Monday, October 13, 2008

Twitter and Other Social Networking Distractions

I have managed to resist Twitter for over a year. If you knew how easy it is for me to get distracted from a project at hand and start goofing off you would know how much I really should have just stayed away.

Freelance writers have been singing it's heavenly praises for a long time. I'll admit, my interest was peaked when I found out a couple of writers I admire announced they had joined. But when I saw writers on forums and blogs discussing actual projects they had gotten as a result of tweeting, I found it too hard to resist any longer.

I also just recently signed up for FaceBook and Linked In accounts. Potentially more distraction. I'm not the most social creature, so social networking could be a necessary evil in order for me to begin making some valuable contacts. Since I'm still new on Twitter, I'm still a bit shy right now, but I don't expect that to last very long. Follow me if you tweet too.

Some say it's important for freelance writers – especially bloggers and web writers – to join these networking sites. Of course I've also heard others say they are a complete waste of time. It's still too soon for me to know which way to lean. So how do you guys feel about all of these social networking tools? Have you made any contacts that have led to more work?

10 comments:

Unknown said...

I hadn't heard of Twitter before; I probably don't need any distractions either but I enjoyed seeing your blog and website. thanks!

Amy said...

Hey Kimberly,

Twitter is like crack. LOL

I mostly use it to goof off. But, I have made some great contacts and gotten a few clients too, so I'm not complaining.

The trick for me has been to force myself to turn it off when I'm needing to concentrate on getting something accomplished. I am easily distracted too... in case you didn't know. ;-)

Kimberly Ben said...

woman writing whorishly, it's really neat, but I don't want to be a bad influence and suggest you join...Lol. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.

Kimberly Ben said...

Man, Amy it does have a "crackish" allure -Lol. And yes, you must have a plan for getting your work done or the day could go by and nothing gets done.

Angie Ledbetter said...

I've got enough addictions and distractions already. ;) Doing good to keep up with all things bloggy.

Kimberly Ben said...

I hear you, Angie. BTW - I really enjoyed today's post. You were right on point.

Anonymous said...

I haven't used Twitter yet, but I'm attending a teleseminar today that will show how to use it as a marketing tool.

I'm on LinkedIn now, and I've gotten two new (high dollar) clients from there, so I am happy with the time I am putting into my social networking.

Kimberly Ben said...

That's great, leighzaykoski. Boy, I would love to participate in that webinar about twitter. Even if I could though I'm completely swampped this week.

I have made a (hopefully) romising business connection with Linked In too, but nothing's happened yet. Congrats to you though. Hearing about your success confirms that social networking is not a waste of time when it's done right!:)

Anonymous said...

I'll be posting some info from the Twitter teleseminar on my blog in a few days, so I'll let you know when it's up. The seminar was $77, but well worth it.

Kimberly Ben said...

Please do, leighzaykoski. I can't wait to hear all of the tricks and tips.:)

 
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