Do you ever feel like social media is making us all stupider? I’ve been feeling that way a lot lately. People making things up, fake science, and people quoting from junk articles they’ve seen on Facebook. Can it get any stupider? Well, yes. Yes, it can! Let’s not travel down that rabbit hole just yet, though. Let’s talk about reversing the tide a bit. Let’s talk about slow social media. By the way, I enjoyed this article about Slow Social. You might, too.

Stop the ten-second videos

One reason I don’t log into certain video-sharing apps is because it’s easy to spend 15 hours looking at 10-second videos. You know what I’m talking about, right? Besides making me stupider, there’s a certain meanness to many of the videos. As if seeing someone falling down should be funny. Or hurting an animal should be entertainment. Or what about the “pranks” where someone pretends to spend $10,000 on a buttlift, and then the poor guy’s reaction. Really? How about if we just skip it?!

Social media whiplash

Watching non-stop videos of ridiculous subjects can give us all a kind of whiplash. You might not even remember what you just watched if you watch too much. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. Before you even open that app, know why you’re there and what you’re going to do. If you want to engage for ten minutes, do that. Set your timer, then get out! It’s kind of like going to the grocery store when you’re hungry. You end up mindlessly buying (or watching) things you don’t want. And you might not even remember why you bought something when you get home. If this rings a bell for you, you might like: Organizing Your Social Media So You Can Have a Better Life.

Fear of missing out (FOMO)

Do people really fear missing something on social media? Do you? How do we get over this idea, as a culture? If you take a break from being online, you’ll see that you’ll hardly miss anything at all. Try it! Did the world end? No, it did not! The only thing that will change, probably, is your level of relaxation. So take the yoga class. Go for a walk. Or eat the ice cream. Avoid Social Media Decision Fatigue Three Quick and Easy Ways.

Can we use the slow-food movement as a model?

With the pandemic, many people began to spend more time at home, cooking more. Slow food was already gaining ground, but it became even more important as we had more time to spend baking banana bread. I like to think that we could all use a little unscheduled, boring time, if you will. Times when nothing happens. Like rest notes in music, for instance. The slow-food movement began as a protest against fast food. Could we start a protest against fast social media? And even though I’m a social media manager, how about if we have a day when we stay off social media? Who’s with me on this?

If you’re a writer, blogger, or content creator then you know how much a good editor is worth. They can seemingly work magic with their red (or virtual red!) pens, sculpting and reshaping your badly-written words into something artistic. If not artistic, then at least something less bad! Here are some of the ways they can assist.

View your work from 20,000 feet

There may be some things you’re doing that you’re not aware of. Maybe you always make the same spelling errors, or use too many commas. Oh, wait! That’s me. My editor is always saying to remove commas. Not Oxford commas, of course, but some of those other ones that sneak in there. By the way, I’ve written about writing before. You might like: Content Creation: How to Make Your Writing More Fun.

Do a structural edit

If you know a really good editor, she can actually restructure your writing. For instance, create one chapter out of two, or change the order of paragraphs. Or say that what you’re really saying doesn’t match your premise. He can check the logic of your words. Wouldn’t you like someone like that to look over your work? I know I would!

Use a style guide

If you’re adhering to a style guide (hello, Chicago Manual of Style!), your editor can see that you’re following those rules. Do you like the Oxford Comma? Or are you one of those renegades who doesn’t bother, doesn’t care, or doesn’t even notice (do you see what I did there?)?

Check your grammar

Are you using active voice in most of your sentences? An editor can double-check and fix your writing if you’re not. In some types of writing, you may not want to use active voice, but that’s a whole other story. Technical writers, for example, use passive voice quite often. I dislike most automated apps for checking grammar, since they tend to simplify my writing style. Although writing for 12-year-olds is what a lot of people do, it doesn’t work for me.

Do some unfun jobs

Are you mixing up your bullet styles? Your editor will probably notice and fix that! Do your captions match your graphics? Again, that’s something an editor can check for you. Sometimes your editor has the completely unfun job of telling you your manuscript is trash and you should start over. Would you like that job? NO!

Ensure your formating is consistent

Does your formating change every other paragraph? An editor will mark that up and either you or she can fix it. That’s also an unfun job, but one every editor has probably had to do at some point in their career.

Be nice to your editor

Some of you may have the mistaken belief that editors are mean people, gleefully sitting around with their red pens poised to find mistakes. They are kind people, and they make your writing better! So bring them cookies if they’re nearby. Or send them something in the mail–cash is good, but even a cup of coffee would probably be appreciated. Editors are the unsung heroes of the world of writing.

