Discussion: Social Media and The Impact It Has on Blogging and Reading
Social Media and The Impact It Has on Blogging and Reading
Hi everyone! I'm back with another discussion post! I don't really plan on when I'm going to do them, they just kind of happen. A conversation yesterday between a few of my blogging besties and myself really got me thinking about social media (namely Twitter) and the impact it has on the blogging community.
Recently, I saw someone (I can't remember who!) ask what made readers buy a book: reviews, GR, Twitter, etc. Quite a few people said Twitter was their preference, with reviews coming behind. I can definitely see the appeal of Twitter. It's quick and to the point, and if I see someone raving about a book, I'm more likely to check it out. Sometimes you can miss reviews, but Twitter is a constant source of updates and info.
With Twitter being such a huge entity and with people being more likely to check out a review from a tweet, it's a pretty consuming thing on a daily basis. I feel like I'm so out of the loop sometimes because my social media is really limited while I'm at school during the day. There are times when I don't really actively participate in social media and then it feels like I'm losing my presence. Does this make sense? There is SO much going on with Twitter that if you drop off the planet for a few days, it seems like it's sometimes hard to jump back in.
I've especially felt this recently with the whole #booksfortrade going on. I realize with YABE having shut down, there's not really a place to do it, but I feel like Twitter is inundated with it and being someone who is not participating, I have to admit I'm a little over it. My feed is so consumed with trading that I'm missing the actual reviews and chatter about what books are must reads!
Oftentimes because I'd rather read, blog, or comment after work instead of getting on social media, I feel that distance more than ever. With so many people primarily using Twitter, does this make blogs and reviews less important? If you don't have as much of a presence on social media and then try to get involved again, do people still pay attention?
Just some food for thought. What do you think? I realize this covered quite a bit, but it just seems like Twitter is so different lately and I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not...
Recently, I saw someone (I can't remember who!) ask what made readers buy a book: reviews, GR, Twitter, etc. Quite a few people said Twitter was their preference, with reviews coming behind. I can definitely see the appeal of Twitter. It's quick and to the point, and if I see someone raving about a book, I'm more likely to check it out. Sometimes you can miss reviews, but Twitter is a constant source of updates and info.
With Twitter being such a huge entity and with people being more likely to check out a review from a tweet, it's a pretty consuming thing on a daily basis. I feel like I'm so out of the loop sometimes because my social media is really limited while I'm at school during the day. There are times when I don't really actively participate in social media and then it feels like I'm losing my presence. Does this make sense? There is SO much going on with Twitter that if you drop off the planet for a few days, it seems like it's sometimes hard to jump back in.
I've especially felt this recently with the whole #booksfortrade going on. I realize with YABE having shut down, there's not really a place to do it, but I feel like Twitter is inundated with it and being someone who is not participating, I have to admit I'm a little over it. My feed is so consumed with trading that I'm missing the actual reviews and chatter about what books are must reads!
Oftentimes because I'd rather read, blog, or comment after work instead of getting on social media, I feel that distance more than ever. With so many people primarily using Twitter, does this make blogs and reviews less important? If you don't have as much of a presence on social media and then try to get involved again, do people still pay attention?
Just some food for thought. What do you think? I realize this covered quite a bit, but it just seems like Twitter is so different lately and I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not...
13 comments
I think your discussion brings up a lot to think about.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you - if one is not on social media (twitter) for a long period of time, they can lose a presence and a following. I also think that it is a sure fire way to spread the drama (more on that at another time). ANd yes, with booksfortrade, it has really taken over. Same with events, BEA, RT ALA. That is the only thing we will see on a feed for awhile. Some enjoy that though.
I also don't like the direction twitter/social media is going when it comes to asking for books from publishers. It's not professional at all - but it's starting to be a THING, ya know?
Anyway. Great topic lady. I think your thoughts will spark interest in many. :D
Thanks lady. It's definitely interesting how it's evolving. And this asking for books is really not cool. I am seriously bothered by that too. It seems so juvenile and unprofessional. I personally like diversity on my feed. I'm ok with a little of every topic here and there, but when it gets inundated with the same shit allllll the time, I'm over it.
DeleteThis is a great topic! I love Twitter but sometimes I feel so out of the loop because I'm not always around. I mean Twitter is always there and I always pop in but with work and what not I'm not always actively participating. I love Twitter for book recs but personally I still prefer blogs and reviews. Like with anything though Twitter goes through phases and I'm sometimes I feel like all I see in my feed is the same stuff over and over. But I'm pretty confident we will get back to our regularly sheduled fun sooner or later.
ReplyDeleteGreat points Jessica!
