Social Gnat-working....

By Lynn Parsons

A few months ago, I was asked to increase my "Internet presence."  This request was made by my now-former publisher. I have since asked for (and gotten) my rights back. This was for many very good reasons which won't be detailed here. The good news is that another publisher is interested. But, that's a story for another day.....

But I continue to work on my Internet presence. My kids had already helped me get on Facebook, which has been a fun way to reconnect with old friends. Although quite a few of my former classmates appear to look like serial killers....also a story for another day....

So, I now Tweet. I did learn how to use a url shortener so I can fit my tweets into 140 characters. I also discovered TweetDeck, which shows you many social networks at the same time. But is giving me ADD because it chirps and shows you the message every time someone enters a message. Well, it's free, and I do have the power to turn it off! I joined some Twibes, don't know what they do. I hear and see hashtags, and don't understand the point of them either! You can imagine how embarassing this is to someone with a masters' degree in technology.

I did join LinkedIn--but have mostly either been contacted by people who think I'm a rich American who can finance their school or gotten into arguments with people sponsoring "treatments" that can "cure" every disability imaginable. They do get angry when I ask if they can help kids regrow limbs....like lizards....

I get emails all the time about additional features of Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. So, my new goal is to learn at least three things each week about social networking. I'll be posting them here, so join me in moving from social gnat-working to social networking.