Discussed! by Danny – Social Networking

Posted 17 March, 2012 by Danny in Blog, Danny, Discussion / 31 Comments

Happy Saturday and lately something was keeping my mind busy and I wanted to talk to you about.

Social Networking, what do we really need to do and when is it too much?

The Big Ones

I’m pretty sure all of us are using Twitter, right? And I love Twitter, all my posts are automatically posted on twitter so everyone who follows me or the Bookworms gets all updates. I also think Twitter is important for the blog. I often click on links on twitter when something catches my eye. So yep, I’d say twitter is not only a keeper but also important.

For me, right after twitter comes goodreads. I’m not sure if it counts as a social networking site – but maybe for Book Bloggers it should count. I LOVE hanging out there and sharing my thoughts on books. And lately I started adding the link to the post where I reviewed the book here at the Bookworms, so it does count as networking, don’t you think?

The next important site is Facebook – and I wish I could get more into it. When I have a chance between hanging out on twitter or Facebook, I choose Twitter. But I love the look of it and I think it’s an important network site for everyone.The Bewitched Bookworms have a page site there, which you can like and also here I post all my updates regularly.

Google Plus – well since the disappearance  of  GFC from all non-blogger blogs google keeps saying we should use Google plus. I cannot agree with this since there is still no way to automatically update there. But , I like it and I hang out there once a day and look for updates. Similar to Facebook, but not as popular and definitely lacking the automatic posting feature.

The Smaller Ones

Tumblr, I love tumblr and Instagram so I put them together here. With my iPhone I take pictures and post them on Instagram and from there it’s posted on Tumblr. I also post my posts on my Tumblr site – but not just Book related things. There, I also post pictures from myself and my vacations. I really like both!

Now, we are coming to the smaller networking sites and this is where it gets confusing for me.

Klout – I still have to figure it out completely but it gives you a good measure about how you broadcast yourself and your blog. But those K+ you can give to others, is it something I need to do? Is it important? I heard that the Klout Score important to publishers as I heard someone saying?

The next site I discovered and there, I’m at a total loss: Triberr What do I do there???? I have no clue, no idea. A few weeks ago I got an email from blogger via Kismet who told me that she would be on triberr thus saying she  had an incredible reach on twitter. Hu? Does anyone uses this site? And more importantly, why should I?

Then, there is Pinterest. Everyone seems to add this to their networking Buttons, everyone seems to love it. I still have no idea what it does, why it’s so much fun and.. Maybe if I figured it out, I might end up liking it, but right now? I just don’t get it..

Then, I’d love to talk about something I do not understand at all: Linky Followers! Super popular by non-blogger blogs to show Follower counts. But that is exactly what it does, it only shows followers, not real readers because Linky Followers is not a reader like the GoogleReader with RSS feed subscriptions. I had it up on the blog for a few days but then I realized it just takes a place in my sidebar and  I want to have content on the sidebar and not the n-th “follow me” widget. So, do you use it and if so why do you use it?? Maybe I’m mistaken but it adds no value to the readers?

My point here..

(…and, I have one!) I admit, I’m open for new ways to market my blog and to find new people, so if you have some interesting sites to check out, I’d love to know! But sometimes I feel overwhelmed  in this enormous cloud full of networking possibilities. And maybe instead of running to figure each of these sites out, I should rather spend more time reading and more time on my blog ….

So guys let me know, which sites do you think are important apart from twitter and facebook?

Do you try out new things?

Did you found any interesting site?

Any comments on the ones I mentioned?

Let’s hear it and Let’s discuss!

Much love,

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Obsessive Reader by Night - Scientist at Day! You can also find me on goodreads. I'd love to get to know you so, don't be shy and say Hello!

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31 Responses to “Discussed! by Danny – Social Networking”

  1. Ohh, such a great topic, Danny! I definitely agree about all the ‘big ones’, including Goodreads. Although I’m still not linking my reviews to my blog, which I feel like it might be time to do! I’ve still not started using tumblr either, but sometimes I wish I did. It looks so fun, but at the same time I’m scared of creating yet another thing to keep up with! The blog and Goodreads takes quite the time. ;o But then again, since my camera died, I haven’t been taking as many photos either, which tumbler seems to be great for.

