Are you feeling overwhelmed by so many social media sites? Between Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Triberr, Tumblr, Pinterest, and blogging, who has time to write? They have all become one big blur to me.
This past weekend, my family and I attended our local Church Fair. Hubby got our kids a “bracelet” for unlimited rides. I strolled along while they rode each and every ride about ten times. At first, it was very exciting, running back and forth between Pharaoh’s Fury and the Ring of Fire, but eventually the lights and sounds all became one big blur. By Sunday afternoon, hubby said to me, “I’m all fair’d out.” I felt the same way, but the kids who have an endless pit of energy, still wanted more. By Sunday evening, even the most hyper of my children was dragging her feet for one last time on the Banzai ride.
Facebook is definitely like the Ring of Fire. It can quickly suck you into a vortex of political and religious arguments draining your creative energy one log-in at a time. My advice, use Facebook with caution. Take a break from Facebook, for a day or two, and not only will you feel refreshed but everyone who matters will still be there for you when you get back.
Twitter is the Pharaoh’s Fury. You’ll want to ride it endlessly, ignoring the world around you. I’ll admit, twitter can be a lot of fun and it’s an excellent place to interact with readers. Again, take a break once in a while. It’s ok to schedule some of your tweets via Hootsuite or Tweetdeck. You don’t have to answer every tweet in real time. Also, if you join a tribe on Triberr, you can have your blog posts tweeted out via Triberr by those in your tribe. You’ll be killing two birds with one stone. You’ll be scheduling tweets of cool blogs and your posts will be promoted by others.
Tumblr and Pinterest are all about images and pictures. These are the brightest lights at the fair like the Ferris wheel. Although the pretty lights can be mesmerizing, remember to step away from them once in a while. If you can’t do it alone, you may need an intervention.
If you’re all “social media’d” out, join me in letting go and taking a break for a few hours of “unplugged” silence for writing. It’s not the end of the world that my book falls in the Amazon ranks because I wasn’t there to promote, promote, promote… Once I’m refreshed, I’ll emerge with a new book and lots of renewed energy for social media, and my Amazon ranks will benefit more from it.
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Lili’s is the author of SAND, available from Amazon US and Amazon UK. You can also join the growing army of SAND Facebook fans. Learn more about author Lili Tufel at her blog, tumblr, and follow her on Twitter.
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Must be becoming a dino – have not heard of Hootsuite, Tweetdeck, Triberr. Useful article.
I feel refreshed just from reading that last paragraph! What a relief to think we can actually stop and relax from time to time!
Great advice, Lili. I have never been big on Facebook, and Tweeting is something I mostly do from other people's blogs or my own new posts. I seldom create a special post for Twitter. I just signed up for Pinterest, but don't know how much I will actually do there. As you said, it can all become overwhelming after awhile. Sometimes I need to take a break not just from social media but from the computer itself. Some weekends, if I don't really need to do anything on it, I just don't even turn it on. Sunday especially I do my best to give it a rest, and I'm better off for it. I think we need to learn to control it rather than let it control us.