With two twitter accounts, two facebook, two instagram, one tumblr, two youtube, a Seed&Spark, Vproud, vimeo, stumbleupon, pinterest, reddit, linkedin, ello, digg, myspace, metacafe, daily motion and more, you'd think I have A) an army of interns B) the body of Kali or C) mental health issues.
The answer is D) None of the above. I'm simply a misguided and exhausted producer trying to get some traction.
When we started making The Louise Log, I'd upload an episode to youtube and send the link to my address book. If people are interested, I figured, they'll watch.
Sometime in 2008, groaning that there wasn't time for the rabbit hole of facebook, I joined up only to be browbeaten (thank you Mary Jander) into getting onto twitter. And so began my life on social media.
Only thing, I have this little issue with being a workaholic and was treating all this like 'media', forgetting about the 'social'. In real life I have friends, none of whom I see enough of anyway cause if you're a control freak making a low-budget web series, you basically don't have time to sleep.
My habit was to, once a month, post the links to the new episodes and call it a day. Sure I'd talk back to people who talked to me if I happened to notice, but my attitude was that all these social media sites were billboards, places to put up the videos. The 'social' aspect of it seemed like icing on the cake, fine for the teenagers who had nothing better to do than avoid doing their homework. I was busy being my own production studio.
My dear old friend Stephen Dimmick advised me (in his gorgeous Australian accent): "Anne, it's a converSAtion." My coach and advisor Mudd Lavoie encouraged me (to the point of hoarseness) to talk to people on facebook and twitter for at least fifteen minutes every day. "You can't find half an hour??" And the answer to this day, I say red and shamefaced, more often than not, is 'not always'.
I intend to! I've even come around to wanting to. At this point, I know a lot of not only cool but generous and amazing people through social media. People I've never met. People whose work I love and admire. And believe me, I want to have started this new program of being active on social media yesterday (naturally).
The problem comes down to three issues: poor impulse control, difficulty with transitions and an inability to let go/perfectionism. Whatever the job is, this blog, yesterday's photo shoot, a phone conversation -- even with my little egg timer ringing, with the alarm on the phone going off, the days get away from me almost every day. Whatever activity I'm involved in, I'm 'finishing it up'. And then it's past bed time.
Holly Payberg of the wonderful web series Feathers and Toast wrote a very clear and smart step-by-step approach to succeeding on social media this week. I recommend that you read it. And having now bared my soul about my anti-social social media behavior, am hoping I will change tomorrow once and for all. Tonight, even! Crossing my fingers.