Goodwood

Goodwood

Monday 4 April 2011

My New Best Friend

I have a brand new relationship in my life that has taken me by storm, and that’s a big surprise, I'm something of a ‘techno-phobe,’ (unless I can see a benefit of a shiny gadget) so it came as a shocking revelation that I have a new best friend, with the social media outlet: Twitter!

Oh my god there’s an immediacy at Twitter that’s addictive, truly it’s hilarious fun building a following over recent months but I still regard myself as a newbie.

Meeting like minded people has been an eye-opener, most are friendly, and a few are incredibly helpful, willing to assist with queries from a recently published short story teller. And part of the fun is getting a message out in only 140 characters! I’ve learned to be precise!

In my opinion we authors, writers, and bloggers who sit alone at our terminals appear to have taken Twitter to our hearts. However there is a down side: we can end up spending time chatting or being shameless and publish our work. At first it did seem almost bad manners and wrong to promote oneself but it comes easier now that I’m over the shock of doing this and remember it is a ‘product.’

My 'Twitter' aim initially was simple, ‘be light and fluffy if a little irreverent.’ It seems to be working so far… good manners count for a lot here and just saying ‘thank you’ gets acknowledged, and we promote each other by retweeting comments and sharing others good fortune. However I’m learning to be ruthless as I no longer follow people who do not follow me back, what’s the point? Courtesy costs very little and it seems to abound with the people I have met to date. I’ve learned quickly and picked up followers. To me it’s like being at a massive speed dating event on a global scale. People pop in meet you, some stay and stick around as they seem to like what you have to say, while others move on quickly if you don’t offer what they need.

Today I will promote my blog via Twitter (otherwise how else would anyone know I was out there on the internet with a blog?) A few of my tweeps will go directly to my site and read my entry and then some may leave comments.

A special thanks to those who have left a comment on my blog. These comments mean a lot to me as an aspiring author. It’s heartening that people take the time to make a remake especially when I discover that they have enjoyed my sense of humour and found my writing funny. Oh to write a Romantic Comedy and gets laughs, wouldn’t that be fab!

I’m very big on family and over the years I have established long lasting friendships. Relationships form the basis of who I am, and without them I don’t think I would be very interesting. So for my April blog my emphasis is going to be focused on exploring ‘Relationships.’ What they mean to me and how they enhance my writing…come along for the ride.

It would be lovely if you would join me…

1 comment:

  1. This is absolutely how Twitter works for me too! I have some really wonderful followers (am a newbie too) - had a few looney-tunes as well, but hey ho! it makes the world-go-round. A lot of people say they "just don't get Twitter", but I think you've summed it up perfectly.

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