Web Ozone

Do you My Space? Do you Face Book? Do you Twitter?
Do you lurk? Are you hooked? Maybe you are addicted.

In our mad dash to get our name, face, or book out there, are we sacrificing our writing to the online world?

The journey our writing and our book takes has changed a lot over the last few years. Not only do we have to write a great novel and convince someone to publish it, we also have to be able to sell it. Even before we submit to a publisher we need to have a list of where we can be found. Just having an email address and a website is not enough.

These days you need a blog and a profile, a My Space and another profile or a Face Book and lots of friends, even if you have no idea who any of them are, except the friend who talked you into friending them in the first place.

Web crawler has a new voyeuristic meaning as you sit and read the latest comments on all the sites you follow but don’t have time to post to.
I have tried to keep up with the all the latest online fads but I lose time for my writing. I have no one to blame but myself. The temptation sits staring back at me. Like most people my computer is always on and only a little nudge of the mouse brings it to life.

A fellow writer has the perfect solution. She has two computers, one strictly for writing that is not connected to the outside world, and one for everything else. For her this works well.

I only have one computer to work with and it is a daily struggle to avoid the temptations of the Web. I have to choose carefully where to go and what sites to follow, keeping in mind how they can help me to become a better writer and pave the way to future publication. So I just say no to My Space and Twitter and I’m still putting off Face Book but I know I will give in soon.

Are you buried in the ozone of the Web?

How do you control the urge to lurk?