Mad Macedonian

Authors and Readers, Politics and Identity...the Question of Sharing

In the current heated political and cultural environment whether authors should feel free to express their political views is a relevant question to ask.

When your choice of whom to vote for, or your views on the issues of the day, can bring down the wrath of activists not just via various social media, your own accounts and others, but outside your doorstep, or that of your day job, or even lose you your job, do you keep your views private or as private as you can, or do you not let yourself be intimidated and stressed by what others think?

Do authors’ identities a) matter and b) belong to the world?

These questions of censorship and self-censorship, and free speech, were recently discussed in 2 interesting essays by Jael McHenry on the website Writer Unboxed:

Do Authors Owe Us Their Whole Selves?

Politics, Authors and Readers

These issues, while more important in the Internet Age, have been part of life since the Reagan Years and centuries before then.

One question Jael asks is this: "as both consumers and makers of art, authors have to wonder: should I express myself fully, including my political views, on social media? Or does that mean losing readers?"

I have some thoughts on this I want to share...

Good-Bye LinkedIn

I joined LinkedIn in November 2007, not long after I began this blog.

I was a Directory Assistance Operator for Verizon Wireless.

What did I do? Well, I guess this song I wrote might give you some idea, hee, hee!

At the end of Sept. 2010 I became unemployed; by December I was taking computer related classes with plans to return to job hunting the following summer.

I described myself, then, as

"looking for a new job that might have use of my skills, however I am also looking seriously into retraining for a new career entirely.

I am also looking for stories, connections, and opportunities, related to my blogs, and writing skills."

My listed objective started out simple, in 2007,  but evolved over time, just as the direction my life did after breaking my ankle in Spring 2011...

 "A position as a writer, or something administrative, in blogging, writing, book publishing, or editorial fields, allowing me to apply strong organizational, communication, management skills, & experience.

Or continue in customer service, in a retail environment, or another field, appropriate to my experience, that will allow me to apply strong organizational, communication, management skills, & experience."

My summary of my background eventually focused as much on my writing interests as my careers, and I listed my blogging right alongside my work history, in my "jobs" list.

WRITER, BLOGGER, CAT PERSON - Online Writer & Blogger, 2002-Present:

New Journalist, Commentator, Cat Blogger, Bike Blogger, Poet, Storyteller, and Photographer since 2002, on 4 blogs...2 still active, and thriving.

Over the years the subjects have been varied, but one thing visitors can count on, in addition to tales of my everyday life, is being made to think.

So check your expectations at the door, and don't forget to pet the Cats, and give them a treat, on the way out the door, when you leave.

I have hopes of earning money from my writing efforts someday, and am quite proud of what I have accomplished so far.

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I gave brief, colorful, descriptions of all my blogs.

I described the few publishing and guest post credits I have, and linked to my best video and a podcast appearance, as well.

Nothing much ever came of my being on the site; yes, my connections grew to 117, with the related  thousands of 2nd & 3rd, etc. connections, and I was a member of several writing groups.

However, all I ever had time for was posting updates (links to my blog posts) and complimenting friends for their various skills.

Oh, and connecting with people I knew and accepting connection requests from many people I did not.

No job offers ever came my way. LinkedIn DID send lots of suggestions, though, none of which interested me, even if I somehow was even remotely qualified.

Maybe a dozen people a week read my status updates, and 4 people, every three months, glanced at my profile.

Like many who are members I could find no spare time to get deeply involved and could not afford to be a paying member.

So I decided to say so long to LinkedIn.

SMFPB 72: Perspective on Attending Blog Paws

Where to begin?

From the moment I entered the lobby of the Sheraton
Premiere, on Thursday morning, to the time I finally left to catch my flight home on Sunday afternoon, I had one of the best times of my life.

As a newbie to Blog Paws conferences I admit to being a little nervous but, standing there in the lobby my nervousness soon disappeared as I heard my name called, turned around, & saw Caren Gittleman (Cat Chat); arms open wide, a smile on her face, charging forward to embrace me in a welcoming hug.

Soon I was walking the halls, attending my first speaker
session in the afternoon, and the welcome speech and get together in the
evening, like I’d been coming to the conference since forever.

(This post originally written on 5/23/13 - See introduction)

SMFPB 71: Blog Paws Conference Preview

A long, busy, week began for me yesterday (well, actually Saturday) and as part of it I am writing and scheduling blog posts for every day, Wednesday through Sunday, on this blog and The Opinionated Pussycat.

I will be taking my laptop and also plan to blog daily on the cat blog and on Mad Macedonian, as well, as time permits.

