Strength in Numbers? Or Just Lost in a Crowd?

As much as I enjoy social networking, I know there's also a downside. For all that we connect with other people, sometimes by the hundreds, on the various sites, how many of them can we really claim to have a connection with?

On my soon-to-be-dearly-departed Ecademy account, I'm linked to over 1,000 people. Of those, maybe a dozen engage in any sort of prolonged "conversation" with me, whether initiated by them or by me. Mind you, Ecademy's business focus means it isn't technically a social networking site.

The numbers are considerably smaller on Facebook, where I have, at this moment, 238 friends and associates. But I am engaged in a higher percentage of those relationships, partly because I don't have to pay a monthly fee just to be able to send someone a message.

On Twitter, I have 385 contacts. Better than Facebook in that sense, but, like at Ecademy, there's a smaller percentage of ongoing interactions.

Which site offers the best networking experience? I'm a big believer in quality over quantity, so Facebook wins out over the other two. I like the mix of business and personal connections with a few diversions (yes, I'm a Farmville addict, recently relapsed).

Site-to-Site Networking

If you're like me, you have an account with more than one social networking site. At last tally, I'm on Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, LinkedIn, Shelfari, Goodreads, Women Internet Marketers, Artists for a Better World, The Whole 9 and a host of other sites (assuming they're all still there).

Admittedly, I'm more active on some site than on others. Facebook and Twitter are a primary resources, both of which allow me to feed my updates into many of the others. Even this blog gets automatically filtered onto Facebook and my Lulu.com blog.

I've managed to build up a nice little network, but I was ready to close them all less than a year ago. Visited each individual site on a daily basis just to post an update wasn't at all appealing. I hardly even visited Facebook anymore, and I was so unimpressed with Twitter that I did close my account.

Days later, I found out I could enter an update once on Twitter (using the Tweetdeck application) and have it show up on Facebook and a few other sites. So I reactivated my Twitter account and gave the whole thing another go.

These days, I don't know what I'd do without this site-to-site networking. Tweetdeck simplified everything. If you want to try it or one of Twitter's other applications, go to http://twitter.com/downloads.

And if you want to connect with me, here are a few of my links:

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/#/inkspotter
Twitter - http://twitter.com/inkspotter
Goodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/784047
Plaxo - http://www.plaxo.com/profile/show/8590799590?src=myProfile&pk=1a3466145559d187a4d977c04363a97a56b413e9 (if you know of a shorter form of this one, please let me know)

Life Threw Me a Curve

Thirty years ago, I found out I had scoliosis (an abnormal curvature of the spine).

The problem started on Christmas day, when I was trying on a new sweater. My older sister, admittedly covetous and trying to convince me it was a bad fit, pointed out how it wrinkled on one side. She kept trying to smooth down the wrinkle until she realized she saw this happen before with one of her college friends.

"You might have a crooked spine," she said.

I went through seemingly endless tests and appointments as a result. On one such occasion, the specialist had me strip to the waist so he could observe my spine as I bent forward. He even handled my breasts as he tried to determine how level they were. For a high school senior, this was something of an uncomfortable experience. But my parents were in the room the whole time, so I just closed my eyes and hoped it would be over quickly.

Tests confirmed I had scoliosis--a 60-degree S-curve, to be precise. My prospects going into adulthood included chronic pain and an eventual hump! Faced with such a dire prediction, I had to decide if corrective surgery was the right solution for me. (My parents felt I was old enough at that point to make such a major decision for myself.)

In early May 1980, I was admitted to the IWK Children's Hospital in Halifax, Nova Scotia. As I sat quietly on the edge of my hospital bed, the surgeon explained the procedure in full detail, including the odds (1,000 to 1) that I could end up with permanent nerve damage resulting in paralysis.

"But I've done this surgery thousands of times," he added, "and never had anything like that happen."

I barely lifted my head as I responded, "So you're due."

Luckily, he wasn't. The four-hour surgery went off without a hitch. The recovery process, on the other hand, was a little less than ideal.

But that's a story for another day.


If you want to know more about scoliosis, including detection, treatment and recovery, or share your own scoliosis story, be sure to check out Dangerous Curves: Understanding Scoliosis & Choosing a Treatment Option, coming May 2010 from InkSpotter Publishing.

