I'm addicted to Facebook. I love the bloody thing. The first thing I do in the morning is see what everyone is up to. I then tell everyone what I'm up to, trying to make it somewhat amusing and hopefully interesting. I then repeat this process several billion times throughout the day. Why is social networking so addictive? I could text or call half the people I'm friends with and meet them in the real world, yet I'm lazy and stay in touch through status updates. Sadly, this suits me fine as I'm a bit of a hermit and having the world in a box on my desk is a very convenient way for me to keep my grubby little fingers in the social pie. It took me a while to get into Twitter but it's fast becoming another favourite. It's not just for the sake of it that I like these sites; I've found that as an illustrator, they're very useful tools: You can let people know what work you're doing, where you're going to be selling stuff, etc. I've gotten some interesting commissions through these sites and a lot more interest in my work. Setting a page up purely for my "business" has been great too as it's a very nifty thing to be able to give people Facebook details at comic book conventions. FB seems to be an acceptable form of professional networking now which I quite like as it's a very accessible system. However, like most web-based promotional tools, the more you put into it, the more you get out of it.
How does everyone else find social networking? Does it work for you? Do you do it just because you feel left out otherwise? What are the perils of using social networking in a professional capacity? Gimme your opinions! I would like to do a follow-up post to this so the more the merrier! :P
I really hate facebook. I am not sure exactly why, but it drives me insane. I haven't checked mine for over a month and would have no idea if anyone has tried to contact me through there as I removed the email address I use from my outlook. I think it's the games that drive me nuts and seeing what people are playing. Maybe I haven't given it enough of a go, but yeah, love blogger and wordpress more and I find keeping up with my blogspot blog and my wordpress blog, enough anyway. If I worked at home it might be different though.
ReplyDelete~Sarah~
I totally didn't see the point in facebook at first. All my friends/family used it but I vowed I never would! :)
ReplyDeleteI signed up just to see what all the fuss was about. The problem is I'm quite a nosy person so I spend way too much time seeing what everyone is up to!
I've also set up a business page, so from a business point of view it is definitely one of the better ways to let people know what you've been up to and what your selling etc. I've also gotten a lot more interest in my work through Twitter and Facebook. It's a good way to see if a. anyone is interested in your work b. if anyone cares what you're actually up to.
I think the perils are simply spending too much time on these social networking sites. But the other side to that is like you say the more you put into it the more you get out of it. I think aslong as you don't allow yourself to get too addicted (easier said than done) it can be a very useful tool. It's also a good way to keep in touch with people without going through the effort of meeting up with them! :P
You? Addicted to facebook? Never! ;) hehe
ReplyDeleteI really need to utilise social networking more in promoting my stuff...
If it's getting you work/commissions and spreading your amazing stuff, then brilliant :-)
Sarah x
Social networking sites scared the living heck out of me until a few months ago! I was probably one of the last people on Earth to get a Facebook account (including the penguins in the Antarctic) because my social anxiety even extends to include e-mailing and messaging.
ReplyDeleteI think there are pros and cons to them, but huge companies have used Twitter to great effect in terms of marketing. Personally, Twitter is a step too far for me but I think the way Katie G and yourself have created a reliable Facebook audience is totally admirable. I wish I could follow your example but I'm totally clueless in terms of promoting anything of mine, aside from the occasional blog mention.
Getting distracted by social networking is one of the greatest perils, but it certainly doesn't seem to detract from your productivity! I think that, overally, they're a necessary evil as it were.
<3
~Jess~
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