Category Archives: Social networking

Thoughts on social media

I have been doing a lot of thinking recently about my use of social media (Facebook, etc.). It has come to my sad attention that it distracts me to the point of not getting enough done with regard to my blogging and fiction writing.

I have insufficient discipline. (No freakin’ kiddin’. Ya think?)

Or, even if I have the discipline, (name one day, dude) I do not use it effectively.

For example, I have something interesting to say. (Hey, it happens.) I post it on Facebook or wherever rather than on here or perhaps Sober Catholic. What’s up with that? These blogs cost money, I should use them rather than free platforms. Especially if and when the platforms collapse and become defunct (Remember Friendster or MySpace? At least, their initial versions?) all your stuff disappears into the digital void. And now something called MeWe is making the techie news.

The potential for collapse is an issue on another front. I follow, to the best of my ability, the ideals of Distributism. One of the fundamental principles of that very Catholic economic and social philosophy is that you own the means of production. “Own it or be owned.” The platform on which you share your “content” is a means of production.

I do not own my accounts on the various social media platforms. Someone else does and they use the “content” to make money. Fair enough, that’s the cost of a “free” platform. I do own this blog and Sober Catholic. (Well, actually I rent the domain names and the servers the blogs are hosted on. But essentially it’s the closest thing to ownership, short of building your own web servers and hosting your “content” on your own machines.)

Recently I ran across several chapters in the Imitation of Christ that seemed to be speaking of social media. I know the concept didn’t exist 500 years ago when Thomas a Kempis wrote his masterwork, but as is typical with Catholic inspirational works, it is timeless and applicable everywhere, everytime.

So:

Book 1 Chapter 8 “Do not open your heart to every man, but discuss your affairs with one who is wise and who fears God. Do not keep company with young people and strangers. Do not fawn upon the rich, and do not be fond of mingling with the great. Associate with the humble and the simple, with the devout and virtuous, and with them speak of edifying things.”

Book 1 Chapter 10: “Shun the gossip of men as much as possible, for discussion of worldly affairs, beven though sincere, is a great distraction inasmuch as we are quickly ensnared and captivated by vanity.

Many a time I wish that I had held my peace and had not associated with men. Why, indeed, do we converse and gossip among ourselves when we so seldom part without a troubled conscience? We do so because we seek comfort from one another’s conversation and wish to ease the mind wearied by diverse thoughts. Hence, we talk and think quite fondly of things we like very much or of things we dislike intensely. But, sad to say, we often talk vainly and to no purpose; for this external pleasure effectively bars inward and divine consolation.
Therefore we must watch and pray lest time pass idly.

When the right and opportune moment comes for speaking, say something that will edify.”

Courtesy: Catholic Treasury

There are a few other nice snippets in a few later chapters, as well as Scripture quotes that can be interpreted as cautioning us on the use of social media. Truth be told, any spiritual wisdom or advice on interactions with other people can me attributed to social media usage. (Wow, insightful.) But the simple fact that social media empowers people to share their viewpoints with audiences in the thousands (millions, even if you discover that lucky ‘viral’ quality!) causes me to consider its use.

This post is odd considering that just a little while ago I invited people to Connect with me on MeWe! So I have to include that in my cogitations. Incidentally, the mere fact that I feel the need to share with you my thoughts on this is perhaps part of the poison of social media. Like this is interesting to you. At least I don’t post photos of my breakfast nor share “check-ins” of where I am. 😉

So. What to do what to do how to discipline. Cogitations for my pondermatic. Sundays and Mondays are my days off; I can blog when I am not attending Latin Masses and gardening or going on daytrips with the missus. Posts can be scheduled for later in the week if needed. I can spent worknights writing and maybe dabble in more blogging.

I can try restricting social media for once-in-a while checkins. “No Facebooking or MeWeing until I blog or write!”

😐

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Connect with me on MeWe!

I won’t bother going into details, but Facebook (perhaps you’ve heard of it) has been getting into trouble recently. Actually, for a number of years there have been controversies about the place. People have been trying to discover and develop alternatives to it for almost as long as there have been issues. Google came close with Google+, but apparently it hasn’t been the “Facebook killer” it was touted to be (and there is reason to think that it wasn’t intended to actually “knock off” Facebook, but the tech press is as believable as any other.)

But now, with recent allegations of privacy and trust breaches, there may be a tide of members emigrating from Facebook to a rival. Enter MeWe, a social network that’s actually been around for about four years, but until now been populated mostly by “early adopters” (techie people who try new things before anyone else) and segments of the population that have been targeted by Facebook for various offensive behaviours (gun enthusiasts, anti-vaccination advocates, and privacy-conscious folks amongst others.)

MeWe touts itself as a “privacy-focused” network, where there are no ads, no tracking and no BS. (I wonder why they don’t like people with Bachelor of Science degrees. Oh, well, to each their own.) In short, they’ve set themselves up as a counter to Facebook. If you’re used to Facebook, it may take a little getting used to the different site navigation, but it is learn-able if you have a little patience and just click on things to see what happens. There are also help Groups for people with questions.

I joined MeWe about three years ago but never really did much with it as I tolerated the recurring issues with Facebook. Besides, everyone I know is on there, and there are a number of Groups that are informative for my interests. My activity came and went, depending upon my attitude.

