I have a confession to make… If it wasn’t for those little woolly monsters of mine, I would have no online presence at all. Except an email address. Oh, and maybe an Etsy account. But that really would be it. So I owe the Beasties a big thank you – for dragging me out of my technological fortress of solitude, and for being willing to pose for the endless photos that I’m SO glad I don’t have to be in myself. Through them, I’ve been able to make contact with people all over the world, and get a sneaky peek at their latest craft successes, their studios and, most importantly, what they had for dinner! How awesome is that?
As a result, I’ve started gathering up social media accounts like they were Pokémon (oops, showing my age there with that oh-so-dated reference). And that means that on pretty much any given day, there will be breaking Beastie news somewhere on this vast interweb we all inhabit. So today I thought I’d give you the roadmap to all our online homes… I’d hate to think any of you were missing out somewhere! We’ll start with…
… Because it’s my favourite. It’s so easy – I take a photo, I monkey around with it in the editor and BAM! Done! I also find it good for keeping up with the people whose pictures I actually want to see – not too much sponsored content, and no pesky algorithms deciding what appears on my screen. Well, not yet, anyway. Come and find us there! There’s something new almost every day. And don’t forget to share your own monster pics using #beastiefamily and #beastiesofinstagram!
…Is the newest addition to the family, so I’m still getting the hang of it! I’ve managed to find a few of you on there already, but I figured some readers might not know that I even HAVE Twitter yet – in fact, that’s part of the reason for this post! You can expect new stuff here every couple of days, and possibly more once I get my head around what’s going on.
Oh, Facebook. I’d love to spend more time with you, but your mobile apps really do make the experience less than enjoyable. However, I do still try to post new stuff at least a couple of times a week, and it’s another great place to share your own Beastie pics if you’d like to! It’s also a good way to get in touch if you don’t want to use the email contact form. On Facebook, you’ll find links to all my latest BeastieBlog posts, plus fun stuff like this recent snap of Explorer Beastie “helping” in the garden.
I’ve read time and again that maintaining a Pinterest profile is a great way to develop your crafty business. I will be the first to admit that I have no idea how this might work, but hey – it’s fun anyway! And it appeals to the magpie tendencies that have led me to accumulate boxes of old magazine clippings and photos that I just can’t bear to throw away. Here are a couple of the boards I update most!
And finally…
In a flurry of enthusiasm after the Irish Blogger Conference just over a month ago, I joined Snapchat. It was peer pressure! Everyone else was doing it! And I wanted to bagsy my username (@crawcrafts – soooooper imaginative). But… um… what exactly is it FOR? And why are there no instructions? I’m also disconcerted by the fact that every time I open the thing, my phone camera switches on and I’m greeted by my own bewildered face staring back at me. So if any of you have any hints you’d like to share, even if they are “you’re not 15, what on earth are you doing on Snapchat?”, please let me know in the comments!
We’ll be back on Friday with an update from Paddy and Plunkett. And if you’re looking for us in the meantime, now you know where to find us!
I have to admit it ..so here goes I HATE my mobile phone so snapchat & instagram are out for me, twitter I can’t get to grips with, so I must the least techno blogger you know LOL
Hahaha! That may be, but I still think you’ve managed to tame the Facebook beast better than me 😆
I still think FB has the upper hand LOL
Wow, you are everywhere!!!
I have to say I’m only on wordpress and on facebook … and I’m already busy with keeping up. Facebook is not my friend I have to say. My reach is sometimes as low as 4 people … which is so frustrating. Maybe I should try Instragram and pinterest?!
It DOES take a lot of time, doesn’t it? And I know what you mean about Facebook… my numbers there aren’t anything to write home about either! I actually feel like I need to update this post, too – in the couple of hours since I published it, Instagram HAVE introduced a filtering system, and I already notice that fewer people are seeing my posts. Back to the drawing board, I guess 😆
OMG, I just opened that huge can of worms … hello pinterest, not sure if my husband will see my face ever again.
Hahaha! Sorry, Husband of Aurian 😆
Who? … I don’t remember. 😀
Hahaha! I claim no responsibility 😆
You are doing much better than I am at embracing social media. I have this blog, I have a Facebook account, and I have Pinterest and that is it. Pinterest was something I resisted for a long, long time because I was wary of it being a time-sucking rabbit hole but my notebooks of recipes to try and sources of potential inspiration were becoming unwieldy so I jumped in. I choose to be quite disciplined about it, however, so that I don’t end up frittering time away on it. I have it on my phone so I just pull it up when I am stuck somewhere with nothing else to do or when I am doing tedious things like watching over a pan of cooking food.
Thanks! I try… but it does seem like an uphill haul sometimes! The responses to this post so far though have at least shown me that I’m not the only one. As for Pinterest, I think you have the right idea – I usually take a peek when I’m waiting in line at the supermarket 😀 It’s useful for looking up reference material for new projects too. Cheers for stopping by!
Since I have no mobile device, Instagram does not seem to be available to me and I have no idea what Snapchat might even be for, but I have come to love Twitter (you might have noticed) and have made a whole heap of new friends that way in the past month… in fact I’m going to stay with two of them the weekend after next to participate in a WWKIP day event in Manchester! Like you, social media has opened up the world to me and I’m incredibly grateful.