Recently, I’ve been thinking about blogging. I’ve been blogging for a long time now (nine years? ten years? who knows!), with no thought of stopping. But maybe I’ll write in a different way. Have you considered changing the way you blog? Stick around while I explore this topic.

Why do people read blog posts?

There are many reasons, but here are a few:

• To learn about something they know little about
• To amuse themselves
• To connect with you and others in an online community

I really liked this article: Do People Still Read Blogs? And you might, too.

How do people find you and your blog?

Of course, there’s the usual Google search. But there’s also email marketing and social media. People may find an enticing headline and jump over from Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. Possibly a friend may tell them about your blog. If you know how people find you (via your Google analytics), you may want to give them even more reasons to find you. If you have analytics of some sort, then you can see how people are finding you.

Blogging on other platforms

There are different ways to blog besides the cost of getting your own website. For instance, Terri Nakamura blogs on Instagram. She has a much different approach, and I highly recommend her new book, Blogging on Instagram, available on Amazon for a song. If you’d like to connect with others, you’d like this book. Others may want to syndicate their blog posts with an organization such as Business to Community. I did that for a long time and really enjoyed it.

Video blogging

Is video blogging a thing? Yes, it is! Friend Mitch Mitchell talks about quite a lot of different topics on his vlogs. And no, he’s not Jimi Hendrick’s former drummer. If you prefer talking to writing, or in addition to writing, you might enjoy making videos and telling your story that way. You may want to have more than one channel, especially if you have different businesses, or divide your personal and business vlogs.

Blogging as a creative exercise

Some people write because they love to write, and others write because they want more followers or better SEO. Whatever the reason, you may be rethinking your need to express yourself in a standard blog. Journaling may not hold the same interest for you that it once did.

Other types of blogs

Some people create blogs for travel or photography and use hardly any words. That might be a good way to document your life. Other people use all words and barely any images. I’m of the belief that you need both words and images to tell a story or create a blog. There are personal blogs, business blogs, and affiliate blogs, where you make a little money by recommending a product.

Do you have a favorite kind of blog or blog post?

Do tell!

Have you ever considered writing a book? Recently, I’ve been writing about how to get started turning your blog posts into a book. This is the third in the series.

Here are the previous parts:

• Part One
• Part Two

What do you do next?

If you get stuck at any point, realize that you’re going to need someone to edit your book and someone to create artwork for your book. You could ask among your friends or you could also check Fiverr. Fiverr is an awesome place, with lots of experts. I think Fiverr’s reputation has grown by leaps and bounds, so check it out! I’ve used Fiverr to help with formatting and to find someone to create infographics for my second book. You might find it helpful, too.

Get more than one edit

My recommendation for anyone writing anything is to have more than one edit. You may want to have two, or possibly three edits. That gives you time to let your writing stew a bit. Then you can incorporate your editor’s comments, and rewrite some more. That time on the back burner really helps–so long as you don’t completely forget that your draft exists, that is. You can use Fiverr to find editors, too, if you don’t know one personally.

Choose an artist, editor, formatter whose work speaks to you

When I was trying to find someone to create infographics for my book, I worked with three different artists. Eventually, I settled on one person to help. That person not only had an eye for infographics, he was someone I could easily communicate with. He got back to me quickly and understood what I said, although his first language wasn’t English.

Find someone generous and be generous in return

While searching for someone to format my drafts, I wanted someone who didn’t charge extra for little things. And I gave her a generous tip. I recommend doing the same. Not only does this create good will in the present moment, but when it comes time to use that person’s services again, they will remember you with fondness!

Keep writing

You may have several pages of writing at the point. Keep writing, even if some of it is garbage (and it will be!). You can rewrite, delete, and expand your writing. But if you don’t continue to write, you’ll never reach your end goal–a finished book! Another trick is to talk while you write. That is, read your words out loud. You’ll most likely find some things missing and your writing will be more conversational that way.

Enlist friends

You may know others in your community who are trying to write. It’s more fun when you’re writing with others! If there is no community, why not create your own? Meetup has many different groups, and you might find one that’s perfect for you. You might also host a virtual writing day or join NaNoWriMo and write 50,000 words in one month. Although that’s a lot of words, having others writing with you–even virtually–can help a lot.

