A note to friends: I have realized that people are presenting themselves as social media experts who the things I know, and they’re getting editorial jobs because of it. Or, at least, most editorial jobs these days have some social media savvy requirement. This is a practice in explaining the things I know, to be transferred to my online portfolio to show that I’m fancy with the internet. I’d appreciate your feedback here if you have any.
Whenever people are new to Twitter, they talk about how weird it is that people are following them. “I haven’t written anything!” or “I don’t even know who they are!” they cry, weirded out and slightly thrilled.
Anytime you are putting something on the internet, you have to assume people are reading it, and they have their own wacky and varied reasons for doing so. A formal follow on Twitter just lets you know who they are, and that’s a courtesy, not a threat. Sure, there’s someone (or a bandstand of someones) staring in your virtual window, but when they follow you it’s like a tap on the glass to let you know they’re there.
For people who aren’t bloggers, this is an understandably strange idea, but an important lesson. People put things on their Facebook and Flickr pages all the time that make me gasp. That drunken bday photo? Once it’s out there, you can’t assume that you control who sees it, and taking it down doesn’t prevent someone from copying and re-hosting it somewhere else. Using Twitter on your phone makes this even easier: beware the flippant tweet. (more…)