100 Days Social Media Experiment: The Results

All this week I’ll be releasing a five-part series about the results of my social media experiment. 100 Days: Turning Off the Lights on Social Media kicked off the series in early April and I’ve been blogging about my observations here and there. Now that I’m drawing this experience to a close, I’m happy to share my conclusions and results.


When I first started this experiment, I had no idea how much social media played a role in my life as an author and a friend. I was frustrated and overwhelmed, because I felt obligated to use the tools and be connected at all times. I didn’t realize how much of a perceived burden this connectivity was until I wrote this article entitled Hunting Down the Value of Social Media on SFWA.org and had a frank chat with my friend Matt Forbeck.

After being in e-commerce and online marketing for so many years, Matt had pointed out I was hyper-sensitive to certain sticking points. So, on a surface level, I was getting really annoyed with day in and day out personas of people I knew that were trying to present themselves in a different light to get visitors or clicks. Remember, I travel in many creative circles, so it’s not just “one or two” friends and acquaintances that place a lot of value on their web presence. It’s — quite literally — hundreds.

While I have “unlearned” something often preached about in online marketing — the idea that there are best practices and one must not (typically) deviate from them — at the time I was more opinionated than I wanted to be and, without realizing it, I was really angry with myself about that because I’ve always prided myself on being fair. If anything, this experiment has allowed me to return to my core philosophy: do what works for you.

I’ve made my peace with rampant self-promoters and exaggerated personas, in part because I didn’t see the micro-trends and the near constant “fails” for a few months. The sheer lack of critical comments, opinion and feedback from hundreds of people allowed me to simply…be. The voices in my head returned, my writing is back to the level where it needs to be, and I’m taking calculated risks with my work.

Once I realized that my frustration with social media was the real reason why I felt compelled to stop using it, I dug a little deeper. I wanted to know whether or not it had any real, tangible value to my website or my work.

    Three Questions I Wanted to Know the Answer To

    1. Did getting off of social media hurt my book sales or my chances for publication?

    No.


    2. Did getting off social media hurt my website traffic?

    No.


    3. Did getting off social media kill my social media presence?

    No.

This week I’ll explore these answers and questions more in depth. I’ll also be talking about ways I’m going to manage my social media presence since I’ll be back online more regularly on Wednesday to prevent that feeling of obligation from ever happening again.

If you have any questions or comments about this experiment, feel free to post them and I’ll try to address them this week.

Thanks for being such a valued part of my readership!

July 11, 2011
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100 Days Experiment of Social Media Silence is Almost Over!

So it’s almost been a hundred days since I’ve been off of Facebook, IMs and Twitter for personal use, and…

…it’s about time.

It has been an absolute chore trying to connect with friends, readers and fellow gamers outside of these tools. Some people are only accessible via Facebook. Others rely on one tool or the other.

Not to mention, both Facebook and Twitter upgraded their messaging system. Now I get e-mails every time someone mentions me on Twitter, re-tweets a link, likes me on Facebook, etc. I even got a message that sounded a little creepy from Facebook, like Hal from Space Odyssey: “Monica, your friends are waiting.”

Last week I logged in to do some maintenance, and over the weekend I broke my silence with a single word: beer.

While I probably won’t be using the tools as much as I have in the past, a hundred days was a long time to conduct this experiment. I’ve learned a lot since I’ve been offline but, in the end, my conclusion is the same as my assumption: it’s just a tool like any other.

The interesting thing, is that getting off of social media has allowed me to do away with some really bad habits of mine. Like whenever I saw a “fail” meme, I felt obligated to uncover the real story instead of just blowing it off. Or when I noticed a blatant falsehood or incorrect piece of data, and felt it was necessary to help the person out — whether they wanted it or not. (You know, because no one is wrong on the internet… ever…)

The funny thing is, I’m finding that the less I know the better I feel and the more focused I am. I turned off Google Alerts and I’ll be turning off notifications, too. While I don’t (won’t) do away with social media completely, I feel I’ve finally got a grip on what I want to use the tools for.

And the best part? I no longer feel obligated to use them.

Less than a week and a half to go! Oy! In the meantime, I’m going to take a break from blogging this week so I can focus on my vampires.

‘Till then!

July 4, 2011
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Girl Geek Week: The Freaking Fabulous Contest!

Since no week of geek would be complete without a fabulous and fun contest, I’m having one…with prizes!

Both DriveThruComics.com and DriveThruRPG.com have offered to sponsor a prize and I’ve decided to provide one or two of my own.

Winners get to pick the prize they want!

The Freaking Fabulous Contest

To be a part of The Freaking Fabulous Contest, all you have to do is write a blog post about something you enjoy.

Doesn’t matter who you are or where you hail from, all I ask is that you speak up about what you’re passionate about. (And no, you do NOT need to be a girl geek, either.)

A link back to my website would be appreciated, but I am not requiring that you do so to win the contest.

When your post is live, please leave a comment on this post linking to your entry and indicate what prize you want to be considered for. To make it easier to find the post, the contest will be hyper-linked on my sidebar. Prizes, along with the nitty gritty details, are listed below. Winners will be chosen at random.

