Screen Test by Terry Burns

 

The seduction of the screen.

No, I’m not talking about the movies.

It seems like I spend most of my life looking at a screen. It’s how I work incoming and outgoing submissions, communicate with clients and editors, research markets . . . in short it’s how I work.


But then there’s social media that I have to participate in for the sake of visibility and name identification. There are hundreds of emails coming in demanding my attention. Time to pay the bills? Look at the screen. Get some rare time to write? Look at the screen.

Taking time away from the computer? Watch the big screen across the room for a movie or some football. Need to know what’s going on in the world? I don’t read the newspaper anymore, I get my news from TV news or online. Watch the screen. Even if I am watching the big screen the computer is pushed aside on an airdesk and the sound of a message coming in or other alert can pull me right back.

Make a phone call? Much smaller screen, but can do email and facebook there too. Now the screen is actually attached to my body if I am out and around. I just had a computer meltdown and was without it for several days. That should have been a relaxing respite but it wasn’t. I was stressing over getting it back up and the things I was supposed to be doing and wasn’t.

How much is too much? When things are competing for my time it is often one type of screen competing with another. I know it is a constant problem for writers trying to carve out writing time and balance it with other aspects of their life. I’m just the opposite, trying to carve out time away from the screens.

How about you, what’s your relationship with the screens in your life?

Too Many Rules Can Hurt Your Online Community by Jennifer Hudson Taylor

Last week I joined an online community group and on the same day deleted my membership in the community. It wasn't because the community group lacked information, interaction, had spammers, people with rude behaviors, or any of the reasons we would typically assume. It was for one reason only--too many rules.

I thought to myself, there is no way I'm going to remember all these rules and I will end up forgetting and violating one of them by accident.

My next thought was, I don't have time for this. I need to make my life simple.

My final thought was, what does this online group have that none of the others have? Nothing! 

Delete.


Don't get me wrong, I believe in rules. Setting up sensible rules are necessary to prevent few people from spamming, posting bad links, verbally abusing and hurting others, or posting offensive things. However, there is a balance. Keep in mind that for every bad individual, there are many more who are reasonable, sensible, professional adults who don't need to be treated like children. Keep your rules sensible and balanced for the majority who are not trouble makers.

I have joined a number of online email lists, Facebook groups, LinkedIn groups, and now Google+ Community groups. Some post simple rules that are only a few paragraphs, while others have several pages of specific, mind-boggling, over-bearing rules that no one will be able to remember.

A month ago, I joined a LinkedIn group that I thought would be interesting and helpful. I received a standard welcome email from the moderator with a long list of rules and by the time I got to the third page of rules, I stopped reading. I haven't posted or participated in this group, because to be honest, I'm really not sure what is allowed and what isn't. I will probably leave the group soon. There isn't any point in being a member of something I'm hesitant to participate in.

If you are thinking about creating a community group and the purpose is to build a large network of people that will ultimately increase your platform, my advice would be to try and keep things as simple as possible. Do you really want to waste a lot of time hand-holding, coddling, and reprimanding individuals for the slightest of offenses when you have a lot other productive things to do?

Remember, setting too many unnecessary rules will discourage good people from joining your community, and indirectly slow the growth of your online community.

What are your thoughts? Have you had your hand smacked for posting something to an email loop or an online group forum that you thought would be perfectly acceptable? Have you dropped out or been tempted to drop out of any online communities for something similar? Or have you had to deal with the opposite issue of too much self-promotion and rude comments that went unmoderated?