On Wednesday, I posted the Facebook post in my "Writer's Guide To" series. I was pretty excited about it, because I felt like there was a ton of good info there for someone who is just getting started with a fan page.
Clearly I was riding a bit too high on my horse, because the very next day Marky Z. announces to the world that Facebook is changing ... again.
We can complain about it, but this is the nature of social media. Here is a great post on what these changes mean and how we can use them to our advantage. In the meantime, this new change reminds me of two important lessons we need to keep in mind as authors.
First, change is inevitable. Whether it's a revamped newsfeed, a Big 6 merger, or algorithm magikery at Amazon, something is always changing. In order to be successful in this business (and really, in any business) we need to minimize the time spent moaning about said change and maximize time spent adapting and moving on. Sure, take a minute to mourn for the old newsfeed (or dance on its grave, if that's how you feel), then pull up your big girl panties and mosey on down the road.
Second, we don't own social media. When we grow our platform using content owned by someone else, we are at that entities mercy. So while fan pages, twitter accounts and Google circles are wonderful, they can't be the entirety of your platform.
You need to have a home base that isn't controlled by someone else. I'm guilty of this myself, since this blog is hosted by Blogger (and it's parent Google). They could decide tomorrow that they are shutting down and that would be it for me. Make sure you have an online presence that is all yours. And don't forget that your platform includes things that don't exist on the web. Getting out there and (gasp) meeting real people in the flesh is an important part of your platform as well.
Times, they are a changing, folks.
Yeah, there's not much we can do about it if the platforms we use change. We just have to change with them.
ReplyDeleteLike a willow in the wind. :)
DeleteKeeps us on our toes, eh?
ReplyDeleteFor certain.
DeleteOh, Facebook, why must it constantly change? Change in general can be kind of scary (what if we don't like the new thing?), but sometimes it's good. You never know until it happens.
ReplyDeleteThat's true. The new graph search is pretty cool.
DeleteToday change happens fast and often. It pretty much sucks when you've checked something off your list of to-dos and now you have to put it back up again cause it's been changed.
ReplyDelete