SOCIAL WEBSITES; ARE YOU REALLY HERE TO NETWORK?

Social Sites for Networking No Longer My Only Option

Does it really matter what site you join? What social site you join to netowrk amongst your community, friends, associates and family? who is respecting your huslte, your networking? I don't think anyobne is. I think as business owners, writers, authors WE NEED TO WORK TOGETHER. Networking should be natural. for instance: FACEBOOK has a button that can be clicked to share posts of your friends. If I post that I am having a book signing and want all to attend, then thats what I mean all. My intentions are to hit the masses. The only way I can do this is with my friends; FACEBOOK friends. You share they share we all share. We all touch friends of friends. What's the problem? You will see these choices (below) under your friend's comments.

· Comment ·LikeUnlike · Share

If you can click on the like button then it shouldn't take much to click the share button. If you do not want to read adds, posts buy people networking then check their profile first to see why they are on FACEBOOK There is so much power in the click.

Looking For: Friendship
Networking

There will be options of what the person is on FACEBOOK for. (See above) If their purpose is to network then hello...if you don't want to network then don't accept.

I would assume that people should enjoy getting to know where their friends lives changes and what they are doing now and if possible support them to the fullest. I am learning myself through experience that some; not all, but some people in your networking circle can be unreliable, unproductive, and just 100% selfish.

I am an author. The genre I write in; Urban Fiction, is not always respected in the mainstream fiction literary world. We were not respected until we hit the masses and we networked amongst each other. We linked up with another area of entertainment; The Hip Hop World and connected our network systems.

Now with existing social sites like FACEBOOK we can support each other's work by sharing and bring this much needed genre; Urban Fiction to the world. It has multiplied 50 times fold since Donald Goines, Claude Brown and Iceberg Slim and 100 times fold since Sistah Souljahs Coldest Winter Ever. But it was a struggle then just a few voices every decade or so but now this genre has grown like Hip Hop where outside cultures are wanting in. If this is how we have to go to get noticed we are in trouble. So that is why the share button, adding friends, joining groups and then sharing groups, marketing with each other (those with relative, common interests and want to reach a certain network circle) will keep us from waiting for those that see us as a taboo genre from gettingin on our money circle. we can grow and hit the masse on our own if we all help one another. I know when there is a business in play it is about profit, but sometimes you have to give back. if doesn't cost you to help then minimize the cost to lend that to someone else. Believe me it will come back to you. If you own a book store and you can help an up and coming author struggling do it. Stop getting besides yourselves. Authors bring readers and you are in the business of selling books...get it. One hand washes the other.

Just think when Hip Hop stepped on the scene Hip Hop was dragged through the mud, ridiculed and dissed. The world outside of hip-hop culture; music for minorities, didn't think this genre of music derived from, rooted from a deep seed planted in black folk going straight back to the motherland, would last. It was a fad. When it reached the masses' outside its culture and captivated the minds of white kids, it was veiwed as a business to invest in; a serious money making investment. Only then did white America let it be a part of music. Afterwards compnaies jumped on theis genre bandwagon because of its populairty. We used our netowrk systems then to bring hip-hop to the world. It even had a monotomous affect on uniting the genre's of music; white and black artists. hip-hops power is endless. Even though outside cultures; soicety uses it to reach their consumer and bashes it at the same time...Hip Hop knows this and uses them back to educate minorities children even in the weirdest forms, from different point of views and the most controversial topics. The point is by networking something not truly accepted by America; corporate or white, non-hispanic, non-latino, non-black the artistsm, record labels, lovers of hip-hop, make HIP HOP what it is today. A strong never dieing HIP HOP, regardless of what Naz says. Back then there were not as many artists, supporters, Hip Hop magazine or marketing avenues; except the streets and BET and a few mags; Right-On etc.

If you do get fed up with your FB friends, social networks reach outside of that cuirlce there are other avenues. Today we have thousands, hundreds of thousands of ways to network. There are YouTubes; webinars on how to utilize the power of networking on social websites. These outlets also include step by step free tutorials for those who don't know where to start.

Now that the wide world web has expanded their are avenues beyond the social networks. There are online classifed ads and dircetories and many other free outlets like Blogs; Hubpages, Bloggers, Wordpress and BlogSpot. Another way to reach out over the web is E-Mail Blasting, Newsletters, and networking with book clubs; your targeted population because they read. Shoot for onilne magazines, Blogtalk Radio Shows.

But for the people apposed to the click...re-evaluate your intentions. As for people who use these sites to network but won't click and share you should re-evaluate your intentions and lower your expectations of others doing it for you. High-profiled bookstore owners and book clubs who give new authors the run around be honest with us/them let us know you have forgotten the little people so we don'ty expect anything less.

I spoke to a friend of mine also an author and he shared his views on networking his book within the network circle he has built; friends, family, avis readers, authors, etc. and he had much top say about being supportive and not getting it back in return. He said he would go to other author gatherings, book signings and buy books and when he sent invites to the same people who'd sent him one and they were no shows. Here is his solution:

"One thing I've purposely done is build my social networks with more than 95 percent of the people being non-authors and other people in the publishing game. They are the people who are likely to buy your work, not authors."~SBR~

A fed up author stated:

"I re-post announcements to events, businesses, new books, new music and pictures...but no one ever re-posts my announcements. Are we really networking or just promoting our own?"