Marjorie Clayman’s Writing Portfolio
Professional writing profile of Marjorie Clayman
Daria Giron posed a great question for my August series (or should I say OUR August series). She wanted to know my take on why we blog.
I’ve been thinking about this question for the whole month. And you know what? I still don’t have a great answer. I can tell you some of the reasons that I blog, but it would not be a comprehensive list. So I’ll tell you some of those things, but then you fill in the blank too.
My friend Andrea Donahue got to know me back during my Livejournal.com days, when my blog was really more a diary that people could respond to (so scary). Back then, very few people used their real names or pictures online, which afforded a kind of freedom that is a lot harder to gain in this era of real names and face…book.
Of course, back when I was using Livejournal, I wasn’t doing too much else online. I had a MySpace account but I never really got totally addicted to it. I tested out Friendster and Orkut and they were okay.
Now of course, the story is entirely different. It is Livejournal that has petered out for me, and in its stead is this site, Twitter, Facebook, and even Google Plus. All of that inspired Andrea to ask me what of all of those platforms was my favorite and why. Maybe it’s because I have the kind of lag that can only come after a great vacation, but my gut reaction is, “Uh…all of them?” Since that is entirely not helpful, I thought I would give you some of my pros and cons on the different portions of the online world. Maybe doing that will help me rank these properly!
Moxie Reviews wanted me to write a post about how a person new to blogging can break through and start to get heard in the online world.
You’ll think I’m pulling your leg, but factually – I can’t really answer this question. It’s not that I don’t have ideas on how I can increase how I get heard. It’s not that I can’t remember how I got from my very first blog post to where I am now (wherever that is). But the truth is that this journey is different for everybody. Everyone has to figure it out based on their own objectives, their own goals, and all of that jazz.
Ken Mueller threw out a second topic that I thought was pretty interesting. He asked if I could write something about blogging as catharsis.
As has happened throughout this month, I’ve recently had an experience that makes this blog post timely for me.
See, here’s the thing. There was a person who I really respected. I supported them when a lot of other people were jumping ship. I risked my neck on occasion to help them out or to stand up for them. I looked up to this person, as a matter of fact. I believed the persona I was seeing and assumed that the warnings I was getting were just misunderstandings or people being weird.
Unfortunately, I have recently found out that this person actually did something that I find rather inexcusable and, for lack of a better word, yucky. People make mistakes, of course, but it always comes back to walking your talk. If you can’t walk your talk, you should just hesh up.
I find myself with a decision to make.
If I listened to a lot of the most successful bloggers out there, I would be 100% transparent. I would call this person out, assuming they would read my post. I would explain right here, out in the open, how this person let me down because I now feel like a fool for thinking the best of them. I would use names and facts and dates. I would warn people not to fall for this person’s tricks like I did.
If I was like a lot of bloggers out there, that’s exactly what I would do. I would write it all out, hit publish, and BOOM! It would be out there, and until the comments would start rolling in, I would feel downright cleansed.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, I’m not 100% convinced that’s the best way to go.
Boy, you sure do make me throw a lot of parties! I mean, granted, I talked to the Beatles of my own volition, but then you asked me to talk to great figures from the past, and now Kaarina Dillabough has asked me to see what different Hollywood stars have to say about social media. It just never ends!
Wel, I’m an obliging soul, so I toured Hollywood and got the perspective of several different people about social media – their advice, what they like, what they don’t like, the whole shebang. Hopefully you’ll enjoy their insights!
[Read more…] about 15 Social Media Insights from Around Hollywood
Ken Mueller suggested that I write up the ABCs of Social Media – kind of like a kids’ guide to this crazy and wacky world. People warned me that this was a difficult task, and I see what they mean. Even so, hopefully you’ll be able to frame this, let your kids learn from it, and then, just when your kids are ready to jump on the computer, inform them that all of these ideas are now obsolete (that’s what I’m imagining will happen anyway!).
Ehem.
Here we go!