Happy New Year. I’m sure you’ve noticed a lack of blog and YouTube activity this last week. I’ve been very busy up in Tahoe in the snow with the fam over the holidays, having a lot of fun and getting a lot of logistical stuff done for the author career.
Most notably I:
Put up Flying Sparks Issue #2 for Kindle for those who prefer to read that way.
Re-Released The Stars Entwined on Kindle as I’ve completed writing Book 2 of the series, which will be going into edits soon.
And put out Clockwork Dancer #1, a new steampunk comic, to Patreon subscribers.
There’s a lot of formatting stuff I’m learning on different programs like Illustrator, InDesign, Vellum, which is going to help me level up.
And leveling up is what we’re here to talk about today.
I know the proper “team politics” thing to say is OMG Scalzi and Wendig are suuuuuch idiots and mock their posts. It’s what they’d do to me for anything I ever said without ever interacting with me, and I am aware of that. But I’m better than the tribal sci-fi authors who can’t see past their own noses, and I can read content for what it is. Sorry if this isn’t popular, but it’s true.
What they’re saying is build your own platform and don’t rely on these big tech corporations, because you can only get so far with them. It’s exactly what Vox Day and I have been saying forever, and what we’ve been doing on a lot of fronts, incidentally.
It’s absolutely true.
Twitter throttles my posts these days, I don’t get seen by anyone but the same 20 people, regardless of what I post — funny memes, good articles, pictures, links, personal growth content, it doesn’t matter. I’ve tested it in multiple ways. The platform’s been compromised.
Facebook is even worse as they’re open that their algorithm makes it so only certain people see certain things. At least twitter’s still trying to hide it for the most part. If you post an outside link at all, it’s dead in the water there. They’ll ban you from posting to groups for promoting your books too– as my buddy Matt Margolis has recently found out, which I’m sure isn’t political at all given the content of his book.
For all Scalzi and Wendig and I may disagree (I don’t know, as they’ve never talked to me like a reasonable human being) on a lot of things, we all understand that corporations are inherently evil and never have the best interest of their users at heart.
They can be tools, but don’t rely on any of these platforms. Always have systems for back ups. And watch closely Vox Day’s lawfare against these companies when they treat consumers wrong. This is the way.
If you enjoy my content, you’ll proobably enjoy my sci-fi books. I’ve just rereleased The Stars Entwined to get ready to expand this universe in a big way this year. EPIC space opera on a level you haven’t seen since Lois Bujold’s Vorkosigan Saga. Read here:
Yep, they are absolutely correct on this one. I remember when MySpace and Facebook became things, and I was like why the heck did I want to be on them when I have my own website?
That said, social media does have its uses as a “side dish.”