry, D.G.:
ReplyDeleteI have been working so many days straight with so little sleep that I have not visited my friends like I want to.
I am going to read your reviews now. I am being battered by time restraints and the needs of my job and my Victor novel, THREE SPIRIT KNIGHT.
Erin:
I love long flowing gypsy-style skirts. But then I am a romantic!
As for Facebook and Twitter, I am uncomfortable with both. It goes against the grain for a Lakota to beat his own drum. Will Rogers wrote that if someone else toots your horn, the sound goes much farther! :-)
Elliot:
I miss your blog presence. But as I was telling D.G. -- my own job demands leech time from me.
Guess that is why my latest trap for Victor is to be imprisoned by Tyme, herself, in a cell sandwiched between Mercy and Sarcasm! Don't worry: this is Victor Standish we are talking about! :-)
ReplyDeleteI can see how social media helps the writer's name and work get out there. Blogging is fun most of the time. Getting to know other bloggers is the best.
I wore many mini skirts in the 1970's. It's an art--wearing them and not showing whatcha got.
T
Teresa:
ReplyDeleteSocial Media can help I believe if we approach it with wit and humor. Like you, I find the most fun in blogging by getting to know other great bloggers like you.
Britney Spears needed you to teach her the art of wearing a mini while getting out of a car! :-)
I don't tweet and I Facebook more for family and friends than to maintain a "social media presence". Blogging is sometimes a hard combination of 'like to' and 'have to'. I enjoy doing a blog and certainly visiting and commenting but I often wonder if the time I spend on it would be better spent somewhere else.
ReplyDelete