The number one thing I first tell people about to embark on a social media journey is to consider their audience. Your audience, like you, is a multi-faceted bunch. They don’t have merely one interest. They have multiple interests, hobbies, and they’re complex creatures. So wouldn’t it make sense that you should listen to all the things they have to say and post about some of their other interests?

You’re not the center of the universe

If you’re a man posting on social media, listen to what your women friends have to say. If you’re a woman, listen to what your men friends are saying. If you’re older, listen to the whippersnappers. And so on! (Joking about the whippersnappers, by the way.) You get the general idea. You’ve got to be somewhat flexible. And listen. A lot. If you don’t know how to find who your audience is, you might like this article: Who Are You Writing For? Target Audience and Social Media.

Why it’s easier when you’re not the center of the universe

Have you ever tried to have a conversation when the other person doesn’t say a word? It’s exhausting, isn’t it? Since you’re not talking, I’ll answer that question for you. YES, IT’S EXHAUSTING. It’s so much easier when there’s a back-and-forth volley in the conversation. Teachers who don’t have conversations must have a difficult time since it’s like a one-way valve when they’re lecturing. A conversation is so much more satisfying. And if you don’t know how to have a conversation, Indeed has this nifty guide: 13 Ways to Start a Conversation. (I like the one about showing genuine interest.)

Speak in your audience’s voice

Now, this might be a little trickier, but if you can incorporate some of your audience’s language, that could really engage your audience more. See what they say, how they say it, and what specific words they use to describe things. Maybe they also use a lot of emojis. Don’t completely mirror their voice, but incorporate some elements into your voice. Here’s an article you might like about your audience and their voice: Audience: Use Its Language. Yes, it was written back in the day, but still relevant (if I do say so myself!).

We have two ears and one mouth for a reason

Someone said that once, and I’ve always remembered it. More listening and less talking is a good idea. After all, as my friend Amy Donohue is fond of saying it’s called SOCIAL media, so keep it social. By the way, Amy just wrote a terrific book–Social Media Stole My Kidney, which you can find on Amazon (highly recommended).

Share, be generous, and collaborate

When you share what others are saying and doing first, they’re much more likely to want to share what you have to say, too. So be generous, collaborate, tag others, and again–it’s not all about you! People are much, much, MUCH more likely to follow you if you make it about them first.

Maybe you’ve already read my previous article, about turning your best blog posts into a book. If not, you can find it here: See What Happens When You Turn Your Best Blog Posts into a Book. Anyway, if you’re still reading, here are some more ideas for the next phase of turning your blog posts into a book.

Get more juicy ideas about each chapter

Last week, you might have already finished the ten chapter titles, then written two sentences. Since we’ve already used the example of an organizing book, let’s keep that example. So for each of the ten chapters, write two or three more sentences about each chapter. You’ll find that some of the chapter headings are simple to expand. Others will give you problems. You may find that you could even divide some of the original chapters in half and create new chapters that way. Still unconvinced of the merits of writing a book? Here is what happens when you write a book. One thing that happens is you’ll meet other authors.

What do you want to learn?

Maybe you feel that you’re not smart enough or you don’t know enough. But, chances are, you know a lot more than you think you know. Still, there may be areas in your knowledge that you’d like to expand. So for instance, thinking about our imaginary book, what is it about organizing that you’d like to know more about? For me, it would be organizing photos and digital organizing. Maybe you could start by writing about physical photos first, then move onto digital photos.  Maybe whichever you feel more compelled to write about.

Where can you learn more?

Of course, there’s always Google for a way to find out more. You could also ask your photographer friends which websites are the best for learning about how to organize photos. I’d say start by tossing any photos that are out of focus, don’t have anyone you know in them, or are simply not interesting. Other good places to learn about organizing photos could be on Pinterest or YouTube. I really like this article from NPR If You’ve Always Wanted to Write a Book, here’s how, especially the ideas on how to banish your inner editor.

Pull from your own knowledge

If you have photos, you will have organized them to some extent, probably. So how did you do that? If you haven’t done that before, think of a friend or colleague who has done this. This goes for any chapter of your book. Talk to someone who’s done what you’re going to write about. You might even want to quote them.

Talk to a professional

Did you know there are professional organizers that specialize in organizing photos? You might want to look at some of their websites for some ideas. For instance, my friend Glenda Evans is a Certified Photo Organizer. Find someone who does what you’re writing about and ask to interview them. You might be surprised at what you find out.