I will be attending a lot of  presentations, taking pictures and notes, meeting many people I only have known online, and expect to learn a lot.

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BlogPaws was founded in 2009 by three pet lovers and bloggers – Caroline Golon of Romeothecat.com and Yvonne DiVita and Tom Collins of Scratchings and Sniffings and Windsor Media Enterprises.

The conferences are a great way for pet bloggers to connect with other pet bloggers  They gather to share expertise, tell stories and support one another. The sessions offer educational training and insight from industry experts in all sorts of topics such as SEO, Branding, Publishing, Video, Email Marketing, Photography, Writing, Blog Platforms, and a lot more.

This year I finally get to attend!

(This post originally written on 5/12/13 and 5/13/13 - See introduction)

 

SMFPB 70: Making Category Titles Appealing on WordPress

As readers of this blog may have noticed the titles of my various Category Archives tended toward the looonnng side.

Having decided to see if I could shorten some of them I first went to my Typepad blogs because, there, when I changed the name of a category I could leave the original url untouched.

Having blogged for 5 years on one blog, and 3 on another changing the url on the categories would be a major hassle so I left them alone.

By running your cursor over titles, to see the url, you can see the differences on the ones I changed:

Musings of a Mad Macedonian

The Opinionated Pussycat

(This post originally written on 5/11/13 - See introduction)

SMFPB 69: So You Have a Facebook Page? What Next?

There you are, with your brand spankin’ new Facebook page about your pet blog, the trick is now to get people to stop playing Farmville long enough to notice. :-D

The folks over at Socially Stacked have their own theories about how to go about this, and made a nifty, thought provoking  PDF one can save for future reference and study.

Their 14 ways to boost visibility and attract shares are a varied lot:

1. I post more than 5 times a week, but there’s no guarantee anyone is reading if I get no feedback.

2. Does what time I post play a role in attracting more shares? I post when I get a chance, not just the same time every day so can’t really say without feedback.

3. Would photos attract more sharing? Hey, Elvira! Come over here, I need you to lay in your patented “sexy” pose, with your food bowl!

4. Would treating your status updates as you do Twitter, and do maybe just 3 lines of text (150 characters) matter?

5. Writing something relevant to your audience might bring more likes and shares, but it still comes down to getting feedback to know.

6. Your fans like what you do so staying true to your brand makes sense if you know what your brand is and how to promote it on Facebook. Something I am still learning how best to do.

 

SMFPB 68: More Inspiration

It’s been a tiring, but rewarding, day.

This is a brief follow-up to Day 64′s post on inspiration.

This week I was awarded The Versatile Blogger Award for my cat blogging and, today, had the opportunity to be a guest blogger, writing a post related to my cat blogging.

Versatile Blogger Awardees Guest Post on Pet’s Garden Blog

This makes 3 guest posts this year; the other 2 were at Sopphey Says and Going Veggie.

(This post originally written on 5/9/13 - See introduction)

SMFPB 67: Pet Bloggers and Concern About What Citizen Journalists Post

For those bloggers who write about subjects from A to Z, the question of being taken seriously has evolved over the last decade as the use of various social media tools has evolved.

I’ve read an article, on the website Social Media Today that, while it’s focus is more on covering the news of the day and politics, still is worth a pet bloggers time to read.

Not all pet bloggers write about news, events, and issues related to pets but Chris Measures says there are “three key reasons that we should be wary about what citizen journalists write, publish and upload.”

Sharing videos and photos taken with cameras and cell phones allows even pet bloggers to report a story on their blog before the local newspaper, or TV news, covers it.

(This post originally written on 5/8/13 - See introduction)

SMFPB 66: Conquering Wi-Fi

Well, shoot! THAT was easier than I thought!

Wi-fi, oh what fun!
My very first connection has been done.
Going live, I felt no dread.
I found logging online easy, let it be said.

I didn’t expect to get all damn emotional about it, for cryin’ out loud!

(This post originally written on 5/7/13 - See introduction)

 

SMFPB 65: How Many Social Media Accounts are Too Many?

How many years have you been wandering around the internet?

How many websites have you joined?

How many have you forgot you joined and haven’t gone near in months or years?

If you are like me the idea was to somehow use some of these places to compliment your blogging, but for various reasons things never panned out.

The purpose of this blog is to explore social media as a pet blogger looking to use some of what’s out there to help build a platform, but there is no rule that says you have to join everything out there, or stay a member if a site turns out not to be what you hoped.

(This post originally written on 5/6/13 - See introduction)