    Anyways, on to the smaller ones! Klout? I have no idea if it’s important to publishers or not, but I haven’t heard anything myself. I also think that would be really weird, since the score seems quite inaccurate. Giving +K is just a nice thing, since you up someone else’s score by showing they influence you in something and it might get people to +K you back too. I really don’t use it much myself; I think it’s become more of a ‘fun’ thing than anything serious. At least for me.

    Triberr is basically just to get a larger reach for your tweets. You’re in a tribe and you tweet each others stuff via each other so more can see them. I use it with a few friends and you can see it brings in people, but at the same time the reach depends on how large following those in your tribe has too. I think it’s up to everyone if they want the extra tweets or not!

    Pinterest is something I haven’t understood at all myself. I created a user but… no. I don’t really get it, I guess. I love pictures, but just go around and pinning it just didn’t do anything for me. Not that I actually got around to pinning, I just looked around.

    And finally–linky followers! *shudders* Gosh, I so don’t like this one… I created a user to try, but… no. It could be so good, but it’s just… not. It’s almost worse than G+ since at least there you can link up your actual post manually, but linky? No. You add a title without link and then people can check the blogs of those they follow in a little reader window? But they still have to click on any posts in this window and… gah. I’d rather have a reader without an internal window in that case; it saves clicking time. Plus I have a good browser I like. 😉 And if I want to use an internal window, both Netvibes and FeedDemon has this FOR THE POST so I can just click, read and comment. I so, so, so prefer RSS number in that case. At least I know they get my feed. Not just click ones and forget about it (which I admit linky has been for me so far…)

    I’m with you on feeling overwhelmed. I feel like they’re all basically the same as well; FB pages vs. the new G+ where G+ fails on automatic upload, tumbler and pintrest, where you both basically repost something else, GFC/NetworkedBlogs vs linky followers where it fails on the feed part… ._. Blah. RSS, twitter and the 2 FBs are my favorites still.

    LOL and omg, so sorry for the rambling. I hope it makes sense ;x Great discussion post though!
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    Rebecca (Kindle Fever) 3/17/2012

    Wow, it’s even worse than it looked like. xD
    *sends virtual cookies to anyone who reads*
    Rebecca (Kindle Fever) recently posted..Review: The Night She Disappeared by April HenryMy Profile

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    Danny 3/17/2012

    ROFL no!!!!! It’s an awesome comment! Totally!! wo doesn’t love great comments!!! ! Going to answer now :))
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    Danny 3/17/2012

    I also do not all the time update on goodreads, but I feel like it’s a good thing to do! I still post my review there, but in my Blog Post I usually have more information so I want to drive people to the blog by this. And, seeing from my stats more and more people find the blog via goodreads. So you might try it yourself – I just add the link on the top of the post. Plus, when you update it appears on your feed in goodreads!

    Tumblr is cute, I really like it – I use it to post some pictures and there my iPhone come in handy or fast posts like a Cover Reveal I’m dying to share. With wordpress you can crosspromote and update your WP directly in tumblr!

    I really thought I heard someone saying the Klout number is something the publishers look at – I’m not sure though since it’s more of an rumor than a hard fact. I’m glad the K+ thing is something that needs to be done..lool

    Ok it seems like you like triberr, maybe I should check it out? More tweets would be more reach which is a good thing right?

    Pinterest – lool finally someone like me 🙂 *giggles*

    Oh and Linky Followers, I’m glad we are on the same page!!! I just have the feeling it is not adding real value?? In a Reader you can read everything, here you can just read the ones that have this Linky thingy and then, how about the updates?? Again, I say this is just to show faces and numbers! I won’t add it , I believe people have enough options to follow…

    Thank you so sssssooo much for your awesometastic comment!!! I love discussing these things and this was a topic that I really would love to talk about!
    *hugs*
    Happy Saturday!
    Danny recently posted..Discussed! by Danny – Social NetworkingMy Profile

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    Rebecca (Kindle Fever) 3/17/2012

    That’s cool it’s showing with Goodreads! I’ll have to give it a try. And I think I’m gonna check out tumblr too!

    Yeah, I think I’ve heard it too from some Blogger, but I haven’t heard anything from actual publishers myself. Hmm… I think it would be very weird though, after what I’ve seen when using it!

