Random Ramblings

Social Networks: All-a-Twitter

I blog (intermittently). I tweet (occasionally). I have a (neglected) MySpace page. I belong to Hoverspot.com. I'm a "Writer's Block" member at Essence.com.

This week, a fellow writer referred me to shewrites.com, a social networking site for women writers.

At a recent meeting of our women writers group, two--younger--members promoted social networking for sharing resources, interacting with others who have similar interests or needs, posting and promoting one's work, locating professional and personal sources of information.

I get that. But, I'll be darned if I can figure out how to use links, feeds, tweets to my advantage. Equally frustrating is the time it takes to teach myself.

Depending on skill, I understand that one can have followings of tens or thousands. (I heard that Oprah has 30 million followers on Twitter.)

I'm reading What Would Google Do? by Jeff Jarvis, who, according to the book jacket, "writes the Web's most popular and respected blogs about the internet and media." Check out Buzzmachine.com. Jarvis explains the relevance of linking and how it has changed how we receive and disseminate information, news, and ideas.

Are you struggling in the Brave New World of social networking? If so, drop a tweet to ChatChik at Twitter.com. 

Or, leave a comment here about your success, or lack thereof, with social networks.