My father was one of the first people to buy a personal computer. I remember when he brought his first one home and tried to learn how to use it. It wasn’t easy, but he wanted to learn and he did it. He even tried to get my mother, sister, and I involved, but we weren’t interested. Flash forward a few years and I married a man who was also interested in computers. He bought a computer and tried to get me to learn it. No way. I still wasn’t interested.
Later, as I prepared to go back to work in banking, I had to learn how to use a computer. Still, I didn’t actually get my own computer for home use until I started writing. I had motivation. It was a similar experience for me with the internet, but even my husband held back from that. Finally, when we were in process of moving from Colorado to Minnesota and needed to look for an apartment before the actual move, we reluctantly joined the internet. That was back when you had to use dial-up for internet access.
Well, you can probably guess how I felt about social media websites when they sprang up. No way, no way, no way. Our children joined them, and we cautioned them to no end. We vowed we would never go on social media sites. A year-and-a-half ago, after another big out-of-state move, I really needed people who would critique my books. I turned to the internet and found some online writers’ critique groups. There, I met lots of writers and made friends. I found my editor/publisher, too.
Of course, once you have a publisher, they insist you need to be on social media sites. I reluctantly (clenching my teeth) signed up for Facebook, with the help of my son’s girlfriend who was visiting us. That was on the twelfth of August, 2012. In a few weeks I will celebrate my one-year anniversary on Facebook.
I have to admit I’ve become a Facebook addict. I love to check out my newsfeed and see what’s happening with friends and family. I love the instant messaging option, too. I’ve met many wonderful authors, publishers, etc. through Facebook. (My husband still won’t use Facebook, but he does like some of the funny jokes that I read from the site.)
My publisher also suggested I start a blog. After getting familiar with Facebook, I started my blog. That was in October, 2012. I was slow getting started, but now I love blogging, too. Eventually, an author friend suggested I join LinkedIn, so I tried it and liked it. After that, Twitter.
I guess my point with this article is that we need to push ourselves and find motivation for trying new things. We just might like what we find.
And we're glad you decided to learn computers, network with us and blog. :)