Blog Chain: Are You a Social Networker?

Hey everyone!

I'm still on hiatus, but I'm going to go ahead and start a round of the blog chain. I've been really busy lately and the next couple of months are going to be busier still. I've had a lot to think about since my book sale, one of those things being my platform as an author. So for this round of the blog chain I'm wondering:

Are you a good social networker? What aspect of platform building do you focus on the most? Which aspects freak you out?

I'm incredibly introverted. One on one, I think I do pretty well. My personality comes out with my close friends. But put me in a group and I sort of freeze up. I'm shy. I don't talk a lot. I often find myself hanging out in the fringe where no one will notice me. But with my book releasing this year, my agent and editor have advised me to work on building my platform. Get out into the authorly world. Make some friends, some connections. Put my name out there.

I'm not a very consistent blogger. Mainly because I wonder, what do I have to offer that someone hasn't already covered? I don't tweet very much. I can't ever think of anything witty to say in 140 characters or less. Facebook? Yeah, I post a status update every once in a while. I have a Tumblr account that I've never used and though I read a TON of blogs, I comment on very few.

I think social networking is hard for me because I'm very self-conscious. I'm always worried about what people might think of me. That I'll be snubbed by the cool kids and outed for the socially awkward person I've always thought myself to be. Fear more than anything keeps me from reaching out to other authors, no matter how much I want to join in. One of my friends and CP's said something pretty profound to me yesterday. I think it might be a quote from someone or somewhere, she's good for deep thoughts like that.

"It's none of your business what other people think of you."

Sounds sort of harsh at first. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized she was right. It isn't any of my business. I can only be me. I can't please everyone. I can't always be witty or charming or outgoing. I can only put my thoughts out there and it shouldn't matter what anyone else thinks about it as long as I'm happy with it. I shouldn't be afraid to dive in to the deep end of the social networking pool. I can always tread water for a while until I'm really ready to swim.

I don't focus on one social networking aspect more than any other. Frankly, they all scare the holy living crap out of me. But I figure if I do a little here, and a little there, sooner or later I'll find a rhythm that works and I won't worry so much about what everyone thinks. I can only be myself. And that's good enough.

Be sure to check out Margie's post after mine!