Traveler's Logs — Ethan Stein's Fantasy Realm

(Note: This post was supposed to go out a week ago, but my computer was being mean.)

It seems like everyone and their mother has a Facebook, or twitter, or tumbler or some other online presence (including mine). Now, for the longest time I was among the select (re: antiquated) few who didn't believe in having a social media account. Perhaps it was because of a fear of being under the thumb of big brother, or the belief that I really didn't want everyone to know exactly where I was or what I was doing at that very moment (irony thy name is blogger).

But really, I didn't want a social media account because I honestly didn't think I needed one. I kept up with news via the internet and blogs. I called and texted people (how 00's!), and I was pretty much fine with my everyday some-what offline life.

However, as anyone will tell you, you can't remain hidden in the shadows forever, especially if you wish to reach a wider audience for say, a book publishing event? Yes, now that I have officially delved into the world of self-publishing and the desire for others to read what I've written, I've come to the unfortunate conclusion (with the prodding of many) that I must have a online presence to market my book(s). People aren't aware of book signings because they're in the paper or on someone's blog (although that can happen). They know about book signings and celebrity gatherings and popup conventions because it has been posted on twitter or facebook or Instagram, or.... Heck, even Toys 'R' Us has a facebook page, which is the only way one can learn when they have Nintendo Switchs in stock. I mean, a toy story? What is this world coming to?

The honest and crazy fact of the present is that you must be part of the social network in order to be aware to everyone else. And I'm not talking about gathering "likes" or "tweets" or "memes" or anything else that passes for popularity contests, but simply as a way to make sure other people recognize that you are interested in presenting something (hello, self-advertising).

The advantage of course is that you don't have to pay anyone to do the marketing for you (which you can). But the disadvantage and the reason I've written this blog is that when you need to get a social media you may not be allowed to.

I'm not talking about being a felon or having some sort of sordid past or other illegal ties, although it seems those types of people have a lot less problems than I do (check @InmateInk). I'm talking about someone whose up-until-a-month-ago's idea of online social interaction was the occasional forum posts. And now that I crave an account to be able to talk to my friends (::sniff:: they just don't text me anymore), and my family (#himom), I can't, simply because I violated some sort of non-disclosed social norm on Facebook that has resulted in my account being lock out week after week.

Unfortunately, Facebook lacks a direct line of communication, so I can't call them up and say, "I can't get into my account." "Uh, did you take Caps Lock off?" So I'm forced to sit here and twiddle my thumbs in the hope that it will somehow magically unlock. And when it does, I'm supposed to delete my account and possibly create an Author-specific one that will then not be gobbled up by the Facebook-Troll-Monster-Under-The-Cyber-Highway.

Here's hoping it'll happen...or not.