Twitter, Facebook, and I Really Should Update My Website

Q: Why do people have blogs?

Kassia: "I've never had an opinion I didn't want to share." It's the kind of writing she's been doing her whole life. It's a platform that works really well for her. Blogging has helped her establish herself in her career.

Christina: Blogging is living out loud. She prefers to keep certain things "inside" until they are ready to come out. Daily bloggers have a mindset that when they have an idea, they post it.

Kassia: "No one in the publishing industry new my name when I started by blog."

Jane: This is a topic that comes up a lot. (She's got a post on why to blog on her blog. She the blogroll at the right for the link to There Are No Rules.)

Q: If you're just starting a blog how to people get to you?

Jane: One of the most effective things you can do is comment on other people's blogs. If you are on Facebook and Twitter definitely link to relevant blog posts.

Kassia: Link to other blogs and sites.

Christina: There's also traditional connecting. Link, meet people, go to conferences, engage in professional development. It all creates a synergy. Do a little bit of a lot of things when it comes to connecting with others.

Jane: Look at things you can do online that will help other people, and they'll come back to you.

POSTED BY ALICE POPE

Twitter, Facebook, and I Really Should Update My Website

Christina: Set up Google alerts on yourself so you know what other people are saying about you. These can be viewed in Google reader as well.

Kassia: She has allerts set up for her full name, her last name, and common misspellings of her name.

Christina: Has approximately 10 Google alerts set up.

Jane: What's something that you find essential on a daily basis?

Kassia: Twitter. She rarely reads email newsletters anymore. She can accomplish on Twitter and 15 minutes what used to take her an hour and a half.

Christina: Facebook. She's visual. If she had to choose between Twitter and Facebook, she'd probably choose Facebook. But she uses Twitter to expand her reach. She uses Tweetdeck to organize her Twittering.

Jane: She interacts on Facebook and used Twitter as a listening post.

POSTED BY ALICE POPE

Twitter, Facebook, and I Really Should Update My Website

Jane Friedman, Christina Katz and Kassia Krozer are offering a session on managing time when it comes to social networking.

Kassia: "I live my life online. I check my email before I pour my coffee."

Christina: She has 3 e-newsletters, 3 blogs, 3 websites, a -year-old daughter. She suggests weaving into your day the things that you feel will advance you as a writer.

Jane: Do you use an RSS readers?

Kassia: She uses Google reader on her iPhone at the gym. She has a process by which she reads blogs and info online. RSS, she says, is the best invention. She subscribes to the information that she needs and is interested in. (RSS stands for "really simply syndication.")

Christina: You asked what could be a big time suck--that would be Google reader. She's now a convert, but she had to recognize that she only needs to read on her focused topics.

POSTED BY ALICE POPE

Blog Hogs, Social Twitter and Online Tools for Authors: Social networks

Robert Lee Brewer (me) introduced Kassia Krozser for her session on social networking, and she's already rolling into her presentation.

For Kassia, social networking is about bringing people together.

Here's her take on a few social networks:

Facebook: A gated community. It's about developing a system of relationships.

Twitter: Free-for-all. A never-ending cocktail party. "Conversations flow in several different directions."

POSTED BY ROBERT LEE BREWER

Brogan Keynote (continued): It's not all about you

Blogging and Twitter tips from Chris Brogan:

• writing about yourself is only really useful to you
• give people things they can dig deeper into--things they can go out and do something with
• with Twitter, search things out and find a conversation
• learn to listen and ask people about themselves--don't just talk about yourself

POSTED BY SCOTT FRANCIS

An Aside...

A writer introduced herself to me during the most recent break and mentioned that she is now successfully using social networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter after attending a webinar presented by Alice Pope and myself. She said it really made a difference.

Having someone tell me I'm making a difference is always a great way to start the day. Yay!

By the way, if you want to purchase the Recorded Event, hunt it down at the WritersDigestShop.com.

POSTED BY ROBERT LEE BREWER