Melissa Barker-Simpson

I’ve always been a little apprehensive about social network sites. When I eventually succumbed to my friends insistence that I should have a Facebook account, I stared at the profile page for a number of hours wondering what it was all about.

I was also told social networking sites are a must for reaching people – a valuable tool for a writer. As someone who enjoys stringing words together, I still find myself stumped when it comes to the ‘status’ comments, or when considering a tweet.

Perhaps it’s my brain that insists I have nothing interesting to say. But as a writer, shouldn’t I always have something interesting to throw out there. A part of it is linked to my ‘day job’. I can’t write about where I am or what I’m doing due to the level of confidentiality involved, so I tend to avoid saying anything at all.

I’ve noticed that most users of social networks have an opinion about everything, and who is more opinionated than a writer?! I just don’t know where this reluctance comes from. It could be a fear of putting myself out there – as a fiction writer I can hide behind my characters and give them all the clever things to say.

I need to do something about this hurdle I’m up against. Unless I tweet/update my status more, and add comments to the things I read I’ll never get any ‘followers’ and then I’ll just be a random person with an account, talking to herself!

I’m really interested in your thoughts. What do you use social network sites for? Do you have any tips for me. Are they important, or should I concentrate on writing forums/blogs/groups, etc?

Thanks for reading

Mel