Not afraid of social media either

After setting up this blog, I gave some thought to how (or even if) I might promote it. I shared the address with my former colleagues, and some of them were even kind enough to say nice things about it. I sent the link to several friends and relatives, who did likewise. The Fluffster offspring was the only one to proffer anything remotely approaching negative, but even his three comments were grammatical in nature (and since I didn’t agree, they don’t count). Then I ran out of ideas, so got sidetracked looking into Google Analytics and how to add abutton instead. (The latter of which has misbehaved, so if you clicked it before yesterday, it may have disappeared, and I’d have no objections to you doing it again…)

Why bother with self-promotion when I’ve clearly stated on my About me page that I’m “not looking for fame”? Well, curiosity mostly. I know I won’t go viral, but I’m intrigued by what might happen if someone unconstrained by familial, friendship-conserving, or collegial obligations to be nice actually read any of this. Oh, and then responded. Google Analytics and Blogger Stats results aren’t all that satisfying after that first thrill of discovering that folks in several European countries (not including the Netherlands; that’s family) have somehow stumbled onto my blog (see Blogger stats, above right). Also, there are 23 views from Other, a place I've never heard of.

Ms. Fluffster’s real self has Twitter and Facebook accounts, but those are tightly locked down and off limits to anyone not personally admitted to the inner sanctum. She no longer has a LinkedIn account because she never liked how it worked in the first place, and now that she’s retired, no longer needs that useless thing. (That should have been on my initial to-do list so I could have the satisfaction of marking it done. Consider it a late addendum.)

Ms. Fluffster’s new Twitter account (above left: @MsFluffster) is open to Everyone. She has two followers (but only one of them counts, because the other is someone she knows). She’s following seven carefully selected accounts… so far. Suggestions for more welcome, especially by women. Only one requirement: they must amuse without being offensive (well, maybe just a little bit; being completely inoffensive gets boring). Whether or not they’ll drive any traffic her way is still an open question. Ms. Fluffster and I look forward to hearing from you.