Contest Details

    Monica Valentinelli will be giving away one of the following prizes:

  • a twenty-five dollar digital gift certificate to be used on DriveThruRPG.com or DriveThruComics.com
  • a signed copy of The Zombie Feed Volume One and a handmade necklace and bracelet she designed based on the story
  • a digital copy of The Queen of Crows and a handmade set of bracelets she designed based on the character of Mahochepi

    • Please read the fine print below to find out how you can win!

      1. One Entry Per Person – Please post one entry per person, so that your fellow geeks can have an equal chance of winning a prize.
      2. Entries That Will/Won’t Be Considered – By keeping these simple guidelines in mind, you will increase your chance of winning.

        What Will Be Considered – Only entries posted from Tuesday, June 28th through midnight, Tuesday July 5th will be eligible to win. There is no limit or restriction on topics, the only requirement is that it’s something you’re passionate about.
        What Won’t Be Considered – Previously-published posts and entries that are full of harsh or foul language, overly graphic/sexual depictions or discriminatory/slang comments will be disqualified.

      3. Valid Email Address Required – When you post your comment, there’s a field to enter your email address. In order for Monica to notify the winner, please include a valid email address. This email address will not be posted publicly. She will not use your email address for any other reason other than to notify you if you’ve won.
      4. Valid U.S. Mailing Address Required – Once she’s contacted you, she will need a valid U.S. mailing address to send you your prize if you choose the prize from her. Monica will pick up the cost of shipping. If you are located outside of the U.S. and still want her stories, she’ll be happy to figure out an alternate prize that can be delivered digitally.
      5. Prizes and Notification – Monica Valentinelli will provide whichever prize, as listed above, the winner chooses within two weeks of notification. Based on the number of entries, she may award random prizes as well. Contest winners will be notified via email within one week after the contest ends.

    Good luck!

    June 28, 2011
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    Day 74 of 100: Reinforcing Silence

    Today’s post will point you to an article on the SFWA.org blog that I feel is extraordinarily relevant to being creative. The author, Leo Babauta, spoke to several writers, actors, musicians, etc. on the value of solitude and what it can do for you. Then, he goes on to explain how participation is also crucial. You can’t have one without the other and, if this social media sabbatical has taught me anything, I am finding that to be the case in my own life.

    Here’s a quote from the article:

    I’ve reflected on my own creative habits, but decided I’d look at the habits that others consider important to their creativity. I picked a handful of creatives, almost at random — there are so many that picking the best would be impossible, so I just picked some that I admire, who came to mind when I thought of the word “creative”.

    This was going to be a list of their creative habits … but in reviewing their lists, and my own habits, I found one that stood out. And it stands out if you review the habits and quotes from great creative people in history. — SOURCE: The Number One Habit of Creative People

    There’s several great quotes in the article and it does offer quite a few tips. The Number One Habit of Creative People is definitely worth a read if you have your time.

    June 17, 2011
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    Back from WisCon, Tuesday Blah

    Spent the weekend at WisCon and hung out with a number of people and talked on panels. Much of my time was spent talking to new authors and readers, but I did get the chance to hang out with Matt Forbeck, Monte Cook and a few local authors. The show takes on a professional tone; it’s well-organized and gives participants the chance to honor authors like the guest of honor, Nisi Shawl. Finally got the chance to listen to Cat Valente speak (the woman is electricity in a jar!) and ran into Kelley McCullough, who read from the debut book in his new series due out in November, and Brad Beaulieu, who’s celebrating his new book. More to come on that.

    Many of the conversations I had involved some element of concern for the state of the publishing industry. There is a lot of uncertainty, but one of the common pieces of advice I continue to hear is to focus on having a volume of published works (regardless of whether or not you’re self-publishing) to ensure a better chance of success.

    This advice is no different than what I’ve heard five years ago or even ten. Technology may have changed, but the mantra focus on the work is a solid one. Worrying about the state of the state doesn’t get a short story submitted or sign the next contract. Jobs may come and go — jobs not related to what I want to do — but I remain. I’m an author and an artist, and no matter what I’m doing, that’ll always be there.

    And I’m okay with that.

    If you’re visiting my site today, you may have noticed I changed the way the categories show up on the home page. I did that, because I’ve been getting back into blogging instead of penning stuffy articles here. I’ve got several places where I’ll be writing on a monthly basis that I’ll be sharing with you, but this’ll be shifting away from the center-left parts of me toward the light. I mean right. Er. Whatever.

    Since the con was pretty intense, I needed to decompress. *coughs* Beer! Well, and shooting stormtroopers in the head. Combine and mix vigorously! W00t!

    ‘Course, margaritas are better. Good margaritas, that is. I loves me some tequila.

    Yeah, that was pretty anticlimactic, but decompression is necessary and blargh. I don’t mind conversations taking on a more serious tone, or even going to those types of conventions, but post-con suxx0rs.

    The fix? Engage sushi therapy, fifteen minutes of sunlight, obligatory hugs/torments from sleepy cats and, of course, my next story.

    May 31, 2011
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