Social Media and Writers

Yes, that's the Facebook logo to the left. I'm having a love - hate relationship with Facebook right now. I look at it a couple of times a day, and it seems to take longer each time to scroll through all of the posts on my "news feed." I've spent as long as a half hour to get through all of the "new" posts since the last time I looked.

I'm sure Facebook loves that I'm spending more time with them, which means they can tell their advertisers that people are spending X amount of time on the site, thus justifying what the advertiser pays for the exposure.

Unfortunately, the "news" I'm really interested in takes up about 2 minutes or less of my time. Why? Because I keep seeing repeats of the same posts that I've already read and reacted to. But each time another person "reacts" that same post appears again. Grrrr!

I enjoy following my friends, but that doesn't mean that I like everything that they enjoy. If Joe Schmoe on my friend's list "likes" or "reacts" to a post about a topic in which they are interested, It pops up on my news feed with the caption "Joe Schmoe reacted to this" or "commented on this."

I want to see pictures of Joe's kids, or dogs, or to hear that he got a promotion at work, etc. But if he "liked" a lodge in the Rocky Mountains because he's planning to go there next November for vacation, I honestly don't care. Seriously, I don't.

I also have a diverse group of friends. Not all of my friends share my political beliefs (nor do I expect them to), but if they "like" or "comment" on a post of political persuasion with which I strongly disagree, at best it prompts me to roll my eyes. I try not to think about unfriending in situations like that. I'm more likely to think of giving Facebook a vacation until after the election. :-)

I'm also sure that I've liked a few posts that have caused sneers among my "friends."

But social media is also a cost effective way of getting the word out to people that I have a short story to share, or about a great review I received on one of my books, or the fact that a new book is about to be published, or the performance dates of my Ben Franklin one-man show.

I also TRY very hard not to use social media to "push" my books on my friends and acquaintances to the point where everyone sighs and mutters under their breath, "Ray, give it a rest." :-)

How about you? Any thoughts to share about your reaction - especially to authors - via social media? After all, "Life's a Mystery."