You know, there was life before Facebook for me but I hardly remember. Now I have 4200 + friends and use it to connect with friends in Vietnam who are not Christians but still read my nightly devotionals. This is how I got started. It's from May 16, 2011.
Have you ever had the sensation that your life just took a dramatic shift but you can't quite get a handle on it? Last Thursday, I ran into Paul Pollard, the tech guru who is the webmaster of my book's website. (If you need a genius to address your online interests, Paul is your guy!) As we verbally renewed our contract for another year, I told Paul my royalty checks were few and far between. He told me he would make a fresh evaluation of my website and get back to me. After reviewing my site, Paul made a number of recommendations to increase interest in my writing. Some I will look at more closely when school is out and I have some time to devote to their possible incorporation into my marketing strategy if you can call it that. He also made one suggestion that I have always resisted: FACEBOOK. I've seen friends absorbed in the social network to the tune of hours per day and I've also had concerns about finding information I'm uncomfortable with. But, almost everyone I know is a member, if member is the right term. I'm also aware I can get in touch with hundreds or maybe even thousands who don't read this blog which was created with the same original purpose, to draw attention to my masterpiece. I bit the bullet and added one bite of crow to the "I will never do that" file.
It was easy. I told Betsy, my student aide, what I needed and she told me she could set me up in ten minutes. Did she ever! She did something with the list of people to whom I have sent e-mails and within minutes, I'm getting Friend requests and confirmation and messages and postings on my wall...... and I don't even know what a wall is. (In the all in the family department, the first response came from my cousin, Melinda Barnett.) And they have kept coming. By my estimate, well more than eighty FACEBOOK related e-mails landed in my hotmail account, and as we speak, I have in excess of sixty unopened messages. When I figured out how to actually open my FACEBOOK page, I found much more stuff that I have no clue about. I've noticed one really neat thing. People are already contacting me whom I haven't heard from in years, which I was told would happen. But I'm feeling a kinship to the apostles when they asked Jesus how they were going to handle a crowd of 5000 hungry guys out in the middle of nowhere. What's the next step?
Like most of you, time is the most precious commodity I possess and like oil on the stock market, it seems to be escalating in value. I'm all ready stretched and I tend to feel guilty about my slow replies to e-mail which typically number only three to four per day of the non-work variety. Plus, in only ninety-six hours, Betsy is going to abandon me with the most inevitable fate of all: graduation. So, I'll have a brand new avenue of communication I'm ignorant of and I'll face it without the person most responsible for its implementation. I'm either facing a tidal wave of unforeseeable demands on my life or one of the most unique opportunities I could ever be afforded. Anybody have some loaves and fishes? I sense a crowd gathering!
Applicable quote of the day:
"Man has a limited biological capacity for change. When this capacity is overwhelmed, the capacity is in future shock."
Alvin Toffler
God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
http://www.hawleybooks.com/
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com
6 comments:
I wonder if your book is available in the Philippines? I have done a few review of books that an author friend of mine published here. Maybe I can do a review of your book?
Here's one review that I did -
http://women-ish.blogspot.com/2008/06/basta-lovelife-book-review.html
That was exactly my reasoning behind FB as well. I was alway so apprehensive until I started that business, and now I can honestly say it's one of the best decisions I've made. And keeping in touch with old friends and family I wouldn't otherwise talk to is always a plus.
Welcome to Facebook and the 21st century!
Hi Steve,
Great story! Yes, this is the direction the world is going in. Multimedia communication, which includes social media. As a writer, I've learned that you must have a complete Internet presence, which includes a blog, Facebook fan page, and Twitter to promote your work, and in many cases, video clips that are linked to YouTube. And that's just the basics. Many writers are doing this already. I am a Christian devotional writer who has a blog, Facebook page and twitter account. Not a Facebook fan page devoted to my writing, but I'm thinking about launching one. And I'm about to begin to learn more about multimedia journalism and social media marketing. It's very exciting.
Congratulations on your book. It sounds like God has a great blessing in store for you.
Judy
Oh Steve, oh how do I know how you feel! After weeks of being badgered by family members, I finally caved in and joined FaceBook. And, like you, I am still uncomfortable with being so open about my information online for everyone to see.
But you know, you shined a new perspective on this. A Godly perspective - although I wish you would have went more in-depth on that, I still appreciate that you shared that view. Thank you.
Coach, this post cracked me up, you sound like you have no idea what Facebook is!
Post a Comment