Fun with F***book

It’s finally happened. In my evolving quest for domination of literary cyberspace, I have joined Darth Ter to create an author page for myself on Facebook. It’s still under construction as I write this post, but on the weekend I sold my soul to start an account and the slippery slope is getting, well, slipperier.

Now I’m considering trading my flip phone for a Smartphone.

One should never say “never”. For years, I resisted the lure of social media because good and decent people are daily sucked into the black hole of technology. Bad enough that I spend more time twiddling my thumbs on the taxpayer’s dime when the network goes down at work, or that I have succumbed to the convenience of the Internet at home. It’s horrifying that texting while driving is now illegal as well as just plain stupid, and public service announcements are begging drivers to leave their phones alone. The need for real time uploads in place of genuine social interaction escaped me, nay, compelled me to rebel with all my might against a force that threatens the very fabric of our human connection. I sat at the coffee house the other day, watching a couple sharing a table—and nothing else. They may as well have been strangers, each was so engrossed in the tiny screen clutched in their respective hands. I dunno; maybe they were conversing with each other via FB, but isn’t it more gratifying to hear the other person’s voice and see their eyes while you’re talking?

The A side, however, makes it possible to spend real time with Nicole in Halifax, my older brother in PEI, and anyone else located outside of Victoria. Getting a virtual hug from Nic is as gratifying as a heart to heart hug from Ter, for obvious reasons. And, truth be told, if I want to follow my bliss and be well paid for writing, I must make myself known by whatever means available. Word of mouth is more powerful than a marketing budget, and it costs the author nothing.

My final rationalization for tripping onto the Dark Side is this: social media is merely a tool. It’s as potent or as harmless as the user wants to make it. Again, we only hear of the cyber-bullying, of malicious viruses and hacking of email accounts. Who’s to say this is the norm? I started this blog to send some good energy into cyberspace, and with luck, I can do the same via my FB page.

I may also become a filthy stinking rich celebrity writer from it, and that will be okay, too.