Rundy Purdy's Blog, page 3
March 19, 2013
Rundy’s Parcel, March 19th, 2013
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March has been acting so much like March this week. By that we mean disagreeable. The wind, the cold, the snow. You have a nice day, you get cheery–and then March pounds you. The saying is, “March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb” but March can act like a lion long after it has trotted on the stage.
All will be well soon enough. Right now the sprouting flowers are buried under a fresh layer of snow, but their day in the sun will come quickly.
Essays
I enjoy wr...
March 15, 2013
Authonomy for Authors
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On a lark and a whim I joined a blogger writing challenge. Every day had a prompt related to social networks. Today is the fifteenth day of that challenge, and the last. Today, we review. Below is a summary of the social networks discussed, and my reaction to them as far as a promotional tool for myself as a writer:
Blog – Yes
Facebook – Yes
Twitter – Yes
Linkedin – Not Now
Pinterest – Maybe
Youtube – Yes
Google+ – Yes
Quora – No
Foursquare – No
Goodreads – Yes
Squidoo – Maybe Lat...
March 14, 2013
A Social Network Just for Writers, Publishers, and Readers
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Thinking as a writer, what kind of social network would I create for writers? I would want to create a social network that revolutionized the book discovery process and broke down the walls between writer, publisher/editor, and reader. Instead of book discovery flowing in one direction: writer -> editor -> reader it would become multi-directional which each party (writer, editor/publisher, and reader) contributed to the discover, selection, and exposure of literature.
Th...
March 13, 2013
Say No to Ning
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When evaluating something I try to present a balanced view. I look for the good, and the bad, and seek to weigh them in the balance. Sometimes a positive feature can be missed if all attention is focused on a negative aspect. And sometimes a negative feature can be missed in a rush to embrace the positive. In the field of social media there is some of both extremes, but in coming upon Ning I have found something new. I cannot find anything good about this social network...
March 12, 2013
Stumbling Upon Social Bookmarking
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For an author nothing is more exciting than being noticed and validated. On the web one of the greatest forms of that attention and validation comes from highly popular social bookmarking websites. Few things are more exciting than being noticed by a popular social bookmarking website. Slashdotting, a term first coined to describe the huge influx of traffic that came on the heels of a link from the tech website Slashdot has now grown to include many others sites. Fark,...
March 11, 2013
Squidoo and Rate of Return
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Back in the day when the Internet was still in diapers there was a website called Geocities. This was long before Geocities was bought by Yahoo, and then later closed by Yahoo. Yes, Geocities existed back when the Internet was young and we were all exploring this new world. If you remember Geocities pat yourself on the back for being one of the old timers. I’m one of those old timers. Geocities was where I first began my journey in creating websites.
For you young whippe...
March 10, 2013
Goodreads is Good for Authors
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Until today I did not have an account on Goodreads. As an author I knew I really ought to have an account, but I have a certain level of apathy about signing up for new websites. Until this year that apathy was never overcome by the sense of ought. With this new year I decided it was high time I started doing all the professional oughts on my list. Goodreads was on that list, but today I finally hurried up and pushed it to the top of the list. Now I am on Goodreads.
I am...
March 9, 2013
FourSquare, and be Careful What You Share
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I never like to rain on a parade, but sometimes a word of caution is in order. Sharing is so much fun, and I often talk about how sharing is good and important. But there is a darker side to sharing, and I am not talking about those people who weary us by endlessly sharing what they ate for lunch. The excitement of sharing should not blind us to the possible unsavoury ways our sharing can be misused.
Most people like to share, and nearly everyone is concerned about their...
March 8, 2013
Generosity of Knowledge
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It is good to share. It is good to share not only our wealth and time but also our knowledge. Everyone likes to share their knowledge and get paid for it, but freely sharing your knowledge is important. We have all grown and benefited from the knowledge freely shared by those who have come before us, so sharing alike is a good way to express thankfulness and humbleness.
There is also the added benefit that generosity of all types (even the sharing of knowledge) causes ot...
March 7, 2013
Google+ Author Rank and the Future of Search
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Did you know big things are moving in the world of Google, things that could potentially change your world as a writer on the web? This is a wake up call. It’s time to pay attention to Google+. Love it or hate it, it is here to stay and it is a big part of the future of Google.
I have used Google services for many things and fairly early in the life of Google+ I opened an account–and pretty much did nothing with it. To begin following the advice in my own article I have...