But what was a trickle of memberships is apparently turning into a gusher. At least based upon the number of my Facebook friends who have made the move. And so I have been spending quite a bit of time these past few days on MeWe, hunting down people I know and exploring Groups.

So, here is your invitation to connect with me on MeWe! Here is the link to my profile on MeWe.

I hope to see you there!

NOTE: This is a slightly edited version of a post on my sobriety and spirituality blog, Sober Catholic

Are you a creative Catholic? "The Catholicpunk Manifesto" is my new book exhorting Catholics to apply their faith to change the culture for the better!

Becoming antisocial

Time. Where does it go? Clocks tick, the days pass, and the time we have left for doing whatever we’re supposed to be doing while on Earth dwindles.

And so I’m cutting back on social media use. (Wow, that’s a hard switch from the melancholic opening…) It should have been done quite a long time ago, either excising some uses totally or being more disciplined. But, better late than never.

I’m a writer and a blogger. Not my source of income, my “day job” as it were, but what I will eventually be. (Full-time writer, living solely off writing income. Making progress, but still quite some time away…)

And social media is getting in the way. There are so many distractions….

It seems that almost every writer, published or aspiring, has a social media presence. But, some appear less than others…. Could they be… actually writing??????

I have a wife, a full-time day job, and two cats and a vegetable garden. They all require time and attention. This obviously cuts into time spent writing. So… something has to go.

I know! Social networking!!!! (Well, not all of it…)

There are writing Groups on Facebook, on LinkedIn and on Google+. Not to mention old-school discussion forums going back to the 1990s. Lots of writers writing on them. When do they actually write write, (as opposed to social write?) Maybe they’re full-timer writers, and posting away on Facebook or a forum is just their equivalent of yakking it up with colleagues during break times and lunch at a day job? Maybe they’re aspiring writers getting help, advice, commiseration or just trying to “feel like a writer” by hanging out with others.

But it ocurred to me that no real writer writing is actually getting done (well, in my house.) Some, but not enough. I mean, progress is being made on a novel, but more serious application of planning and research and such has to be made to the draft. You know, writing.

So I’ve begun limiting my time on the social nets. Google+ has largely disappeared from my social habits. Once in a great while I visit it, but mostly for a blog page I maintain, or some Communities. But even that is getting rarer. Google+ was nice, but I always felt like I had to be “cool” or “really intelligent” when on there as Plussers typically dismiss Facebook as riff-raff. Which is silly, but people tend to find a need to justify actions (i.e. not liking one thing or preferring it to something else. If your FB Timeline is full of garbage and riff-raff, that’s your fault.) And even Facebook for me has dropped off, I actually go days without using it. LinkedIn? Hah! Maybe once a week. I do make a daily habit of using Awestruck, a Catholic social network.

So, I have been strengthening the habit of writing. Every day. Not just often. Daily. At first it was just getting off of social networks. I survived that. Now to continue with daily progress of… writing. (This has been an issue with me for decades. And the struggles to do that appear here on this blog once in a while. Give me credit, except for when I was drinking, I never gave up…)

This is a follow up to a post on SoberCatholic.com, right here: The Sober Catholic Trudge Report Will No Longer Be out.

This post (“Becoming Antisocial”) has been planned for a while, but as it happens an impromptu visit to my Twitter account made me discover that I was irritating someone. Anyway, Twitter is another social network I’ve largely ignored. But I’ve been doing that for years. Why would a writer use Twitter? One hundred and forty characters? Seriously? How can a writer limit themselves to that??????

Are you a creative Catholic? "The Catholicpunk Manifesto" is my new book exhorting Catholics to apply their faith to change the culture for the better!

Meat and potatoes writing and other stuff

Some other rambling thoughts I’ve developed since starting Listening to the Lost Voices is the interrelationships between the various forms of writing I care about, namely fiction, blogging and posting.

I have the idea that fiction writing is the “meat and potatoes” of original writing. It is the oldest and most traditional of the three crafts. And probably the one easiest to earn money with (although if you can earn money posting to social networks, I’d be a member of the 1%.)

Blogging is dessert. It is an indulgence for the most part. Not much money, unless you’ve figured out that “pro blogging” stuff and also post enough to draw sufficient traffic and so hundreds of thousands of people can click on your ads. (Although my pride and joy, Sober Catholic is more a service.)

Posting to social networks is snacking. Unless you’re writing to certain Groups or Communities, and thus attract attention and possibly business offers and opportunities, there’s hardly any way to earn money. Indulgent too, but unlike blogging, no easy way to archive your posts. Google’s Blogger service does integrate well with Google+, so there is that… But otherwise what is said today is essentially lost and forgotten in several weeks by most. Snacking.

Setting aside any value towards profundity that this revelation may have, I am hoping my recently discovered dedication to fiction writing helps my blogging efforts. I don’t blog enough. Perhaps with enough good, solid, nutritional stuff being eaten, I can indulge in some dessert now and then. This is where the “interrelationships” part comes in from the first paragraph. Things feed on each other. You write a novel or short story. You blog about it and post about it to Facebook or Google+ while you’re writing it. Audience building, in part. If your blog is a lifestyle kinda thing, stuff from it may work its way into some fiction.

It should be easier to be a writer today. So many tools at your fingertips that were unavailable decades ago, especially in interacting with readers and potential readers.

Are you a creative Catholic? "The Catholicpunk Manifesto" is my new book exhorting Catholics to apply their faith to change the culture for the better!

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