Feeding the trolls

Earlier this week, I got into a conversation with someone online. If you follow me on Facebook and/or Twitter, you've probably seen my ranting about this conversation. Please excuse the repeat of the information you already have.

I posted a completely innocent comment online about how Reidar doesn't like people food and how I found that odd since my last three cats have all had a fondness for various types of human foods. I had someone jump down my throat, tell me I was a cruel and irresponsible pet parent, how I must have killed my three previous pets (one vanished, one was hit by a car, and one is still alive living in Washington with a friend of Himself's mom), and how I was trying to kill Reidar. I should be arrested for animal cruelty and have Reidar taken away.

When I countered his arguments with the fact that I didn't let them gorge themselves on it, that I only gave it to them in small portions as a treat, he said that I should stick to what is in the pet stores as treats. Another thing he brought up was if I wanted to give Reidar a real treat, I'd give him wet food and I again was being a cruel pet parent if I was depriving Reidar of this. There was more but you get the general idea.

I'll admit it. I fed the troll when I got into the debate with him. But it brought a problem to light that I've seen all over the net. People are so much nastier than they would be in person to people they might not even know. They are judgmental, they don't want to engage in a reasonable discourse, and they're more determined to tear people down than actually talk.

I seem to be among a select group of people who doesn't like tearing people down online. I couch my responses to things in a civil manner, I don't (for the most part) swear, and I respect other people's opinions even when I think they're wrong. If I don't think I can stay civil, I don't leave a comment or respond to one left for me. If it's something I'm genuinely curious about the reasoning behind, I'll ask questions. If it becomes a bash fest I'll walk away.

There are times where I will post things that can be seen as controversial in some crowds. I fully believe that if you want to talk to me about it, go ahead. I'll talk to you as long as you don't attack me personally for my beliefs. After that, the conversation is over and if it's possible you're blocked. If it's on Facebook and we're friends, we're not friends anymore.

Why isn't this a common thing on the internet? Why does it seem that there are so many more people online willing to be assholes towards others? I really don't understand this. I've heard it called human nature, but what do you think?

What about social media?

What is this platform thing I've been hearing about? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a platform is a “flat surface that is raised higher than the floor or ground and that people stand on when performing or speaking.” Yes, that's great. But what does that mean for an author in this digital world?

A writer's platform is a group of activities you engage in that get your name and work noticed by the public. You're marketing yourself, selling who you are and what you write, but not necessarily the novel/novella/short story you're publishing at the time. It's a way for people to get to know you before you get to the publishing point. This occurs through the marvelous invention called social media.

Facebook is a good one. It lets you get in touch with friends, who can direct you to others. You can develop a personality. You have to be careful to balance your life with the persona you want to portray. If you post a lot of depressing things, bemoaning how hard your life is, you're probably going to chase people away. Share something funny, try to stay upbeat, and mention how your writing is going. There are people who are going to be interested in that.

Google+ is another good resource for writers. Now I know, it's not as well used or as familiar as Twitter and Facebook. But you can connect with other writers, create circles where you can share your blog posts, your cover reveals, pieces of your writing process. You can talk to others who write in your genre, your area, even your city. It all depends on how you use it.

Pinterest is a fantastic time waster. But it can also be useful if you know what you're doing. Find pictures that make you think of your writing. Post those to your Pinterest galleries. Look at what other people pin. If you're like me, you find many different things to catch your attention and share them in your galleries.

Then there's Twitter. Where else can you interact with people in a concise method, since you have to keep everything at 140 characters or less? You can share ideas, retweet things that are interesting, and post links to your blog posts or your works. I recommend using something like bit.ly or ow.ly to shorten your links though, so they don't take up a huge portion of your tweet.

One thing to remember about your platform is you're not out to sell books. You can talk about your books, link them (DO NOT SPAM! A FEW TIMES A DAY IS ENOUGH!). But you're selling yourself. Become friends with people. Retweet their tweets. Like and share their posts. Leave comments on their posts. Talk to them like they're people, not potential buyers. Kristen Lamb has a great post here about this. Go check it out.

Remember, you're a human being. Act like one. Social media is a must in our line of work, but use it as a way to connect as a person. The more people know and like you, the more likely you are to attract their attention when you mention occasionally that there's a book floating around that you've written. Also, it's more fun if you're a person rather than schlepping your book around all the time.