Jen's Writing Journey

Over the past few weeks, I have been looking at my social media channels, how users interact with them, and how the different channels work best.

I am offering this info to you to help you best use the various channels you have access to.

Twitter

You can follow me at @jenroland, and there you will find all of my blog posts here and on Mom-amo, links to writing and ed tech stories I am sharing, and random conversations with my followers.

I like Twitter for synchronous and asynchronous conversations and sharing the topics that are most popular and interesting right now.

Facebook

Facebook is the place you will find Mom-amo. All Mom-amo blog posts will link from there, and I will use that space to post links to websites, blog posts, and other resources for green living, saving money, healthy weight loss, and other useful tips for moms and families.

I like Facebook for building engagement over a niche topic and allowing users to interact on their own time. If you are ready to work on your own Facebook community, read this article from Entrepreneur on building engagement on Facebook.

Blogs

I maintain this blog for writers and ed tech leaders, Pop Culture Curmudgeon for my random pop culture analysis, and Mom-amo for green parenting and weight loss.

The ISTE Ning

Look for my ed tech sharings on the ISTE Ning. This community is a great place to learn about the latest in ed tech, so I hope to see you join me there.

These are great ways to help readers know what to expect and to keep from boring readers who are interested in different topics. If you blog about more than one disparate niche, I strongly encourage you to set up different blogs.

How do you use social media to interact with fans or potential clients? Which type of use works best for you on each different channel? Are you finding that, like Chris Brogan, you are using Google+ more than your other social media tools?

Related Posts:

• Writing Roundup, July 22
• Writing Roundup, June 24
• Writing Roundup, June 10
• Writing Roundup, May 9
• Writing Roundup, May Day-ish Edition

I love blogging, and I am like a crack-whore for Twitter. Facebook seems like too much work, MySpace seems like a place for pedophiles to find teen victims, and You Tube is unwieldy.

I have allowed myself to feel undue amounts of guilt for not keeping my Facebook page up, and for not connecting with family and friends more frequently on my personal Facebook page. I’m trying to move beyond that.

I am learning that I can’t do everything. I have too many responsibilities to waste my time feeling guilty about underusing certain social media tools. I also have too many responsibilities to devote to more than two social media tools on a regular basis.

I am sorry Facebook lovers, but I’m not going to be updating their frequently. I am not even going to bother with MySpace or FriendFeed or the others. Twitter and blogging are it for me right now. It is important to focus on doing what you can do well and enjoy.

Now, I have four blogs and three Twitter accounts, so I am spreading myself out there and allowing my different audiences to connect with me in a way that works for both of us. I just don’t think anyone will be well served by me adding even more social media to my repertoire right now. That could change in the future. When I have fewer projects at the day job and in my writing, I might be able to handle more social media. We’ll see.

What social media tools do you prefer? What are most important for a writer? What choices have you made to better manage your online time?

Related Posts:

• Differentiate Your Social Media
• Agents to Follow on Twitter
• Freelancers You Should Follow