    I do like triberr! I can see the tweets brings in readers and it’s nice when new people find your blog because of a tweet. As long as you don’t only tweet triberr posts, I think it’s a nice feature. Checking it out never hurts. 😉

    I’m glad I’m not alone feeling like this! Like you said, so many seem to love it and I just don’t get why. o: I don’t want just numbers, which is why I haven’t officially put it up. And we definitely have enough ways to follow! I almost get annoyed when something new shows up, since it’s rarely any better (or different) from what’s already out there. ;/

    Hahah, I’m glad you managed to read it! It did get a little tooo long. *blushes* But this is a topic I can discuss over and over myself, so I loved the post. 😀 And like I said, I’m glad I’m not alone thinking there’s way too much and not loving linky followers–or pinterest!

    Happy Saturday to you too! (even if it’s coming to an end) 😀
    Rebecca (Kindle Fever) recently posted..Review: The Night She Disappeared by April HenryMy Profile

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    Danny 3/17/2012

    I also believe it’s more of an rumor. I might ask when I’m at the Book Blogger Con in June. There is a panel with publisher and I might get an answer there.

    Really, the Linky Folllowers totally bothers me to some extend.. it’s just about numbers and we shouldn’t be reduced to this. Readers and contributors (=commenters) means so much more!

    Oh and hon, don’t you ever dare to apologize for rambling or long comments. Seriosuly, they make my day!! What is a discussion without people actually discussing something:)

    *hugs*
    Danny recently posted..Discussed! by Danny – Social NetworkingMy Profile

  2. The only social networking site I fully use is Goodreads.
    I have an account on both twitter and Facebook, but I don’t make good use of it.
    I’ll agree with what you said on Twitter though. You get some pretty interesting information via twitter. I’ve come across giveaways on websites, author interviews and guest posts.

    Anyways, a very interesting post Danny! 🙂

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    Danny 3/17/2012

    I truly think goodreads is one of the best sites for us Book Lovers!!! Which is why I consider it as a networking platform!

    I really love twitter and yes there are even some nice events and it’s easy to find something new and interesting!
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  3. Great topic, Danny. I admit, I need another social networking site about as much as I need a hole in my head. LOL I limit myself to twitter, fb, and goodreads, but recently found http://booklikes.com/ and I think I might like it more than goodreads after I figure it all out.
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    Danny 3/17/2012

    ROFL Theresa!!! I check out the site you mentioned but if it is like goodreads I think I’m won’t need it. It’s like Shelf-Safari or Library thing…
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  4. Awesome topic Danny!

    I’m literally on ALL these sites except for Facebook. Hahaha. I cancelled that around the time I realized people were finding me I didn’t want to…but I digress.

    Anyhow they are all great tools! I’d say Goodreads is definitely my favorite for getting my reviews out there. Oh and yes Triberr can be very good for exposure! Just make sure you keep a good line between retweeting others and chatting on your stream, so people don’t get overwhelmed with auto tweets.

    The only other social item I’d suggest is About.Me, which is less of a social item and more of a way to mesh them all together in one place! It’s like a digital business card. I’ve had a few people find me that way.

    Hope this isn’t too rambling! Thanks again for a great discussion topic!
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    Danny 3/17/2012

    Thanks Jessica!!! I guess I know what you mean about Facebook which is why I have an alias and not using my real full name for all the things going on here on the Blog and with Kismet.

    I might really have to try out Triberr some more, I guess I really didn’t get the whole picture and some RT might be great. But, I agree too many RT would put some people off!

    I’ll look at this About.Me thingy – as I said I like discovering new things:)
    Thanks for adding to the discussion Jessica!
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  5. OK I feel so much better now. I’m so confused by Linky Followers. I thought It was just me. I even emailed the guy to ask if he would post some better instructions of how this works. Seems like I can’t read the posts of the blogs I follow without clicking on each one? That doesn’t do me any good.

    Pinterest is fun…but I’m a crafty girl and use it more for that than book stuff. It’s a big time suck too!!

    And yes, what do those +1s for Klout mean? In enjoy passing them around, but I really don’t get the whole Klout thing either.

    Great thoughts, but as you can see, I have NO answers!
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    Danny 3/17/2012

    I don’t think LinkyFollowers will be a big hit, unless they find away to implement this so that you can read it in any reader. This is why I stopped using it. I go and use my GoogleReader, Linky Followers adds no value for me as an reader.

