Thank you to BING Social Search for sponsoring my post about social media. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.
Social media has played a HUGE part in my life. Especially lately. I started this blog over a year ago and I’ve never looked back. Blogging has given me an outlet for all those random thoughts in my head. It also gives me something that is mine and that I don’t have to share. Greedy much? I really love having that one thing that is mine because I can do what I want with it and I don’t have to answer to anybody.
Since I’ve started, so many doors have opened up for me. I’ve had the opportunity to make a little bit of money for my family. Sometimes that money made a huge difference. For example, I had a flat tire and the only way I could afford a brand new tire right then and there was because I had some blogging money.
I’ve also had the chance to work with some awesome companies whom I met through different blogging groups. I love learning about brands that I never would have heard of if it wasn’t for me blogging about them.
My most favorite parts of social media are the connections I’ve made with fellow bloggers. Twitter has been an excellent way for me to connect with other bloggers all around the US. In fact, I’m rooming with three other bloggers at BlogHer that I’ve never met in real life. But because of social media, we’ve had the chance to get to know each other before we go.
The only downside of social media is that I tend to forget how long I’ve been sitting here at the computer. Before I know it, two hours of passed and I’ve got nothing done.
Overall, social media has bettered my life. It has helped me learn about so many companies, products, brands, people, and blogs that I would have never known about. Now, lets just hope I can control how much time I spend online and keep things balanced.
Hi Michelle and great to see you feel empowered by social media use and direct publishing. I started about ten years ago and had previously had some magazine and newspaper articles published, ajust the one book back in 1997 ! but it was rare for that to happen and get paid of course. I joined Fotolog, had a blog where in I wrote about and illustrated English History and culture etc for my friends in the USA , Then Flickr (which like Fotolog became dominated by silly comments from vain south american teens! and finally Facbook and Twitter which I use everyday and it sure helps pass the time and is a great vehicle for one who has loads of ideas and things to share as you hyave clearly found. The parent thing appeals to me as a great idea. I am in my early sixities and retired, huge experiemnce and collected the hard way wisdom and sharing some of that seems a worthy thing to do rather than waste it ! To share and perhaps help people who are struggling or prevent them making similalr mistakes can't be bad. Have a great week and keep it up. regards john
Hi Michelle! So glad to see how well your first year of blogging has gone. It's an inspiration for me! I just got on Twitter a couple of months ago and am hooked! I have had a hobby blog for about 6 months and recently made the decision to create a new blog and get serious about it. I am the type of person who does lots of research, so it has been a bit of a slow process for me. Everything seems to be falling into place though. Last week I found out that I won a free blog design, so am looking forward to getting that done and launching my new blog! I would love to pick your brain sometime for some new blogger tips. Angela
Sure! I'd love to help in any way that I can. I'm no expert or anything, I just kind of go with the flow. One thing that has helped me is that if I see a good article on SEO or something like that, I print it, highlight key points and then really go through it when I have extra time.