Heehee, I DID notice 😀 So far I still think WordPress wins in the making-new-friends stakes, but now you’ve vouched for it I’ll give Twitter a chance! I’ll also be knitting in public on the 18th – mind you, I’d knit in public no matter what day it is! Thanks for your comment 😀
Yep I think I have full Beastie coverage on all platforms! That is apart from Snapchat… Like you I’m not sure I fully grasp the concept of this one so I can’t offer any words of wisdom. But I’d love to know how you get on!
Hooray! Glad to have you aboard 😀 Plus it’s good to know I’m not the only one who doesn’t get Snapchat. Perhaps I’ll renew my efforts on that front – watch this space! Thanks for your comment 😀
If I could find out the Twitter secret I think it could be great but I can’t be bothered to find out what it might be! I’ll dip in and out every so often but mostly it baffles me! And I’m pretty sure Pokemon is enjoying a renaissance so your age won’t show if you don’t say anything! 🙂
Woohoo! Those crazy little monsters have always appealed to me (for obvious reasons) so a renaissance suits me just fine! As for Twitter… well, I was hoping that someone would point out the magic “instant success” button but it looks like I’ll be re-reading the Twitter chapter in my social media book instead. Hopefully before it becomes obsolete 😆 If I find any good tricks, I’ll let you know!
Let’s see, blog, Facebook, Instagram, and now Twitter. I hope I don’t overdose on Beastie-ness. Nah, not possible! I still like Twitter best for it’s quick “interactive-ness” (this is now a word) and the fact I can use it on my computer as well as mobile world…and the fact that I don’t mind spouting out the weird thoughts that pop into my head. I just discovered I am getting a weird amount of traffic to my blog and Etsy shop from Facebook..who knew!? I’m on Pinterest but never got into it so it’s been lying dormant for a few years. Snapchat? Please, NOOOO not another thing I HAVE to be on. Ughhhhh.
Hooray! I really should dream up some sort of reward for you decent folks who have taken me up on my invitation to the online Beastie party 😀 I’m actually glad you found me on Twitter, I tried to follow you before (yick, sounds so creepy) but they said you’d been suspended… what did you do? 😱 I find Pinterest kinda handy for reference material, but like I said, I have no idea how it’s meant to spread the word about my work! Congrats on getting some traffic out of Facebook though – have you any hints? And as for Snapchat, I’m now pretty sure I don’t need to be on there myself, so you can probably relax! 😆
Suspended? As in I had to do detention and write “I will not Tweet bad words” 500 times? This is news to me. 🤔🤔🤔 FB…no idea what’s going on because it’s always telling me my post only reached 5 people. Maybe those 5 are really bored, or so forgetful they forgot they already went to my sites! 🙄
Hahaha! It was all very ominous, I clicked on your profile and was told “this account has been suspended”, then the message just faded away on my screen. It worked fine after you added me, though. Weeeeird! As for FB, I’ve never had much love for it… I’m pretty convinced people only really use it to see opening times for restaurants or shops, or cyber-stalk former workmates! Obviously I can’t offer them either of these things, so numbers remain low 😆
It’s like a Twitter Twilight Zone…”She exists, but does she exist? Find out by entering the Twitter Zone.” Facebook is also great if you want to give Mark Zuckerberg $5-$20 every time you post to ensure your post actually makes it to the public. How can you not love that?!
Urrrrgh, I know. I would ditch Facebook in a heartbeat if I thought I could get away with it. I’ve actively disliked it since late 2007, when I realised that a good chunk of my day was being spent thanking friends-of-friends for sending me imaginary plants. What strange times we live in…
I joined because I thought my family was interested in my work and wanted to keep updated. Oh how wrong I was. Now I just get to be bitter that they never Like any of my posts. Ah modernity…bitterness and imaginary plants. 😟
Ha! Clearly we’re already living in the dystopian future that’s long been a favourite theme of sci-fi writers everywhere. And we haven’t even got hovercars or cheap holidays to Mars to show for our trouble!
Oh, sorry, did no one tell you? “Bitterness” and “imaginary flowers” are future-speak for “hover cars” and “cheap Martian holidays”.
Gaaaah! Right, that’s it… I’m off to live in a cabin in the woods until all this is over. Call me when we get hover cars! (In the meantime, I’ll be tweeting regularly about my experience as a hermit, and posting photos of my turnip garden on Instagram)
Don’t forget to blog about all the forest critters who start talking to you.
But of course! They’re a chatty bunch out here! 🐀🐇🐿🐸
Snapchat? What’s that??? Ok ok I’ll go and check online…
Heehee, good luck… Let me know how you get on! If you find it as bamboozling as I did, I’m think I’m going to start a forum where people can share their “what the hell is going on here?!” Snapchat faces 😆
I’ve only recently started with Facebook and Instagram, yikes, so much to learn! But I love Pinterest , I can spend HOURS on it! I’ve dabbled with Twitter but I’m afraid I cant offer much advice on that one.
There really is so much to learn with all this, isn’t there? It’d almost make you yearn for the days of hand-drawing zines, photocopying them and leaving them lying around in the hopes someone would find them 😆 Good luck in your new social networking homes anyway, I reckon Instagram will work especially well for you – you take such great photos! 😀
Is there anyone out there who knows how to write a letter on paper using a pen? And post it…in a letterbox? It used to be all the rage in my day.
Hahaha! After all this discussion, I’m tempted to go back to retro-networking myself! Now you mention it, The Snail of Happiness is attempting to reclaim her postbox from junk mail and bills by writing real letters – she mentions it here:
https://thesnailofhappiness.com/2016/06/05/not-making-cheese/
What do you all think? Is anyone else up for a return to pen and paper?