Monday, October 22, 2012

Chocolate Chip Cookies & Social Media






Those of you who've known me for awhile understand my favorite foods are chocolate chip cookies and a glass of milk (for dunking, of course). A friend told me about the whole food way of eating recently, and I was impressed. Unfortunately, the aforementioned treats do not appear on this diet.

My initial trips to the grocery store yielded few purchases, and I walked out in a daze. What do I eat? Words like, "gluten free, organic, and natural," chased me down the aisles and left this bargain hunting champ suffering from major sticker shock.

Little by little, I'm learning the ropes. Organic meats (no hormones, additives, natural feed) go into my cart. My grocery store marks them down on Monday mornings. You gotta be quick to get the deals. Organic veggie omelets grace my table 3 times a week, and raw nuts and carrots are new snacks.

But...let's not get crazy here. The milk and cookies stay. Period.

As a writer, I'm not quite so adventurous with Social Media. I took to blogging like a chocoholic is drawn to Godiva, but Twitter, My Space, Good Reads, Facebook, and Pinterest nearly sent me over the edge. A friend dragged me kicking and screaming onto Facebook. It took some deep breathing, but I've adjusted. My Twitter account rarely chirps these days, and they send me, "We've missed you," messages.

Maybe someday I'll join Pinterest and Good Reads. Maybe someday I'll go the full whole foods route and leave all things chocolate chip behind.

Maybe.

BTW: Diane Estrella, from That's What I'm Here For, is featuring me on her blog today. :)

Writers: What Social Media outlets strike fear in your hearts?

Readers: Have you connected with writers on Social Media (other than blogs)? What resources do you use to discover new authors/books?


23 comments:

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Susan .. I have (now) to get on social media .. learn those skills - something I've been avoiding ... it'll be interesting to see how it goes - having some idea I guess helps ... which means my hanging around in the background has had its advantages ..

Cheers Hilary

Marja Verschoor-Meijers said...

Oh Susan, I'll hop over to Diana's in a moment, she is doing an excellent job with her meet-n-greet!
Social media, you gotta control it, because it can be so overwhelming. I use Blogger, FB and Twitter most, also LinkedIn.
Anyway, as long as you control your craving for cookies, you should be fine ;)

Linda O'Connell said...

Sometimes I can lose myself on social media sites. It can be too time consuming. But those chocolate chip cookies, yum. I'm with you!

Karen Lange said...

Hopping over to Diane's! :)

Jessica Nelson said...

Pinterest scares me. I'm NEVER going over there. LOL

Loved your interview at Diane's and I'm so glad you're not getting rid of the chocolate chip cookies. lol

Diane Estrella said...

Social media takes up so much time. They all do seem to have their own flavor and rules to them. Hope your week is wonderful! :O)

Cindy R. Wilson said...

I'm like you! Blogging was fun and easy for me to understand. I still do it. Facebook eventually grew on me but I still don't use it much. Twitter scares me. I look at Pinterest but I'm not a member or whatever you call it. GoodReads kind of scares me too. Some of it's because of the time issue on these and others because I just don't know how well I'll be able to navigate them. I've got my plate full enough anyway!

Jean Fischer said...

Hi, Susan. You know me and social media, not much about it scares me.

I've made more friends on Facebook than I have blogging. I hopped on the Twitter bandwagon years ago, but haven't been active there lately. I'm on LinkedIn, which is a great way to connect with others in the publishing industry, and I've just recently joined Pinterest, which I love for gathering ideas and as another venue for my blog posts.

Heading over to Diana' now.

Blessings,
Jean

Nancy said...

All of the social media frighten me to some degree. I use Facebook and there are two or three of my readers with whom I like to interact when I can. This lets me learn more about them personally, if I desire that.

Loree Huebner said...

I love blogging, fb, and twitter. I just don't have time for much more.

I know I'm probably missing out, but I would never get any writing done...

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Hilary - I think you'd enjoy Facebook. It's growing on me. :)

Hi Marja - I get the Costco gourmet chocolate chip cookies. They're big enough that one satisfies me.

Hi Linda - Time is always an issue for me. Most of my social media centers around blogging.

Hi Karen - See you there!

Hi Jess - LOL! My friend, who dragged me onto Facebook, showed me Pinterest. I get the distinct feeling she wants company over there.

Blessings,
Susan :)

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Diane - Thanks so much for having me at your blog. Yes, I like Facebook much better than Twitter.

Hi Cindy - I'm with you on the Twitter thing. All those hashtag things are confusing.

Hi Jean - Yes, we met on Facebook. It was worth going on for that alone, my friend. :)

Hi Nancy - Facebook has driven a lot of traffic to my blog. It's also been valuable connecting with my family.

Hi Loree - Yes, I could stay on here for hours and sometimes do!

Blessings,
Susan :)

DenaNetherton said...

Hi Susan, I like to use Facebook and Twitter. I find out about writers and readers from their posts.And of course, linking my blog to FB brings me new readers.

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Dena,

Facebook brought quite a few people to my blog as well. I can't seem to get with Twitter.

Blessings,
Susan :)

Unknown said...

You're too funny Susan! There ARE some things we just have to draw the line on right?! And chocolate is a good place to begin.

Social media definitely has its place, but I haven't ventured onto Pinterest or made any use of my Good Reads account. Not sure how to squeeze in more time for these! God bless! :)

Sarah Forgrave said...

LOL, Fun post, Susan. I've left Twitter to chirp by itself too. :) And I agree...Under no circumstances should chocolate chip cookies get the boot.

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Maria -

I've cut way back on chocolate, but I figure a few chips keep me happy.

Hi Sarah - Twitter keeps sending me, "We Miss You Notices." LOL. They'll just have to do without me.

Blessings,
Susan :)

Terri Tiffany said...

I love love Facebook and spend most my time there but don't like Twitter much or any of the others. As to blogging, it has gone way down for me.

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Terri -

I prefer Facebook to Twitter. Cutting back to two posts per week lessened the pressure with blogging.

Blessings,
Susan :)

Kathleen said...

You crack me up! Anyone who is wise enough to make cookies & milk a pivitol part of their lives is a one smart cookie. :)

I both love & hate social media. I'm a Facebook visitor, mostly because it's such a good vehicle to staying connected to our grands, as well as our friends in Arizona. I'm not much for Twitter and all that other stuff. And now & then I actually send a text (so my grandkids think I'm smart).

And then there's the blogosphere, which is a hit & miss with me ...

Blessings,
Kathleen

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Kathleen,

LOL! One of these days I'm going to give a character a serious love for milk and cookies.

I guess it's no secret that blogging is my favorite form of social media with Facebook coming in second.

Blessings,
Susan :)

JD said...

Susan:

I have to get a'moving on the social media bandwagon. I'm on Blogger and Facebook, but not Twitter or anywhere else. In fact, I had to cut back my Facebook-addiction because that site can be a time-vacuum, so I'm not ready at this point to add any more social media sites. But I'll add them on as I see fit in my life, I'm sure. ;-)

I left a comment on your Meet & Greet over at Diane's. Great to get to know you better!

Be well...

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Janette,

Thanks for stopping by. Yes, I can get lost for hours on blogs and Facebook. It takes a lot of self-discipline to limit my time on social media.

Blessings,
Susan :)