    I agree with you Annette on the Klout +K, I also like to pass them around even if I have no real idea what to do!

    Thanks for your thoughts :))
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  6. I’m such a bad social networker. 🙁 I only use Goodreads, and even that I’m antisocial on and pretty much only use it to organize my TBR.

    I’m too shy and too busy to use all of those social networking tools and, I’m glad you said it first, but a lot of them confuse me (like Klout?!) The Linky followers thing confuses me too. I tried to follow someone who had it on their blog, but it said I needed to create an account and log in and, well, I’m just not going to do all that. It’s so much easier to copy their blog into my Google Reader.

    I already feel like I don’t have as much time as I’d like to read, keep up with my blog and comment on other blogs. I can’t imagine adding in things like Twitter and Facebook. Where would I find the time? I have to prioritize, and social networking, even if it would help my blog, isn’t my priority.
    Small Review recently posted..Review Comparison: The Near Witch by Victoria SchwabMy Profile

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    Danny 3/17/2012

    You know what I think you do the right thing! It leaves you more time to read and do other things. I spend so much time on twitter, FB, etc etc etc sometimes I feel this time is lost for me.
    But on the other side, I see how many people come here because they saw a tweet, or via Facebook.

    It’s ok and even important to prioritize and I love your blog and your posts. I can see how much work goes into each of your posts:-))
    Thanks for adding to the discussion! 🙂
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  7. Great post Danny! I’m very confused by Linky Followers as well. I have it up in my sidebar as just a button but I put it up just because everyone else had it. After a little research just yesterday actually I realized that in the dashboard of Linky Followers, all it does is link back to your site. There’s no reader or anything. So what’s the point?

    I think the point is exactly what you say…follower counts. I don’t know honestly if people actually use it. It seems pretty pointless and even though lots of people are saying its a replacement for Google Followers, it’s not. Because Google Followers could be fed into your Blogger dashboard where you can read blogs right there or right to Google Reader.

    I’m not sure. I’m considering abandoning it but at the same time I want to give people lots of ways to follow so I just don’t know. *sigh*

    Great post though. Awesome points. There’s seriously like a mission social networks. I can’t keep up. I love pinterest though. Here’s mine to give you an idea of how I do it up book style: http://pinterest.com/imlovingbooks 🙂

    If you use Pinterest though make sure to get the bookmarlet from the website. Then you can “pin” whatever image you come across on the web. Sort of like micro-photo-blogging.

    ♥ Sarah @ I’m Loving Books
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    Danny 3/19/2012

    See? That is what I mean by adding no value to readers and to bloggers alike. Only numbers just numbers and that’s why I took it down! You know who cares about Followers? Publishers etc. They want you to have big numbers ….
    I more care about quality comments, people that are reading my blog and take their time to comments..

    I realized that I read some blogs which I love, and there I do not care about numbers! I will check out pinterest, thanks Sarah for stopping by and adding your thoughts!
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  8. I used to be on twitter but it got overwhelming and time consuming I spent so much time on it that I didn’t do anything. Facebook is easier to me, I can just post a status update and go about my way. I’ll probably get back on twitter if I can limit my time there, I did have fun with real time conversations. I don’t use much of anything else. I had tumblr,but I had to stop for the same reason I stopped twitter. I like goodreads too, but I only go on there when I finish a book or I need to add a recommendation.

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    Danny 3/19/2012

    I know what you mean, it’s easy to get caught up in twitter and then you just spend so much time there!!! I admit, facebook is slightly overwhelming me but I’m not connecting so much with other people, I post my updates like some posts and …

    Goodreads is one of my favorite!
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  9. Okay, so I use, Goodreads to post my reviews. Library Things if that can be called social networking, I post my reviews there. And Twitter and FB. Then there’s Google plus. I’ve got no idea how to use it. But I add people that add me with discretion. And then there’s Linked In, Tumblr, Blog Frog, etc. I started doing the Linky thing b/c when you sign up for it it puts it on your page. I signed up for it b/c I thought I was supporting my friends that had lost their GFC. Maybe I’m not. I’m just so overwhelmed by all this stuff, I can’t keep it all straight. I wish there was a manual. Someone invited me to Triberr and I asked what it was and they never replied.

