The Positive Side of Social Media

 

Happy New Year!

As a writer, I'm expected to have a social media platform and, for what's it's worth, I do. However, my relationship with social media is love/hate at the best of times, just hate at the worst. *sigh* And, as all relationships do, the one I have with social media has changed over time.

Twitter friends were extremely helpful during the years I was coping with elder care and the eighteen months in which I was dealing with the deaths of my father, mother, and mother-in-law. Many of those friends are no longer on Twitter and I don't blame them. I spend little time on Twitter myself; it tends to be a very toxic place. My favorite social media platform has always been Facebook because there I could interact with people but sadly, that is no longer true. Facebook now actively hides the posts by pages such as mine in an effort to force us to pay to "boost" our posts. Honestly, if they'd let me pay a yearly or monthly fee just to ensure that the people who follow me actually see my posts, I'd probably do it. But pay just so a bunch of people that aren't interested in what I have to offer can see it? No thanks. 

Me searching for my tribe

However, while I've been unsuccessful in finding my tribe as a writer, I have found one as just me - a woman who loves video games. As me, not Izzy, I'm a member of a Facebook group for people who love the Mass Effect series of video games. So many gamer groups are toxic environments but this one is not. Is it perfect? No, but for the most part any disputes are handled well and the admins step in on the ones that threaten to get out of hand. For most of us, these games have helped us through the toughest times of our lives; when one of us makes a post to that effect no one mocks us because they understand. This group has evolved to become so much more. We share birthdays, anniversaries, weddings and births. (One member recently celebrated her 70th birthday!) People come looking for - and finding - support when they've lost their job, been diagnosed with COVID, or are just struggling with life during a pandemic. It's great to be a part of a community that cheers each other on, picks each other up, and just generally illustrates the best of what social media can be. So, on those days when I detest everything about social media, I just have to remember this group and the positivity it brings.

What sort of relationship do you have with social media?

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Just Call Me Pollyanna

Pollyanna // Noun // An excessively cheerful or optimistic person

I admit it. I'm a bit of a Pollyanna. I'm the person who is always going to try to put a positive spin on something. Why? It's a choice. In a world where the mainstream media and social media are constantly trying to tell us how horrible everything is, I'm going to be the voice in the wilderness shouting that there is still good in the world.

I gave up watching the news a couple of years ago because I realized that it was having a negative impact on me. I suffer from anxiety, which is usually fairly well controlled, but being fed non-stop negativity twenty-four/seven was causing problems. I don't know why the main stream news media has decided that it must be all negativity, all of the time. And the worse, more shocking they can make it sound, the more they seem to like it. That's okay. I can choose not to watch.

I use my author FB page as a place to post things that I find encouraging: posts about people who are working to make the world a better place, inspirational quotes, and sometimes just something silly. (Cats/animals make frequent appearances on my page.) If you're looking for outrage, political posts, etc., I'm not the person to follow. There are plenty of other folks making those posts, follow them instead. If you want to get away from all of that stuff, I'm your girl.

Oh! I almost forgot - I also occasionally post things about my books. (I am an author after all.)

Image courtesy of www.depositphoto.com

We're all familiar with the saying "you are what you eat" but you are also what you choose to surround yourself with and that includes social media. So, if you find yourself in a funk, wondering why bother with anything since everything is terrible and nothing matters, take a look at your online life. Maybe it's time for a social media cleanse - or at least a sabbatical. Time away from computer and phone screens can do wonders - I speak from experience.

So, dear readers, the lecture for this month is over. I hope you have a wonderful month and take care of yourself - you're worth it.

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Facebook Changes Impacting an Author Near You

 
As authors, we're expected to use social media to interact with readers and market our books. Unfortunately, the rules keep changing and rarely are those changes to our benefit. The newest Facebook changes are no different.

Facebook wants to make user interactions more "intimate." As such, groups are becoming more important and are what Facebook's almighty algorithms will begin focusing on. If you are an author (like me) who doesn't have a Facebook group for your readers, you need to consider setting one up ASAP. However, once you do this, as the group administrator YOU are responsible for everything in the group so you'll need to set it up so you have to approve all memberships requests and all posts. Why? Because Facebook is watching. If Big Brother sees anything in your group that they feel violates their Terms of Service (ToS), they have the option of shutting down not only your group but your author page AND your personal page and you will have no recourse, no way to request a trial by a jury of your peers. Sounds fun, right?

Okay, so now you have created your group and allowed members into its hallowed electrons. You begin making witty posts and members begin giving them the old "Thumbs up." That's a good thing, right? HAHAHAHA Don't be silly. Liking a post means absolutely nothing to the Facebook algorithms. Love, Shock, and Laughing interactions mean the algorithms will allow more people to see your posts. There's an easy fix for that right? You'll just tell your readers to be sure to use those options when reacting to posts. No, you won't. You see, Facebook will consider that to be click-bait and is one of the many reasons they can potentially shut you down. So, you'll need to be more creative with your wording.

And if your members give posts Mad or Sad reactions? Well, that implies negativity and Facebook can't have that. Negativity reflects poorly on you as the group administrator and once again - say it with me now - can result in you losing everything.

This is just scratching the surface. There are videos online going into more detail. If you need me, I'll be over here alternately pounding my head on my desk and crying.

Extremely appropriate image courtesy of www.depositphotos.com

 Until next month, happy reading (and writing)!

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