Yesterday’s big conflagration in my circles was about the utility/value of social media. Along the way I started really digging into why social media exists and why people use it.
I shared some of that thinking with you today
I’ll try to be interesting tomorrow.
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Oh, I did find that interesting. Now and then I go to the Writer’s Discussion Group to see if there is anything interesting. I do that, because a couple of people I’m interested in post/comment there and I don’t know about it, because it is not posted publicly. I don’t want to see the whole flow of that group every day. Sometimes a post from there will get shared publicly by one of the members of the group. So, that is where I go to look at what interests me about that topic by people who interest me.
I do find value in seeing things that people like or views they have about various things that may not interest me. If I’m interested in the person, then their interests matter to me. It is really not about when the next book is out. I can see not wanting to spend a lot of time posting off-topic stuff, but at the same time there can be fun/useful/informative discussion or brief passing-by that is what Google+ seems to be facilitating. I don’t have very many folks on “notify” so as not to miss them and there are only a few actually in my regular view. That keeps it from being overwhelming. In the course of this, I have found new things and authors that I would never have thought to “google.”
As for the images, there is one blogger I found from someone sharing who I love to read. She usually does post a picture and it is often totally irrelevant but lots of fun. The images do attract my attention as long as they aren’t those crazy gifs that replay every 2 seconds. I think they are right about the images and also about the mentions and shares. They do increase the level of discussion or at least being noticed. It makes sense. The question is really “Is it notice that I really want to have.” LOL I shared a dance by Patrick Swayze and his wife that was a bit steamy, but beautiful. I got so many followers after that it was crazy. I cannot figure out how they found me, but I guess it was a few shares by folks I knew who shared and so on. I did not want any of those followers. So, I do see your point about what is “engagement.”
Human relations are not my forte so attempting to make sense of it all has been a preoccupation of mine for years. I do find those ruminations interesting and I suppose it’s why I enjoy your characters and stories so much. It all ties together one way or another. Thanks for sharing it.
Hmmm…
Drivel, drivel, drivel…
[ Picture of a buffalo ]
More mindless drivel…
[ Picture of a white square ]
I suspect I would get more of a response (pluses) from the above than anything I would normally post, but that says more about my content than anything else:)
And who in their right mind would consider a “plus” to be as ‘engaging’ as a comment? And what is the criteria for ‘engagement’ and what use is it anyway?