As much as I like attention, I am not particularly good at marketing myself. I get nervous and embarrassed touting my own horn in real life – this is the reason my college applications took 4 months and why I still become a giggling wreck around my boyfriend’s parents. (The first time they took my out to dinner, I accidentally flung my butter knife into the air and over my shoulder. Then I was too embarrassed to ask the waiter for another, so I ate my salmon with a spoon.)
But I have a minor internet presence now, and so I have to “market” myself a little bit. For example, I’m trying to both improve and promote this blog so I can confidently set it on my resumé (even with the silly pictures and anecdotes).
I’ve also been working on opening my Etsy shop (Kabloem!) in the last several months, which brings me a lot of joy. But the only way that all my work will be worth it (and I am talking 10 hours a day, seven days a week for the entire time I was home) is if it does well – both in sales and in online following. I’m not interested in making it a full-time job (though many people are, and do so successfully), and so I would happily take 2-4 sales a month during the school year and see myself as being quite successful. But Etsy is a big marketplace, and in order to get those sales, I need to make myself stand out. And according to every article I’ve read on opening an Etsy shop, to do this I need:
– A facebook for updates, sales, pictures…
– A Kabloem tumblr, to be updated daily (with what?)
– A blog, to give a peek into my creative process
– And… (oh Lord) a twitter.
I’m not sure why I need a twitter. I’m not sure why anyone needs a twitter. As far as I can see, it is the isolation of the single worst aspect of facebook: song lyrics next to a picture of your face, banal musings, updates on your Starbucks run. Do I care that Alexis Reyes just bought a cotton candy frappuccino? Is there anyone in the world I love enough to care about how often they get a cotton candy frappuccino?
But I finally caved, and I got myself a twitter for Sara Laughed. My first question was, what do I do with it?
I certainly engage with the Internet enough to know what not to do with it (I’m looking at you, Walmart’s corporate twitter). On both my facebook and twitter, I’m trying to be organic and have fun, but let me tell you, as much as I want people to see the things I’m proud of, there is nothing more uncomfortable for me than making every status update yet another link to something I did or made. On the other hand, I can’t get myself to round them out with updates on my cold or my musings on this sandwich.
And now, I am told by Every Etsy Article Ever, I need another twitter for my Etsy shop. What? Why? Don’t make me!
So, I give up. I will keep putting my blog posts on Facebook, because I like for my friends to see what I’m up to, and likewise. I will keep my Kabloem facebook page updated, because I enjoy it. And one day, I may even get a twitter for my shop (shudder). But it will not be because some article told me to. It will be because I feel like it and because I finally get what this whole twitter thing is about.
Now get off my lawn!