After the Storms

NOTE: Written yesterday (Sunday).

The sun's just coming up. The clouds over my neighbour's houses across the street are brilliant pink, cutting across the sky like ribbons after the chaos of Christmas morning.

The post-storm snow lies crumpled on the curbs, a mishmash of white and brown and bits of black. Despite two storms back to back, the buildup isn't that bad. We had a little rain in between, albeit a frozen rain. Cleanup won't be as easy the second time around. The first storm left light, easily shoveled drifts, but now we have firmly packed, waterlogged piles. And the repeated passage of the plows only adds to the compaction.

The odd chirping bird breaks the silence of the morning. Then the cars add the gentle swoosh of tires through a thin layer of road slush. The crows are uncharacteristically quiet so far. I hear one or two when the sun first starts to brighten the sky, but they're holding back now. Most mornings, the crows serenade the neighbourhood, poor cousins to the magpies that they are.

As the sun rises higher behind an obscuring curtain of clouds, the pink ribbons drop from view. The barest hint of yellow may still be glimpsed through the trees. Dawn is past. Now the morning truly begins. The familiar, persistent background drip coming from the rain gutters assures me the snow is slowly receding already. Unless we get another storm, these unsightly lumps will pass soon enough.

Despite the fact that I'm not a morning person, I actually enjoy these early hours when I happen to be awake for them. There's a certain solitude that comes very close to what I experience during the overnight hours that are my preference.

Most of the world is still in bed, or at least lying low somewhere in their homes. There's no reason to go out. No rush to get to work or to an appointment. We can all just relax and enjoy the quiet. Time enough later for the rush and bustle of life.

Hallelujah!

In the beginning, there was the newsletter. And it was good (eventually).

But the newsletter slipped away during the dark times (henceforth referred to as 2009).

Then a new light shone upon the creator, with the start of a new year and (according to some) a new decade.

And creator knew the time was right to revive the newsletter.

So it came to pass that InkSpotter News stepped into the light once more.

And the fans said that it was good. Praise be to the fans!

InkSpotter Publishing in the Running in Annual Preditors & Editors Poll

It's that time of year again. The annual Preditors & Editors Poll for the best in electronic publishing from the past year.

InkSpotter Publishing is well represented this year, with nominations in the following seven categories:

Anthology - Backless, Strapless & Slit to the Throat
Book Art - A Boy Named Wish
Book Editor - Betty Dobson
Book Publisher - InkSpotter Publishing
Children's Novel - A Boy Named Wish by Richard & Esther Provencher
Short Story - "Bunduki's Lament" by Kerry-lyn Witherspoon
Horror Short Story - "Names" by Phoebe Wray

Other recommendations:

Poem - "New Orleans in Blue" by Tracye Pool
Science Fiction Novel - While the Gods Sleep by Johnny Fincham
Romance Short Story - My True Love Sent to Me (collection) by Elizabeth Hopkinson
Non-Fiction Zine - WE Magazine for Women
Fiction Zine - Apollo's Lyre
Horror Novel - The Further Accounts of the Imaginary Friend by P.S. Gifford
Poetry Zine - Apollo's Lyre
Zine Editor - Lea Schizas

You only have until January 14th to cast your votes, so don't delay.

URL: http://www.critters.org/predpoll/

Announcing the Winners of the 2009 Finding the Right Words Flash Fiction Contest

I have no idea how 2010 is going to unfold, but 2009 certainly ended with a flurry of activity (minus streamers and music).

Not only did we complete the first round assessments on submissions to the anthology Wait a Minute, I Have to Take Off My Bra (and notify everyone accordingly), but we also wrapped up the 2009 Finding the Right Words Flash Fiction Contest, announcing two prize winners and three honorable mentions.

First Prize:
"The Veil" by Jean Blasiar

Second Prize:
"Pilgrimage" by Jane Philpott

Honourable Mentions:
"Two Letters" by Malcolm Bray
"Blue Beach Towel" by Laura Salamy
"What is Winston Churchill Doing?" by Joshua Brown

The top two stories will be published in InkSpotter News, which returns later this month.

The 2010 Finding the Right Words Flash Fiction Contest is now under way and accepting entries.