I know that everywhere you go, everybody seems to have their nose stuck in their cell phone, oblivious to just about everything going on around them. You know, the bubble people.
Or, where I’m now living, they have those phones up in the air taking pictures so they can look at what’s in front of them later.
Oh, my. What a world.
As a writer, I’m supposed to be active on all platforms as a matter of marketing , but as many others are discovering, those venues rarely lead to book sales or loyal readers. Let’s be honest.
I’ve toyed with some of them, but drifted away, even Twitter.
My primary social medium is here at WordPress, blogging. I know how to manage my posts easily. The Reader feels to me like a real mailbox, with dispatches from around the world – postcards, letters, clippings. As for you?
For that matter, I’ve never quite “got” Facebook. It’s cumbersome to navigate, most of the content feels like gossip cluttered with advertising, and I don’t like having to sign in to see what should be public information for local retailers, schools, or public events.
Still, living in a small town, I’m finding that’s where the local “party line” is, and checking in regularly is essential. I still have qualms about the bigger corporate picture, with its shadowy agendas.
Recently renewing contacts with folks from my ancient past has also had me turning to FB.
What’s surprising me, though, is the gap between those who are active in a social medium and those who are “members” but rarely or even never check in.
It’s not just FB. Even email accounts. I suspect many of my contacts are that way, too. Hello! Anybody there? Did you get my message? When was the last time they posted or commented? Take that as a clue to their presence … or absence.
The numbers, then, might not be nearly as big or influential as they’re boasted.
Meanwhile, I keep falling down these Internet rabbit holes, pursuing arcane information.
Where are you spending your time online? Or even elsewhere?
Jnana's Red Barn 
I can relate to that. I left all social media, except for my blog. The downside of leaving FB was that it was the only way I could “talk” and see people who otherwise, I would have not known where they were now. People from school, neighborhood, childhood, old jobs, and even some long-lost relatives. Overall, really nice people. For me, FB was becoming too commercialized, social issues/politics triggered, and even suspected that the non-related feed was “intentional.” It was truly robbing me of my peace at some point. The part I truly miss is not seeing those people anymore.
If they’re still “there.” Some I’ve messaged never picked up.