I agree Teresa. There are phases and you're right- it'll hopefully go back to the way it was, but man, that booksfortrade was lasting forever, I felt. Thank goodness for BEA. I would rather see that! I do like reading reviews on blogs and even on GR also. Usually I'll see someone tweet about a book and it will spark my interest to go further with it. So I do like that.
DeleteYou know my feelings! I do like social media and the fact that we can all chat so easily on Twitter, but I do feel "out of loop" sometimes because I can't be on it as much as other people. I worry that I'll lose my voice in the community if I don't at least make one appearance a day on there. :/ And I do feel that it's making people lazy, re: blog commenting. They'll just do it right from Twitter!
ReplyDeleteGreat discussion, girl!
Completely agree with you D! I'm the same way. When I'm in school, I always feel like I've missed out on so much! By the time I get home and try to jump in, it's old news. LOL. I feel like if you don't tweet actively, people will stop following, which makes me sad because I'm like, No hey! I'm still here!
DeleteI've been distancing myself a bit from twitter lately as I'm tired of the drama. And the fact that I don't even know what booksfortrade is must speak volumes as this is the first I've heard of it! I know it brings views (my google analytics prove that) but I'm just not prepared to invest the time anymore. Nowadays I jump in to check up on my favourite peeps and jump out again. Somedays I do tweet blog links and it does make a difference but I don't religiously do it all the time. I just found I was getting a little worn down from it. I still think it's valuable but I prefer to just do small, concentrated efforts nowadays and not be there all the time like I used to be.
ReplyDeleteI understand Trish. The drama has gotten a bit out of hand lately. I have noticed myself not even wanting to get on social media lately because of it. I'd much rather throw myself in a book! I do try to tweet daily, but I don't get on there throughout the day to tweet links anymore. I'm just too lazy for it and would rather be getting something else done.
DeleteYeah I feel pretty much the same way. I'm not usually a fan of Twitter in general. I use it mostly to promote my reviews, or follow news on authors but that's honestly about it. I used to like chatting with people on there, but I've definitely lost interest with all the booksfortrade taking up so much of my feed. I do have notifications set up on my phone though, so if someone tweets me I can check it out.
ReplyDeleteBut yeah, I worry that because I don't have the time to be on Twitter much, that people don't really know who I am?
As for reviews, I certainly prefer visiting blogs through bloglovin.
Great post, Jess!
Same! I get the notifications too, so I can easily jump in that way. There are alot of times when I just scroll through and roll my eyes at so much of the stuff going on there. I also hate people that RT EVERYTHING. I'm like STAHP. I always feel weird when I've been kind of absent on social media and then jump back in. I always feel like people are like, 'who the heck are you? Why are you jumping in our conversation?' LOL.
DeleteYES. SO.MUCH.YES. to this post. I don't remember if it was always this bad on Twitter but lately I feel that anything I have to say gets lost amidst the slew of other tweets going up. And it's just like you said, if you take a break for a few days or a week, it seems almost impossible to get back into the swing of things afterwards! I'm also feeling the distance quite a bit these days, which is a shame because I've gotten to know so many bookish people on there!
ReplyDeleteIt also seems like people don't engage other people in conversation on there as much as they used to...but they could be just me. I can see people getting their book recs on Twitter but at the same time, I hope they won't forget about blogging, Goodreads and other bookish sites. GREAT post Jess^^ x
I feel like this a lot. I basically only started using Twitter regularly last year after BEA when I realized that every other blogger on the planet was on there and getting to know each other there. I'm like you, though - I don't really feel all that comfortable jumping into other people's conversations. Plus, I just don't have time to keep up with Twitter consistently and when I go away for a while, I do feel like I'm forgotten. Plus, I have a hashtag that I created for our discussion challenge, and I almost always forget to use it! Sigh.
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
I fucking hate social media...
ReplyDeleteDoesn't it seem like NA/indie blogs are all about facebook and sales, sales sales and Ya blogs are all about twitter and twitter giveaways. I swear, all I see is 'twitter giveaway, RT + follow to enter.'
I'm rarely on there so I feel like I'm a nobody because I don't talk to anyone on there. But oh well, I'd rather have a few really close friends :)
And this whole business of asking publishers/authors for arc's on twitter is so annoying and unprofessional. I have to say that I'm not a fan of the fact that some bloggers flaunt their friendships with publicists all over social media. It seems like some bloggers get arcs now based on how much ass they kiss on twitter or how close they are with publicists as opposed to other things like blog stats and all that other shit that used to matter...
Great post Jessica!
Leave me some comment love! And I will get around to commenting back!
My blog is an award-free blog, however, as I just do not have the time to follow-up.