For regular readers in this space: I deleted the facebook comments plugin. Going forward, commenters will have to post comments through WordPress for them to register.
Why I deleted the Facebook Comments Plugin:
MTM and I have been updating our computer hardware. We shifted browsers and search engines. Our goal? To be less trackable online.
The Facebook Comments Plugin requires users to give Facebook access to track everything on one’s website. By responding to your comments, I allow them into every cranny of my site. AND I SAY NO.
Your voice still matters. You may still comment directly on the link that posts to my Facebook author page. Or be cool and join the real conversation: USE YOUR WORDPRESS LOGIN DIRECTLY ON THE POST.
UPCOMING APPEARANCES:
Greater Boston: 8 appearances between 9 and 13 September. Message me for details.
Greater Washington DC: 4 appearances between 16 and 20 September. Message me for details.
WHAT I’M READING
The Rules Do Not Apply, a memoir by Ariel Levy.
And I’m impressed to be reading a book a week even in major revision mode! Has anyone read this book?
BEST THING I READ ONLINE THIS WEEK:
Gosh, I needed brain Doritos. I read all about Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth breaking up. I processed all the major drama surrounding the release of Taylor Swift’s LOVER. And I enjoyed this Vanity Fair cover story about Kristen Stewart.
PARTING SHOTS:
Besides writing, here’s what I’ve been up to around my very quiet house.
Photo 1: I found an exquisite Spanish rosemary cheese in Dallas and brought several chunks home.
Photo 2: We like to get fresh fish from Mount Pleasant Seafood. Clap for the perfect flounder MTM fried up.
Photo 3: One of my violets spawned a baby. I’m always nervous about transplanting, but I *think* it will live.
Photo 4: Don’t ask what I weigh. MTM brought this surprise lemon and strawberry tart home this week.
To see what Andra has been writing in series fiction, visit The Aftermath of Death, She Was Venus in Fur, Grief Out of Balance, For the Love of a Gun, Death by Toilet, Biscuits, Gardenias and a Funeral and Everything Dies.
16 Comments
Ah, yes. I’m considering leaving the internet entirely. That would effectively destroy my meager marketing efforts for my writing, voice, and music, but it’s very tempting. Most especially, I would miss the easy immediate contact with people I care about. But I’m getting very fed up with the whole deal.
I’m trying to find a way to use the internet on my terms. It requires some discipline, but I am getting there.
It is kind of a tightrope, and maybe not *really* doable, but paying attention is a very good thing.
I started this before I read How to Do Nothing, which is really about making these people pay for our attention. If we refuse to pay attention, how do they make money?
So I am being more deliberate about my attention. I use social media for messaging, but I don’t post anything they can really mine, and I don’t spend a ton of time there otherwise.
Makes sense, but cutting of so many friends would be a wrench. The question is, though, whether there is a more effective marketing method to take the same time and effort, and provide the same sort of contacts and friendships?
To clarify: I have only disconnected FB from my website. I still have an author page there. My personal profile is still up, but I never post anymore. I am exploring how to strip a lot of that down while still leaving the basics active.
I have experimented with other platforms but accept that people are married to FB. So I am trying to use it as I see fit without letting it into every nook and cranny of my life. While on residency, I decided to scale back what I share about myself online. Algorithmic Andra will be a version of me, but she won’t be like knowing me or spending time with me.
Thanks for clarification. I use FB sparingly; most of what I want to accomplish comes from WP.
I am weary of giving everything away only to be told how I can get anything back. And that’s by paying for what I gave away. It’s a shitty system.
I’m so happy to read this. I’ve not been commenting because of the plugin! Good for you.
I miss meeting up for lunches with people, other meet-ups and conferences. Being physically disabled doesn’t mean we want to be excluded from info and invites. Pass it on!
Have a fabulous rest of your day.
~Heidi
Most of that group has fallen apart, but I’d love to see you any time I’m here. ❤️
Good move. I’m here with you…
Hi there! Good to see your smiling face!
Facebook is for keeping up with friends and family on my terms. My writing, blogging and tweeting are all under a pen name as well as the site. Andra you and I are friends but unless I tell you BBQ and Texas you would not know who I am. That is as it should be. That is on my terms. -Best
You have been smarter than I for a long time. Ha.
Since your are a speaker it makes sense for you to use your name as your brand. I write what I think will sell. No genre is off the table and not subject no matter how controversial is forbotten. Let me know when you next get to town. Currently I am not too far from you. I think… I am in Gatlinburg. This place burned in November of 2016. I know there is story fodder here.. Hope you are well.
I was near there a couple of weeks ago. Spoke in Sevierville. It’s a lovely area.
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