So much fog, so few… pictures (and blogging).
Here I am, standing at the waterfront admiring the view. The view, you say? With so much fog, I cannot even make out the ships in Thessaloniki’s port.
I didn’t take the camera today when I left the girls at their playground. On Saturdays the wife and the little one spend an hour singing, dancing and playing with other toddlers. And that’s one hour I have to my own. After I park the car that is, which sometimes can take half of that time!
Usually, I carry my Canon 70D and hit the promenade, looking for photography and filmmaking ideas. That’s how I ended up with this short film a few weeks ago.
Even back then the weather was far from perfect. We couldn’t make out Mount Olympus from here.
May I remind you that I do not consider myself not even a beginner in this kind of stuff. I do this as a hobby. But then again, my work itself is a hobby. Hopefully, in the process I will produce better videos for my niche.
So, today the weather deterred me from any creative thoughts. Instead, I spent the time on thinking how I should carry on with my blogging and in particular, how to make the most of my presence in social media.
Until now I’ve been taking pictures, adding a film touch and sharing them at Google+, and from there the post is automatically shared to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn thanks to a tool, called FriendsPlusMe. I continue my photo-sharing process, reaching out followers at Instagram, Pinterest and Flickr among others.
That’s excellent for my friends and strangers who get to see what I am up to. It’s also good for myself, building a following and a community about the interests we share together.
But it’s bad for my blog. And it’s a pity because you can read these very lines way easier in my blog built for readability, instead of a post on your Facebook wall or in a tweet of 140 characters.
So, this is what I came up with:
- Whatever my thoughts are, I’ll take a picture around that, as before (visual content is very important at social media). Just like this article’s featured photo that clearly portrays me as a deep-thinking person (I am not, but for the sake of this post, that’s the whole meaning). I now have a photo to accompany my words.
- I write the words. No more at social media, though, but as a blog post, even if it’s a single paragraph, a line or less than 140 characters. In fact, that’s how I began writing this and I am already up to 400 words! Turns out my writing will benefit as well. I now have a complete blog post with a title, description and a photo to share. It may not be an SEO-ready post, but I’m writing for people here, not machines.
- Now I can share a part of my blog post at social media. It’s not a text that will get buried in the internet’s abyss (did you know that Twitter users are sharing 278,000 messages per minute?!), it’s a blog post that will forever stay at my blog – until I die and no one renews my domain name! I can introduce you to my idea and you are free to check the whole article, right here. Perhaps, you might be tempted to read another post or spend a few more minutes, exploring my website. Anyhow, there is a bigger reward besides a like and a retweet.
Can I write a blog post from my mobile phone just as I would share a short story at social media? Sure can. The WordPress app for Android came in handy, but I cannot add a featured photo to my post! How unfortunate. I found out right from that spot at the waterfront, looking right into the fog, as I tried publishing this post while on the road. And that’s why I am writing this from home instead. Well, ok, my blog posts aren’t breaking news. I can wait till I get back to my PC.
Now, let’s see. Which paragraphs should I share at social media?
Oh, you got this far? Great! Once upon a time, this photo would have a few lines of text next to it in your favorite social network. Now, it gets a whole blog post! And you read the whole thing. That says a lot! Thanks! You’ve done your part, now it’s my turn for more blogging instead of social media babbling.
