Month: May 2024

Posted on

Now You See Me

I was googling myself recently (bear with me, it was for a thing) and realised that I’m nowhere to be found. Well, not exactly nowhere, but you have to do some serious digging before you find me. I’ve been blogging and updating Shedwriting for almost four years, so I suppose I was kind of hoping it would show up somewhere in the blank, inter-web space. Maybe in the New York Times’ list of ‘Great Three-minute Reads’, or ‘Ones to Watch for 2024’ or some such. One of the main problems is that the original voice of ‘Siri’ is also called Susan Bennett. Any search result with my name inevitably brings up this smiling American lady. Who is not me at all. 

This lack of online presence is, of course, self-inflicted. Deep down I’m quite shy and private. I’ve always chosen to eschew Facebook (too adware) and Instagram (too data-miney) so when the time came to step into the online light and launch my website and blog, I chose to dive all in and started a Twitter account too. Since early 2021 I’ve worked hard to curate a lovely, engaged and supportive writerly following, from all over the world, who gently support my small wins and softly commiserate when it all gets too much. The Twitterverse is sadly undergoing a billionaire bash. The little blue bird has gone and in its place is a stark, sharp, black ‘X’. It’s awful. Musk is stomping heavy boots over precious places and I’m annoyed (and powerless). I’m trying to keep my small corner going and some of my followers are sticking it out too. It’s just more time-consuming to trawl through the hateful stuff and lots more work to block weirdos (I’ll not go into detail, but most of them aren’t wearing very much).

Which leads me to the conclusion that staying under the radar is probably wise. The more traction a post or piece gains, the more you lift your head above the parapet – and be warned, there are many people standing armed and ready to take aim and fire. It hurts out there.

So since it doesn’t make sense to send beloved words into the world only to have no-one at all see them, I’ll probably have to learn more about Search Engine Optimisation, and Tags, and other ways to bring an audience to my website. But I definitely plan to keep it small. Small but perfectly formed (like my Shed Email chums – you know who you are).

The last few years of putting stuff out there has shown me how to be courageous and visible, but it’s also shown me how it feels when no-one notices, and how it feels when too many notice. A fine balance – that’s the aim. Who’s with me?

Posted on

The Good Old Days

Are you glued to your smart phone with endless doom-scrolling and messages and notification beeps? Do you wish you could switch off once in a while and go back in time – that magical time when phones were, well, just phones?

Turns out Gen Z, as ever, can teach us a thing or two. Apparently they’re leaving smart phones behind and choosing instead a ‘dumb phone’ – you know the ones, little clicky buttons, maybe a cheeky flip screen, too. The idea is to give their heads a break from incessant scrolling, or always being available. Imagine, they say, being able to have a cup of coffee, look out the window, and (shock) NOT TAKE A PHOTO. Goodness. 

It all sounds rather blissful to an old Luddite like me. But it’s a bit complicated. Without the little piece of technology in our hands we really don’t know anything. Where is that new cafe? No idea. Have you heard about the war / election / funny cat video? Nope. What’s your best mate’s phone number? Um, it starts with zero seven, I think? The technological revolution has indeed made the smart phone its epicentre. The world now revolves around these small, handheld devices: communication is via WhatsApp, even car parks use Apps, and without Google Maps we’d all be (quite literally) lost. It’s a bit sad, somehow. And here’s a scary thought – maybe our brains are changing too.

Gen Z are onto something, for sure, but I’m not sure the world will let them get away with it. Or maybe another revolution is on its way? After all, going backwards isn’t always a bad idea. To play my part, I’m turning off notifications, limiting social media (I’m only on Twitter but still, the scrolling and cat videos take their toll) and starting the day with my poetry book (or Calvin and Hobbes, depending on my mood). Everything in moderation as they say. Balance is all.