Wednesday, October 28, 2015

A Guilty Admission...


 I haven't updated the blog in the past month or so, not because I've been busy with life, or working on some forthcoming opus, or even because I've been too lazy to write anything. Nope, I haven't been updating the blog because, well, I've been messing around with Facebook. Yep, Facebook. Social media for old folks, my kid calls it. It's fairly embarrassing to admit, considering that I've long disdained the social media world, but several months ago, on a whim, I decided that I would deliberately start posting on Facebook, to see how I felt about the medium, to see how self-expression on Facebook compares to the relatively lonely process of self-expressing on a blog. Would I like it? Would I hate it? Would it give me an impetus to explore other forms of social media as writing platforms, or would I run screaming back to the relative peace and quiet of my own little world here?

I approached it as an experiment, sort of a baby step evolution (for me, anyway) into the world of social media, which, for better or worse, is what so many writers seem to be embracing these days.
So I held my nose, swallowed my pride, and started posting, and even sending friend requests to other people (something I'd never, ever done since my wife first convinced me to get a FB account years ago). 

The result? A resounding "meh"...

It's OK, I guess. It's a useful news feed, and a good way to meet fellow writers and other interesting, like-minded folk, and I've read some good posts and had some good and stimulating conversations. I see its worth to a writer, to be visible on Facebook and other social media, but it's certainly not going to replace the solitary joy of sitting down and writing something strictly for yourself, with no expectations of likes or shares or comments. And that's what I've found posting on FB; that I tend to write things not so much for myself, but for attention, with an eye toward others' reaction and comment, rather than writing something simply because I want to. It is, I must admit, something of an exercise in narcissism and self-absorption, thinly disguised as witty self-expression.  

So will I stick with it? Eh, probably. It's still kind of fun, even with the knowledge that it is - at its core - mostly superficial, all flailing arms and indignant shouting (Look at me, damn it! See how smart and funny I am!), and I may even start exploring some of that mysterious "other" (Twitter, maybe?) but I also won't be shutting down the blog any time soon. I like the way the crickets chirp in the quiet, and the way you can hear the echoes of your own words. Facebook's not a place for that.

And if you happen to be on Facebook, feel free to friend me. Why not? I don't actually know three-quarters of the people I'm friends with, anyway, so what the hell? Just send a message letting me know you're from the blog, so I don't mistake you for one of those random scam-vibe friend requests I seem to get a lot of. Who knew there were so many beautiful, sexy, scantily-clad young women interested in becoming my friend?    

11 comments:

  1. Dont close it down. At the very least its nice to have a place to go and see which of the side blogs has been updated.

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  2. I applaud your bravery. I've avoided all such under the auspices of "I don't care what any of these people had for lunch today or what their vacation was like", but in truth I don't know anything about any of the social media and am probably afraid of it. So maybe it's not that way at all. Or...?

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  3. Facebook lets you keep up with people you don't see often enough, and you can put your blog posts there too. Now some people say that blogging is dead, but I think what has happened is that people with focused blogs who like (or need) to write are still blogging, while the ones who just want to post where they went for lunch are on FB or Instagram, etc.. Then again, some do both (cough cough Tamara Keel).

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  4. Dammit. Where's the Like button on this thing?

    "The result? A resounding "meh"..."

    That's the infuriating thing about FB. It's really just, "meh" almost all the time (there are stellar exceptions). But it's a damnable addiction, once you start. It's something about that instant gratification that comes from posting just about anything, no matter how banal... and knowing that someone out there is paying attention to what you had to say.

    I like to blame it for my reduced blogging volume, but I'm not sure if it's because I exhaust myself on FB (and have nothing left for the blog), or if it's because I don't have the gumption to keep writing extended posts just for the sake of putting words in the ether... especially when I can publish two or three sentences on FB and get a dozen "Likes" within moments.

    I still refuse to do Twitter. I have no need for self-promotion, and no time for that level of self-absorption.

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  5. Good to know since I signed up half way to FB and stopped. My alias is there and I didn't know. Glad to hear I didn't miss much

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  6. It's a tool and, like most tools, does certain things well and other things poorly. A nine-pound maul is great for splitting hickory logs but stinks for hanging a picture. Nor would I want to drive a wedge with a tack hammer.

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  7. Well. Tried hunting down Mr. Chad FB Page under his name. FaceBook immediately threw my Home Pages of young women with oversized Ta-ta's wanting to be my *friend* and asking if I'd like to order more of their pics.

    Tried hunting down Chad under Mallard of Discontent and found many of his rants & raves posted by other bloggers.

    So, how does a guy friend this hermit?

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    Replies
    1. Mark, apologies. Just saw this, because I suck at all social media...if you search "Chad Love" on FB you should be able to find me. My profile pic, BTW, isn't of me, but Dr. Strangelove.

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  8. Hey, I'm your "friend" on Facebook. You mean, this has all been some cruel experiment? We've just been your unwitting pawns?

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  9. It' a time suck - enter at your peril! A quick "ok, I'll visit his FB page to see what he's up to" turns into "Whoa! where did those three hours go!"

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  10. Well, Facebook, and other social media for that matter, can really be of help to connect with even more people. But for sharing stories and your random esoterica, a blog would be better. :)

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