As anyone who runs a blog knows, keeping a regular posting schedule, dropping by and commenting on the posts of others, as well as answering comments left on your own posts is a time consuming business. Most of us have busy lives and/or full time jobs as well as trying to keep up with everything happening on WordPress, and unless you’re very lucky, keeping your blog alive takes time and commitment.
I’m the first to admit that I’m pretty lax when it comes to some aspects of blogging and I feel bad for that. The simple fact is that there are only so many hours in each day and by body has a habit of demanding a full night of sleep every now and then. How I curse the frailties of my corporeal shell when my eyes slam shut in the middle of reading a blog post. My physical self just doesn’t understand that a writer’s life is one fueled by caffeine and very little sleep.
There are aspects of blogging that take longer than others to complete, such as writing the post and finding suitable pictures/graphics to accompany your wise and witty words. Personally, I think a few well-placed photos or graphics can really enhance a post, it also helps to break up the text and make your posts appear more visually appealing. As they say, a picture speaks a thousand words (and that’s 1000 less words that you have to spend time writing – yippee!)
After carefully choosing your words and pictures/graphics, then comes the taxing part of deciding which tags to add to your post. I have lost many an hour debating over tags and which well-chosen words will enable me to hit the WordPress jackpot and put me on the Freshly Pressed page (I have yet to find the right key words, so answers on a postcard would be much appreciated.) Bar bribery and/or blackmail, I have yet to catch the eye of those Fresh Pressers, so the chances are my tags aren’t quite what they should be.
I was just looking for an excuse to post a picture of some balls…
Tags sorted and fingers crossed, you then have to decide which category to place your post in. Again, hours have been lost as I debate as to whether a post about balls should be placed in ‘Silly Stuff’ or ‘Thoughts for Friday’, after all, my thoughts about balls could have conceivably fallen into the latter category…
Now that the finer details are sorted, all a blogger has to do is figure out when they’ll schedule their post to publish, choosing the right date and the correct time for optimum publishing splash. A savvy blogger will also provide links via social media networks such as Tumblr, Twitter, Google+ etc.
Twitter is perhaps the easiest social networking platform to keep on top of, considering that you can only post tweets in 140 characters or less. Retweets are just the tap of a button, the same for replies. Why, oh, why then am I so damned bad at keeping up with my Twitter feed?
Anyone who follows my Twitter will know that I am appalling at keeping up with new tweets, follows, retweets and replies. In fact, I only ever tend to venture toward my Twitter on very rare occasions. I have no excuse either, Twitter takes only seconds to keep up with, yet I never seem to find those seconds in my daily routine.
Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that Twitter is so quick and simple to keep up with that I fail to do so. Whereas I set aside specific time to write my blog posts, I don’t afford myself the same luxury when it comes to Twitter. I keep telling myself that I’ll check Twitter later, the only problem being that I never do.
Posts everywhere encourage writers to use Twitter as a way of promoting our work, but I’m afraid the only thing my Twitter feed promotes is my criminally lax attitude to answering anything on it. There are odd times where I will veer close to being suspended for breaking Twitter’s rules as I madly rush to retweet as many of my followers tweets and blog posts as I can, and it is then that my followers wonder just what the heck has gotten into me. A spurt of Twitter activity usually signifies that my guilt has reached its limits and I have no choice but to repent to the social media Gods for being such a wayward child.
So, if any of you do follow me on Twitter please do not be offended if I go weeks (possibly months) before replying or retweeting you. It is not personal, it’s just my complete and utter inability to find a few seconds during the day to sit down with my iPad and pay my neglected Twitter feed a little love and attention. I feel guilty each time I see that little blue bird and curse myself for not being a better friend to it.
Perhaps that’s why there’s always a new dollop of bird muck on my car each morning…
Trials of a wanna-be-published writer 
I have a similar problem with Twitter. And with Facebook. And with Google+. And I can’t even remember what my Pinterest password is, it’s so long since I looked at it.
The problem, from my viewpoint, is the excruciatingly low signal-to-noise ratio or, as a committed Jack Spratt, too much fat and not enough meat. In fairness, there is enough meat, but it’s hidden by rolls and rolls of fat.
It could be an age thing, though…
I entirely agree with you, Keith. I think part of my lax attitude when it comes to Twitter is that there doesn’t seem to be much substance to it.
One wonders why I have a Twitter account at all! 🙂
I’m horrible at Twitter, as well. I just don’t have the time. Your post, Heather, is something we all identify with quite honestly. Your writing is most important to your followers. xx Enjoy your weekend.
Thanks Audrey ❤
Hope you have a wonderful Easter weekend! ❤
Wow. Anyone who can so gracefully write about balls and bird muck in the same post can’t be all bad. Happy Friday!
One does try, you know…. 🙂
Have you checked out my post, ‘It’s Not the Size of Your Rod’?
And I also feel that I should warn you that I am in the first draft stage of writing a post on back passages….
Have a lovely weekend, my friend!
I feel your pain. I have a problem keeping up with everything. Haven’t joined the Twitter generation yet. Haven’t the time to study it. Not enough hours in a day! 😦
There’s Twitter, Tumblr, Google +, Pinterest. Reddit… the list goes on and on. I feel as if I am on social media overload, but I’m heartened to discover that I’m not the only blogger who struggles with the same issues.
I haven’t ventured into Twitter yet and Google has been overwhelming last week. Facebook, I don’t visit unless I get a notification and that’s not often.
I’m not a huge fan of Facebook either and perhaps the only time I venture on there is to wish someone a happy birthday. Some folks like to detail every aspect of their life on there, but that’s not for me and I constantly go weeks without even looking at my news feed.
Talk about information / friend overload. 😮
Well written post – I enjoyed it. Twitter is a challenge because it is so constant. It is often the very last thing I get around to. Life is busy – we do the best we can, right? 🙂 Keep up the good work!
Thanks Kate! ❤
I think Twitter should give a sigh of relief, you've seen how naughty I can be on it sometimes! 🙂
Retirement helps
I’m hoping that my first novel is going to be a million-seller, then I can retire before the age of 40.
One can dream, right? 🙂
I’ll second that.
I also succumb to the “I’ve got other things to do,” method of thinking. I only wish I could type off a tweet in a minute or two. I always go way over the character limit and have to edit. My feed has devolved into some sort of post notification and me complaining about @SharpAQUOS.
I think that’s one of the drawbacks of Twitter, in that you probably spending more time editing a tweet down to 140 characters than you would posting an update on other forms of social media 🙂
My main issue with keeping up with Twitter is that I tend to get lost in the flux. I write, edit, rewrite, and finally publish a tweet just in time to see an interesting Tweet from someone else (usually a great writer or friend) float by my feed. I retweet that, and Twitter suggests I follow someone related. I go to their page, browse around, and maybe follow that person. Then, of course, I have to refresh my feed, and it starts again. Before I know what’s hit me, it’s been five or six hours, I’m sweaty from being so embroiled in the next #YesAllWomen, my bladder is near bursting, and my blood sugar has taken a nosedive.
…The Twitter version?
I can’t stop myself from diving in too hard. Twitter is my nemesis. #procrastination #writerslife #amnotwriting
LOL, I feel your pain, Adan! ❤
I did much the same thing last night and became engrossed in a Twitter feed that took me to many different places and completely distracted me from what I had intended to do! 🙂
The struggle is real, Heather. Unfortunately, that’s why I tweet without going to the site itself most of the time, because it’s the only way to keep myself from being slurped up by the endless swirling vortex that is all the amazing — and horrible — world of Twitter.