Sunday 14 February 2010

Social Media Freakout!

A couple of days ago I was watching social networking in action. There and then. Actually seeing it happen. Let me explain.

I log on to Twitter and notice a tweet by a friend and fellow copywriter, Leif Kendall. Well, many tweets by him in fact, but one in particular that catches my beady eye. He mentions something about Copify. Something not too polite. And a couple of other copywriters seem to have posted not-too-polite comments too. I'm intrigued. What is this Copify and why is it ruffling so many feathers in the writing world?

So I go to their website and it turns out they offer a service introducing publishers to writers. But most professional copywriters are offended by this scheme, arguing that it's nothing more than a "sweat shop" of writers churning out low grade copy for peanuts. It seems this debate has got so heated that Copify's latest blog post is a letter to all the copywriters they've offended, defending themselves and trying to explain their position. Which, unsurprisingly sparks a whole new thread of the debate and fills their blog with comment after argument after comment.

Anyway, 2 days after posting a very neutral tweet saying I'd just discovered the Copify debate and didn't know where I stood yet (I'm far too diplomatic), I get 5 new copywriters following me on Twitter from all over the world!

Not only that, but then I get an email from LinkedIn saying I have a new follower, who just happens to be the director of the web design company who built the Copify website! Ok, so then I log on to LinkedIn and it starts telling me about People I May Know. And not only does it come up with connections of connections, which is fair enough, but suggests I may know my ex therapist, the guy who interviewed me for a job last week, one of my aunt's friends, one of my partner's colleagues and a load of faces from my past who I'd "Rather Not Connect With", thanks. How does it know?? I was feeling just a little freaked out by this point, I can tell you.

I also find out during this process that lots of people I know from different circles are connected with each other on LinkedIn and I had no idea. It's such a small world. Oh and if that wasn't enough, my partner gets an email from one of the people I just linked with asking about any opportunities to work with him AND I get a random email inviting me to do business with a marketing and communications company. Woa!

And all this after attending WriteClub, a networking group for writers in Brighton and London, and discovering that at least 2 people at the table knew a very old friend of my Mum's who I used to babysit for. Now my head is positively spinning with online social media networking. Argh! But hey, at least I can say with confidence that it definitely, without a doubt, 100% works!

2 comments:

  1. yes, and we found you here too! :)

    nice post, yes its amazing how things spread, especially the negative things...! have a good day.

    Rob
    copify

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Rob

    I can't help feeling I'm being followed...!

    Thanks for the comment. Yes I expect the negative things spread the fastest unfortunately. It's scary how many people you realise are 'plugged in' once you start looking.

    You have a good day too.

    Hannah

    ReplyDelete