Facebook, I have read, is in decline. I have been using it since early in my blogging/writing life. I have long-term friends there, I have family members there. The family members were important to me. Because I have Asperger Syndrome, social interaction— even with my own blood family— is not an easy thing. I can’t just pick up the phone and call a cousin, niece or aunt that might be annoyed by my call and long for me to hang up quick. By connecting on Facebook, I could see what they were posting, put positive emojis on it, maybe comment once in a while. And they could comment on what I posted.
But now Facebook’s newest annoyance, Facebook Protect, seems designed to get rid of unwanted users by demanding either you give up your phone number to them— and I do not trust them with my phone number— or do other things many people won’t be able to do. I once thought if I lost internet access I could go to the local library and check in on my Facebook and other things there. But Facebook is purging people that poor.
I used Twitter when I had my Wordpress blog, because Wordpress can be set up to post to Twitter automatically. Now Wordpress has become less usable to the point I had to leave, I am having to post my blog post links by hand. I do have some friends there, but mainly for me Twitter is a way to drive true fans to my MeWe and Gab pages or my new blog.
I believe that the ‘Big Boys’ of social media, Facebook and Twitter, are starting to fade. Both revealed themselves as willing to meddle in a US election by banning a sitting president from both sites without reason, both began censoring information about the plandemic they didn’t like and other topics, so that many users were confronted daily with censorship in the form of ‘information’ links added to posts.
I conclude that many of the folks that stay on Facebook and Twitter do it only for their friends there. They resent Facebook and Twitter even as they use them.
We are in an age when writers and bloggers are going to have to be thinking about being on multiple social media. There is a risk here. Just as MySpace went under, alternate social media can go under. Gab was down for a while, Parler was down, though both came back. Others probably have come and gone for good without my notice.
Any new social medium, especially if ‘alternative,’ is a risk— you might be wasting your time. That is why I believe having a blog at the center of your efforts is good. It gives you a chance to post longer things— too long, in my case, I tend to run on.
MeWe is my primary Facebook replacement and primary social medium. It’s a little dull, since it seems to be set up with the idea that everyone wants their posts very private. Since new MeWe users often don’t have many friends, their posts, when their privacy settings are ‘friends only,’ reach next to no one. I do #MeWeMondays — I am sure to post there on Mondays, yesterday I used that hashtag on Twitter as well as MeWe, and in general I try to put in a good effort.
Gab is the social medium I use on #GabTuesdays . It is a bit more like Twitter in that there are all sorts there, and some users are argumentative and swear too much at other people. I soon learned to use the ‘block’ button a lot on the worst offenders. If you are a mild soul upset by confrontational attitudes, you might feel cautious about Gab. Don’t worry, I won’t dislike you if you don’t use Gab— we can always meet up on MeWe.
Truth Social is a new social medium I haven’t tried yet. I did sign up for it over the weekend, but the confirmation email never arrived. Friends I have asked said that it was mainly the same stuff you see on Gab. My main reason for joining was that a friend I liked on Facebook said she was joining Truth Social once it got launched, and I miss her.
I was on Parler, didn’t like it much, and then it went down. If I encounter some friends who really like Parler, I may rejoin.
In each case, the key to using any social medium is to set up your account properly— use a good profile pic, it doesn’t have to be a current picture of YOU, some people use their cat’s picture, a flag, or other image. Maybe use the same profile pic on all your social media accounts.
You also need friends/contacts. More important for the alt social media, you need people who are active there NOW. On MeWe and Gab I recommend joining groups of interest and see who is posting, post comments yourself, and friend the people you interact with.
Make sure your account is one worth following. If you post JUST your blog post links or JUST book promos, you are dull. Share other people’s memes and posts, but also post things of your own. I’ve had some success with cat pictures, though one sourpuss on Gab criticized me for taking a picture of cute cats on a dirty kitchen floor. He can just come to my house and wash the floor himself, and then train my cats to like clean floors better than dirty ones!
The world we live in today, many people are reluctant readers. They CAN read, but many of them would rather watch a dozen YouTube videos than read one blog post or one chapter of your novel. Social media is a way to locate readers, and to coax the more reluctant readers to give you a try.
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Follow me!
MeWe (Primary Social Medium): https://mewe.com/i/nissaannakindt
Gab (free speech alternative): https://gab.com/nissalovescats
Twitter (for now): https://twitter.com/nissalovescats
Defend Trad Marriage group: https://mewe.com/group/5bca1f9c73a3f14e7c8572e5
BOOKS: Where the Opium Cactus Grows (Poetry) : https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0557939135
Getting More Blog Traffic: Steps Towards a Happier Blogging Life: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086H4FQ4M
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