I can understand that social media is an essential way in which we experience life in the modern era, and also that it is quickly becoming a primary networking and marketing tool for individuals and businesses, but at the same time I remain skeptical as to just how much can be done online. I'm not doubting the power of a prominent online presence, nor am I trying to take away from the success that it has obviously brought numerous individuals, but when it comes down to it the media can only do so much of the leg work. It's still up to the writer or artist to find a real, material outlet. When a person thinks of being a writer, their highest aspiration probably isn't a blog or a series of online articles, it's a book or a story or a material things that they want people to hold, and more importantly, that they want people to pay money to hold.
A blog might help a writer self-publish or gain a following, but it can't serve as a substitute for a substantial piece of writing in itself. I personally want to write movies, and a blog about movies isn't really going to help me. People want to write books but a Twitter feed full of their ideas isn't going to enthrall an audience. And still other writers want to achieve so much with their writing that can't be moved along by simply being friends with people on Facebook. As digital as our culture and our world is becoming there's still footwork to be done. Publishers or buyers still need a face to put to a name, they need a voice to hear and a person to recognize. We're taught to value the voice of a narrator or the words of the story themselves but publicity comes from an author and their relations with the public, a book literally cannot sell itself. And even if it appears to it's not selling itself as much as a person can.
I'm a participant in social media and networking sites, but I can still be critical of their ability to help us. Not every job is going to be posted online. Not every opportunity has an origin on the Internet. Sometimes, even though smartphones and laptops make it difficult, we have to disconnect with technology in order to truly connect with people. Millions of words written on a blog nobody reads is no substitute for a thousand-word manuscript
RSS Feed