    My question is, why do we need all these things. Don’t we have enough places to see and be seen. Don’t we know how to contact each other and get our reviews seen already? Why so many more??

    Heather
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    hrose2931 3/17/2012

    There’s also GetGlue! What’s that???
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    Danny 3/19/2012

    I’m not using Library thing. I was there once but then loved goodreads so much more! Google plus is similar to facebook in my opinion minus the automatic updates which sucks in my opinion!
    I never was on linked in… I have no idea nor even the slightest idea what it is…

    To answer your question: No, we don’t need all these things! We only “need” what we want and like to use. If you follow a blog and love this blog you go there anyway regardless how you follow them. It’s more about spreading the word about your blog and find new people to follow and follow you!

    About GetGlue, I LOVE Glue but it’s not a social network in the classical way, it’s more to post updates about what you are watching or doing. I like it when watching a movie or a TV show and get some stickers lool! No need to be there, really!
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  10. Kristin

    Well, I’m queen of the antisocials and am probably one of the only people under 100 who doesn’t have a Twitter or Facebook account.

    With the exception of Goodreads, I’m not on any of the other social networking sites either. I joined Goodreads because I love books and, aside from the handful of book blogs I check out, this is one of the best ways to find new books and see what people are saying about them.

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    Danny 3/19/2012

    Rofl Kristin!!!! See, I think there is no real need to do anything! Although I have a soft spot for twitter, I just like it there. Connect with other bloggers, readers and authors! But. I thing for Book Lovers like us, gooodreads is more than fine and enough!
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  11. In all honesty I just can’t be bothered with all of the social networking that’s been cropping up. That requires far more time and energy than I’m willing to put into it. I stick to the big ones: Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads. Outside of that, I really don’t care. The way I see it is it’s just a numbers game. You have a Klout score but what that equates to is people pushing this particular button in order to increase your score. Awesome! But does that actually translate to page views for your blog? Same thing with Tumblr, Pinterest and whatever else is out there, of which I have no idea. It’s a numbers generator for those particular site. Super that people’s numbers can get super high on there but if you’re getting ten unique views a day to your actual site, what does it matter? If it translates properly okay but if not what do those numbers actually mean other than nothing?
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    Danny 3/19/2012

    Oh Donna, thanks for stopping by and adding your thoughts and I love to agree with you!
    Why putting so much time into something when most of it is just about numbers??? I love the interaction on twitter and goodreads is something I just love. But, do I need a good Klout score? For what really?
    I really like tumblr though, I use it to be a little more personal than I’m here on the blog and post some pictures from vacations.
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  12. Some of these I never heard of! I just got a Tumblr account. I love Twitter but when you follow a lot of people you don’t see everyone’s tweets. I have to sometimes scan through my follow list to see certain tweets. I like Goodreads but I’m terrible about posting reviews there! I really need to post some of my reviews. I’m way behind. Pinterest is fun, but I get rather bored. It’s hard to keep up with all these social media sites! I wish I could do more with my Facebook page.
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    Danny 3/19/2012

    That is a problem on twitter. which so many Followers. But, I think you can filter and make a list with your fav people. At least you can do this on TweetDeck!
    I try to update my goodreads site as often as I can and I even try to post the review there at the same time than doing it here. Often though, I just post a small review on goodreads just after I finished the book, when all my emotions are still high:-))

    I also wish I would know how to use Facebook more, I think I’m not using it properly! ;(

    Thanks for stopping by Julie 🙂
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  13. I love this post Danny! I am one of those that is kind of resistance to all these social media outlets. I do think there are too many. It’s overwhelming, and I believe you can’t focus on quality with all the quantity around, so I limit myself to a couple of things. Sure, I made a google plus thing, but I don’t ever use it. Like you said, the fact that you can’t do automatic updates kind of makes it useless. And I’ve never been comfortable with Klout. it just seems silly to me.
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    Danny 3/19/2012

    Thanks Missie! This really was a topic I wanted to talk about, it drove me nuts and was not good for my sanity! I also focus on the sites I like, Twitter because it’s interactive and you can communicate with tons of people and tumblr because I like having an outlet to post some pictures that do not belong here.:))
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