Saturday, August 20, 2011

Pick a Platform

I have been alternately pleased with and overwhelmed by the entry of Google+ into the social media platform competition. I am the veriest novice when it comes to the whole issue. In my real life I don't do platforms. The shoes are ridiculous and perilous for one who is literally off-balance. Physical platforms are off the ground and inherently risky. Political platforms, stating it as gently as I can, are written by manipulative sociopaths to appeal to those below the lowest common denominator (2012 is going to be a very long year). 

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But though platform adverse, I have experimented with different social media platforms. Facebook has been a delightful place to connect informally with other family history researchers, genealogists and bloggers. I rarely use Twitter, but when there's a conference I wish I was attending or a popular uprising in Cairo, it can't be beat.

I post this blog to both because several readers have mentioned their preference for receiving blog posts via Twitter feeds or on Facebook through NetworkedBlogs. Though I strongly prefer blog reading through an RSS aggregator like Google Reader, I aim to please.

And now there's Google+.

I haven't posted my blog there before today. It seems excessive to post the same material three times over. I am not marketing myself in any commercial sense. I am simply trying to make the material I write available to those who are interested in the format that is most convenient. I am finding the redundancy a little depressing. Must one post everything on every platform? It seems like virtual littering.

So, in an effort to discern the preferences of you, my loyal reader, I've devised this brief poll. Please vote and let me know your 'druthers. Voting will remain open through August 25th. I will share the results next week.

Thank you!