Tuesday, July 1, 2014

I'M FLYING OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST by Rolynn Anderson


 In July, we have a chance to draw inspiration from two movies: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and/or He’s Not That into You.  The choice is easy for me.  OFOCN is one of my favorite movies because the script captures the kinds of system craziness that could send normal folks to the loony bin.  Remember the awe and fear Broom Bromden (the giant-sized Native American) holds for ‘The Combine’?  Broom thinks that the system/organizations/government molds people so they are identical, much like effect of the farming machine, called a combine, makes duplicate hay bales.  He maintains that people have no power over this massive machine and if we try to fight it, we'll be sent to the crazy house, just like the Combine sent him there.  Nurse Ratched is part of the Combine, using intimidation, shame and medication to cut men down to submissive, small sizes.

We writers struggle against our own Combine in the forms of Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, Google + and other emerging social networking organizations.  These entities are important to our success as book-sellers, but their administrators won’t explain how they work.  What’s more, they change their rules or formats at will and determine career-changing algorithms without sharing them with us.  Examples: Amazon has an arbitrary way of deciding who can review whose book, and recently, Amazon is taking a dim view of sexy book covers, dumping some without notifying authors.  Another example: ‘Liking’ on Facebook can bring a wave of unwelcome ‘guests’ to your personal page.

We wish these networks were regulated or somehow forced to be transparent so we have a fighting chance to understand how to use them, but I doubt that would ever happen.  We get the sense that there’s an insidious tradeoff for using their service: the more we tap into their networks to sell our books, the more they will know about us and will use/misuse that information.  That’s the power of a ‘Combine.’ 

So I ask you.  What parts of the social networking system make you crazy?  How do you keep it from molding you to its liking?

Note:  I'm in Sitka, Alaska, where the only internet access for me is in the grocery store.  Please comment and know I will get back to you around noon and in the evening.  I'm spending July 4th here, my decorated boat bobbing among the fishing vessels of hard-scrabble fishermen and women. Sitka is an amazing place.   Happy 4th to you and yours!  Rolynn
My website: 
http://rolynnanderson.com/

Check out our boat journeys on http://steveandrolynn.blogspot.com/


12 comments:

Jannine Gallant said...

What makes me crazy--the fact that if I post on my author page on Facebook, less than 10 people see it. If I post promo stuff on my regular page, I feel like my non-author friends are going to unfriend me because they don't really want to hear it! My daughters have both threatened me with unfriending. LOL It's a dilemma. One I don't have the answer to. So I focus on tweeting for others. At least there we know it flashes by--we just don't know if anyone actually reads it!

Sandra Dailey said...

I have so many social media sites I never use because I don't understand them. Twitter, who really reads all those coded posts quickly scrolling by? Facebook, Jannine is absolutely right. Besides that, its depressing. When are people going to learn, they don't have internet in heaven, dead people don't have facebook accounts. As you can see, it is driving me crazy!
BTW, big OFOTCN fan ;)

Laura Strickland said...

I think what drives me craziest about Social Media is how much time it eats up. I'm a writer, not a publicist, yet it seems more and more effort needs to be devoted to promoting my work on various sites: hours spent writing blog posts, constant requests to tweet and share. And I haven't even gotten started on Pinterest yet! I sincerely do want to help promote my fellow authors and friends; their work honestly warrants it. But sometimes it feels like there's an avalanche of Social Media poised over my head! Thanks for letting me sound off.

Rolynn Anderson said...

hi Janine you are absolutely rightI have a more friends on my friend Facebook then I know what to do with heavy sigh

Rolynn Anderson said...

Sandra I understand you completely. I send messages out on Twitter and I have no idea what happens to them. Do they make a difference... who knows? Loony bin for me!

Rolynn Anderson said...

Laura what bothers me is when I'm away from my computer as I am now, in Alaska on my boat trip. I feel like I get way behind. It's a crazy business and there's no way to rest from the marketing effort. I'm glad you could vent!

Rolynn Anderson said...

understand completely what you're saying about the use of social networking to support fellow writers but I also understand the mysticism involved in using social networking devices like Pinterest I have not even begun That fight.Yes this whole business is driving us all crazy mostly because we don't know the product we get when we use the resource Thanks for writing and for venting Rolynn

Leah St. James said...

I think we have to look at social media tools more along the "social" aspect. I try to engage in conversations that have nothing to do with my books, in the hopes that I might make some connections that encourage people to take a look at what I write. The problem is it takes time (lots of time). So we can either sit online chatting, or we can write books. (Plus the day job, of course.) I think it might help if you can find one platform you really enjoy and focus on that.

As far as Facebook "pages," I think they're useless. I don't blame Facebook for wanting us to pay to promote (they are a for-profit company), but if no one is going to look at what you promote, why spend the money? I'd almost rather pay a fee for a page than have to pay for an ad that won't get seen by anyone.

(Sorry, you hit on a sore spot with me! Hope you're having a wonderful time!)

Rolynn Anderson said...

Amen, Leab! My FB page is dead! I actuallly like the loops best...for their personal feel.

Margo Hoornstra said...

First of all, Rolynn, I couldn't agree more with your post. I also agree with the rest of the comments. Social media in and of itself drives me crazy. Forget about trying to keep track of how to use each one effectively. For me, it's a lost cause. As far as FB, I think I'm doing something on my author page and it shows up on my personal page. My kids, too, will be unfriending me soon. They don't want to hear it. BTW Sitka is one of our favorite cities. Enjoy!

Alicia Dean said...

Hope you're enjoying your trip! I bet it's a lovely city. I agree about the frustrations of social media. Like Leah said, it's a good idea to be social rather than just pushing your books. It's also good to promo for other authors. And, to focus on one or two sites, but be consistent with those sites. I'm just now getting into pinterest. It's really fun and easy, I'm just not sure how effective it is. (Sorry I'm late to your post!)

Barbara Edwards said...

Most of Social media makes me nuts. Twitter is too fast, FB censors, blogging doesn't reach many people, I could go on and on.