Blogging About Blogging
Words
Awareness of the outside world. From the bookshelf, The Urban Birder by David Lindo (New Holland 2012, ebook). “I believe wildlife in urban areas is so easy to engage with. All we have to do is open our eyes, ears, hearts and minds and soon we will be linked into the nature around us.” UB: Roost.
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A summary of where the blog’s social media is, or more accurately, where it isn’t, as of this moment. While I would love to have a robust Twitter feed and a Facebook fan page and Instagram influence, I have bailed on all of it. Nada.
For now, I draw the line at seven blog posts each week. If I indulge in my fantasy that each post takes an hour, that’s a decent hobby. In reality, the time investment for the blog is closer to being a part-time job. I don’t need more time sinks.
Twitter
I’ve never gotten the hang of Twitter as a consumer. There are so many angry people on there. After five minutes exposure, I want to hide under the bed.
Nor have I been able to generate Tweets. Reticence is not a design feature for me. You’d think I could come up with a extra words. Never happens. My brain is saving wordage for posts? Perhaps. On again. Off again. Finally stopped.
As a Tweeter, I am a repeating series of last Tweets. [Another Aborted Twitter Adventure 2017, New Title, New Twitter 2018]
It was useful for live updates from shows. Then I stopped going away for shows. Maybe if/when that happens again. [There & Back Again, Show Tweets, National Academy Championship Horse Show, 2018]
Of note, found this response, posted over two years after, when I went get my last Tweet for this post. “i spent all this money on brand new cat toys and my cat just wants to play with a crumpled up piece of paper” @ThiccFilA_Jan 28, 2021″ Maybe I am missing something … no, think of the time commitment … focus …
I create a new Twitter account for writing. Then I stopped entering contests. Maybe if I every get going on my moribund “platform.” [My New Twitter Handle, Warts And All]
Facebook
Facebook giveth. That’s how I found out about the Matisse class. A friend had clicked on it as Interested. I took the class. They didn’t. [In Which I Try Painting With Scissors]
Facebook taketh away. Even in my happy little echo chamber, I encounter upsetting moments. Either people on the side of the angels post items that outrage them – and by extension, me – or I make the mistake of reading the comments.
So I left, “Ending daily link posts. I am taking a personal break from Facebook. Too much angst. There is gracious plenty of that from the news. Don’t need to look for more. Since I have no self-control, that means a blog break from FB as well. I can’t seem to sign on, post the link, & leave. For daily posts, you can Follow by Email over on the blog, or bookmark the page, same bat time, same bat channel. Thank you. Hope to see you there.” RSFB message, May 19, 2020, [Facebook & Contact, currently]
I know some readers get notifications from the Facebook. I’m sorry if that means I miss them. It’s not like I’m hard to find. As I said in my envoi, new day, same bat time, same bat channel.
Instagram
Consumer, yes. Producer, not anymore. See above, re time. Some bloggers post on Instagram and then use those photos as blog media. What I was Instagramming never seemed to be related to what I was blogging.
The last time I posted on Instagram or wrote about it on the blog was closing in on a year ago. The final grid is so nicely framed with cat photos that I’m not tempted to post again. Don’t want to disturb the symmetry. I have changed the bio info from ‘Personal Blog’ to ‘Not posting here anymore./Saving it for the blog./Come visit.’ [Cosy Cats & The Ground Underfoot, Instagram March 2020]
I have a personal account, but only used for intake. When scrolling, I have to be careful with the suggested posts. The algorithm has incorrectly assigned me to a particular political persuasion. I find the resulting memes appalling rather than humorous. Yes, one should take in all sides of an argument, but not when one is trying to relax by looking at pretty pictures.
Outro
So that’s my social media, or lack thereof. Personal social media usage closely tracks that of the blog, except for scrolling Instagram.
Do you have fixed philosophy with social media habits, either for or against, or do you come and go?
Stay safe. Stay sane.
Katherine
Virtual Brush Box 
No social media, no pressure to produce constant content, no pressure to stand out and prove myself to be as special as everyone else….equals….more time to love my people, more time to knit them socks, more mental bandwidth to think more deeply and decide for myself what I believe and need.
There isn’t enough money on Earth to induce me onto those hamster wheels.
Have a facebook page but rarely use it. Planning to cancel everything except blog and pinterest. where i can’t get into my own home page. time to lose that one too, I guess. Having enough trouble with the world as it is. Just gonna get back to writing more puzzles for Linn’s.
I’ve pulled away from FB (never got into Twitter or Instagram). It is a time sink. I check when I get a notification but try to limit my interest to that one subject. The time saved goes into subscriptions to three daily newsletters. This way, I can limit my exposure to TV and still be aware of the outside world. The emotional content of the tv visuals is exhausting. Text discussions of the same subject are easier on me.
I spend less time following a large group of people and more time relating on a one-on-one basis to a smaller group of friends via text, zoom, FaceTime, Skype and the FB’s pm. Some how, it is more satisfying than herd socializing.
Will I continue this in the After? I think so. Most of my digital contacts are not local and I do hope to continue the relationships After.
But who know what lurks in The Future?
Thanks for the chance to reflect on this.
It’s good to think about why we do things. I clearly, am a hamster with a wheel addiction.
I’ve pretty much stopped posting on FB and IG because I find both too hectic and ‘noisy’ for my brain – more quiet, more peace! I guess that’s why I like blogs.