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What a Difference a Month Makes

November 5, 2007
And so the phenomenon of MySpace continues.  As you may remember, last month I gave into the pressure to create a MySpace page.  According to the experts I talked to (Jennifer St. Giles, you get most of the credit), MySpace is the place to be to get noticed fast and to connect with people from all over the world.  (Including your first friend, Tom, president of MySpace)  Now I have no illusions that it was my connection with PW that got people to initially be my friend, but it is a two way street.  People who visit MySpace are linked to PW. 

On October 3rd I wrote a blog about it and expressed the wish of getting 100 MySpacers to "befriend" me in 24 hours.  Lo and behold, one day later and to my utter surprise and delight I had not only met, but exceeded my goal.  The best part was the many good sports were willing to open their own MySpace accounts to be my friend only to find that they got caught up in the mania.

Well, here I am to admit that they were right.  As of this morning I have 186 friends and 969 hits to my profile.  In addition, I do a little blog there that is somewhat more personal in nature than this one for PW and with a variety different topics other than books (although books still play a big part in who I am, so I may mention them a few hundred times).  That blog has received more that 983 views, which is extremely hard to believe unless it's mostly my family reading it because they are concerned that I'm naming names (I'm not....well, maybe sometimes and besides they all live in Wisconsin and obviously there are other places visiting.  One of the perks is receiving graphic image messages from friends (like pics of my pal David Boreanaz...what an Angel)





I also learned how to add a cluster map which shows where the hits are coming from and suprising to me, they all aren't Wisconsin.  Thanks to the two darling Irish lasses I met at K-con, I now have a couple of red dots in Ireland as well as a sole reader in South Africa and it even looks like there is die hard fan in Alaska (if I remember my geography correctly).  



My proudest moment was adding slide shows of the conferences I have attended.  Not only is it cool looking, it makes it appear that I actually know what I'm doing.  So check it out and see if you are on it.





Authors and readers alike may want to take note and expand your horizons by looking into this addictive pastime and hooking it up to your personal website (mine is linked to this PW blog).  Check out what's going on with your favorite authors and fans with just a click of your mouse.  I know I've discovered new authors and fascinating readers who have quite a bit to say about what sends them into a reading frenzy.


Like the poster says:  I want you....as my friend.  (Click here to to be my friend and connect with other authors and readers)









                                                                               
          
So now I'm going for the gold by reaching for at least the 200 friends mark (only 14 to go) and over 1000 hits (a milestone I plan on celebrating by having a cyber party tomorrow on this blog.  If I hit 300 friends, there will be cyber champane and chocolate for all.  Not only that, but I will be sending out prizes of books and goodies to 5 lucky commenting readers.  I've ordered the balloons and party favors, so join in by "befriending" me at MySpace and pass the word on to your bestest friends and relatives.

Please feel free to leave a comment with your feelings on the matter.  Has it worked for you...for your friends or does it scare you to try (it did me)?  

Bottom Line:  Let's show the world that writers and readers are ready to make their mark and leave a legacy of entertaining books for all to enjoy, by sipping Champagne and scarfing down the chocolate.  Graphic images of Angel are optional.

Update:  Congratulations to Michele Ann Young who became my 200th friend.   
As of Midnight Central time, I have 239 friends and over 1100 hits.  I am truly humbled.

Posted by Barbara Vey on November 5, 2007 | Comments (8)


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November 5, 2007
In response to: What a Difference a Month Makes
Kristen Painter commented:

Actually, I think the graphic images of Angel are mandatory.

www.romancedivas.com




November 5, 2007
In response to: What a Difference a Month Makes
Kristen Painter commented:

Actually, I think the graphic images of Angel are mandatory.

www.romancedivas.com




November 5, 2007
In response to: What a Difference a Month Makes
Liz Kreger commented:

I agree with Kristen ... both times. LOL.

Good luck in reaching your goal, Barbara. 8 more people will be a piece of cake.

I did sign up for a MySpace (even though I insisted I have no time) and to date have done nothing with it because ... well, I have no idea what I'm doing. Someday when I have time, I'll give it a more indepth look see.




November 5, 2007
In response to: What a Difference a Month Makes
Barbara Vey commented:

Kristen, pics of Angel are always welcome.

Liz, you are one of those wonderful people who joined myspace just to be my friend, so when you're ready, I'll help you jazz it up. :)

BTW...I sent you a glitter graphic for halloween that I got from an approved site, but when I looked at your page I see it was removed because it violated the sensibilities of the myspace police. Oops.




November 5, 2007
In response to: What a Difference a Month Makes
clea Simon commented:

Wow - Barbara - I cannot believe how much you learned to do on Myspace! I am happy just to be able to post pictures of CATS! Maps, videos, whoo-wee!
You go, girl!
Clea (www.cleasimon.com)




November 5, 2007
In response to: What a Difference a Month Makes
Susan Laskowski commented:

After reading your take on the impact of MySpace, I'm going to check it out to see what I've been missing. I didn't know that authors did that too.




November 5, 2007
In response to: What a Difference a Month Makes
joysannoh commented:

Hey, Barb, I removed Tom when I got started, and now I'm feeling bad. I wonder if he'll be my friend again if I ask him. Congratulations on being the kind of friend that can have so many friends!! (It kinda makes me weepy. (in a good way) Keep it up!




November 6, 2007
In response to: What a Difference a Month Makes
MARTY OLVER ARCHER commented:

Barbara, it's great to see you're enjoying MySpace so much. As an author's publicist, I discovered the site with some prompting from my son, who's a music producer. I quickly developed the connection with authors, bookstores, publishers, publicists and yes...readers! And after more than a year, I can't imagine marketing the novels without having a MySpace site. I'm certain it's driving many of the online sales. And it's kept me up-to-date with many other online forums for authors and readers (such as GoodReads.com). You can bet I also tune in to read your blogs, both on PW and on MySpace. I'm a fan for sure.





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