Well, after managing to keep to four posts a month, in
December I had a spectacular fail! In my defence I was extremely busy. First my sisters and I went to London
to meet our closest cousin Catherine
(our mothers are identical twins) for her birthday, and had a brilliant time
at the tribute-show-musical Let It Be.
Then my partner had an operation on his knee, which meant a
few weeks of crutches and limited movement for him, which in turn meant a lot more
movement for me! Then there was
the brief social whirl (well, two nights out in one week) in the last week before Christmas before my entire family went to my
parents on the west coast of County Clare for Christmas week. Back home, we had a
day’s breathing space before my partner’s side of the family arrived for the
New Year, along with a dodgy cold-and-wobbles virus that’s only just left us.
This is the first day of real life, so I’m having a look
back over the last few months. I’m pleased that I managed to post almost every week without running
away screaming but it was still a struggle. So what about the main purpose of this blog? What have I learnt about
social networks, blogs and online personas?
Facebook: I can’t really say because I’m dormant there now.
Only when I have a book to promote will I consider using it. Emphasis on
‘consider’.
Pheed: as far as I can make out, this is for the committed
online marketer, not for the aspiring writer who needs to get on with the
writing.
Goodreads: I love it! Tremendous fun, but like all these, a
potential time-waster. Make sure you’ve earned the time you spend on it.
Twitter: I’m really delighted by Twitter. I was surprised
how much I missed it in December. My list of tweets is tiny, but I plan to
remedy that. I’ve benefitted a lot from others sharing; time to give a little
back.
Blogs generally: along with Twitter, other blogs are my
favourite way of passing online time. I follow a few, but have many more
bookmarked on my browser instead, preferring to drop in rather than have my
inbox clogged with notifications. I've resolved to be a bit
more active in commenting on those I enjoy, and acknowledge how much I’ve
benefitted from them and give a little feedback. Like Twitter, it's been a bit one way so far.
Blogger: I’m going to revert to my old Wordpress blog; I just prefer the way it works and the way it looks. I’ll keep this blog visible, and any posts on future forays into the world of social networks - for example Google+, which I didn't get around to exploring - will appear here.
So that's it! I'll be back from time to time, with a bit less of the kicking and screaming.
