OMG! OMG!
So you will note a slightly ugly blue "f share" bar below your avatar or below where your avatar would be if you had an avatar.
This represents a tidal shift for YWP. You can now share your pieces, or someone else's for that matter, on your Facebook page. Consider this the BETA version. It seems to work, but then again, you guys tell me in a nano second when something is not quite working according to plan.
The reason this is a tidal shift, of course, is that we no longer publish or share your real names on the site. BUT, if you connect with Facebook, people will be able to connect the real you with the semi-real you.
We figure that some of you want to connect your Facebook world with your YWP writing. We figure some of you may not want to share. The feature is optional. Share if you want. Don't if you don't.
And as some of the comments below attest, we need to get our heads around the concept that someone can come along and post a link to our post on their Facebook page. Seems weird, some say. And I counter that those folks are posting the link because they think your piece is worth reading and want to tell their friends about it.
UPDATE: Perhaps we could have a courtesy: If you share a post of someone else, please send a message to the author that you've done it!
We're trying this out because at YWP we're always looking for ways to bring you more readers. Because that's what writing is all about, no?
Let me know what you think. (And, yes, we will make it look better over time.) And, yes, if this is something that the community doesn't want; or it wants it in another form, we'll do what we can.
gg
P.S. You also have the option of posting a link on your Twitter page, but we suspect that not too many of you are twitterizing.
P.P.S. So what are your thoughts on video/audio commenting? See below. FYI, you can now leave video comments using your computer's Web cam. AND you can just leave an audio comment if you choose a video alternative that does NOT work and you just record sound.
g-squared
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:D
OMG OMG OMG!!!!!!!
This is awesome!!! Thanks GG!!!
(Uh...sorry, I don't have a twitter though...)
♦♦♦♦♦♦video comment
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omg ^_^
This is quite interesting....
Question, though: can other people share our pieces without us giving permission slash knowing about it?
peaches...
yes. they can share one of your pieces on their facebook page. so is that a concern? let's chat about it.
Here's my thought: If someone sees your piece and wants their friends to read it and so shares it on their Facebook, then that brings you more readers. This is already done in a clunkier way when I or someone else posts a link or emails a link to one of your pieces. Fact is, I've done it with a couple of your pieces.
So the question is, is that OK? Should the sharer be asking your permission? Does it seem creepy? Are there some concerns I haven't thought of? Because I think it is OK to share without asking you, particularly since you've already posted it in public. And while you know me, does it change the dynamic if another user does it, perhaps someone you don't know, or if a casual reader of the site does it?
Again, I think it's OK; it's part of the way the Web works. But my priority is you guys; so the floor is yours as it were to express any concerns you might have. And you know I'll think about them ...
cheers
gg
gg...
I definitely understand your perspective about our pieces already being published on the web. But, like Peaches said, it's a little weird because it's Facebook and it just seems so open. When we post on YWP, we're aware of it but if someone posts your piece on Facebook, the writer is out of the shadows about it. I don't know, am I being impractical? Is there a way to ask for the writer's permission?
~Sambo
Translucent Roses
Sambo...
... as I say below, others aren't really posting your piece. They're posting a link. And they do so because they think it's worth reading.
And I'm not sure you're "out of the shadows." Fact is, if someone else posts it, they still won't know who wrote it. Now if you post your own work then you are definitely out of the shadows and, in the past, that's where I've heard some of you say you didn't necessarily want to post your own work to your facebook page. And I certainly understand that; that's why we did it the way we did -- a voluntary button -- share it if you want; don't if you don't.
but I'm open to more discourse. Again, the aim is to get you more readers. While we get 450-750 visitors a day, you could always do with more!
gg
gg...
Oh, I suppose you're right. I guess anonymity isn't so bad. And as you said below, perhaps the person posting could be courteous enough to notify the writer.
~Sambo
Translucent Roses
Facebooking
Oooh I see. I suppose that does make sense... after all, technically more people can see stuff on YWP than on Facebook. I think it's perfectly fine! Definitely not creepy, since the whole thing is meant to be anonymous. And also quite exciting. I agree with what people said below, though, about how people might ask the author if it would be all right with them, just out of courtesy... not mandatory, but especially when someone isn't actually friends slash acquaintances with the author it would be nice just to check.
-G
P.S. I've already gotten used to the blue thingies. :)
P.P.S. VIDEO COMMENTS OMG I will use this far beyond my need to. Are there video posts as well??
GG & Sambo~
I'm with sambo. It seems sort of weird that someone would be able to post something we wrote without our knowledge. I think permission should be asked first, or something of the sort.
The whole idea is really neat, though :)
3guesses...
So to respond more directly, they're not really posting something; they're just posting a link. Yes, they could alert you or send you a message, and maybe that's the way we should do it, but it seems cumbersome.
cheers
gg
re: facebook sharing
Oh! Okay. Well, that makes a bit more sense now that I think about it :) I'd be all right with that. It was the "will-it-be-anonymous?" issue that was getting me. Okay.
...yeah, I can see how it would be cumbersome to have an alert system but I'd sort of like to know if anyone ever posted links to my pieces. Just a thought. *shrugs*
I can understand....
But think about it. Someone is posting your work on their Facebook space because they like it and want to recommend it to their friends. It's not as if they're posting the piece and claiming it as their own; it's just a link. AND, when someone else does it, there is no link to your name. It's still anonymous.
So, for instance, if I see a piece that I think is really powerful and worth reading, and I post it on Facebook, all I'm doing is connecting to another circle of potential readers; they then come, read it and post something on my Facebook.
I confess that I've always wondered about the connection between YWP and Facebook -- a place where you are semi-anonymous posting what you think and feel and experience and imagine and a place where you are not anonymous and the conversation is, well, very different.
But I think we should be linking the two in some way. I really think that what you guys write here is very good and should be seen by many others.
So give it some thought. And again, it's not like someone is stealing anything or claiming it as their own -- they're just brining in some other readers. I still don't see the harm in that. Maybe it's weird because it's such a new and different concept.
But they don't call me Gumby for nothin' Keep your responses coming.
gg
Facebook Posting
I could be getting the wrong impression, but it seems that one of the main concerns is someone posting something on their facebook page and the writer being in the dark about it. Perhaps the posters can post the piece as they like, but the writer is informed of this action? Also, Just because we have a official linking device to facebook up, it doesn't mean that they can now, and couldn't before. People always have the option to link anything if they wish it.
~Porcupine
porcupine...
on the first point, I think writers want to know if someone else is sharing their piece on Facebook. Perhaps, as a courtesy, the sharer could send a message to the author?
on the second point, the official linking device just makes it easier. You are quite right that anyone can link to anything wherever they like now.
cheerio
gg
Bother. I was looking forward
Bother. I was looking forward to commenting by video, but I'm denied access?
I like the new feature. I don't love it - I don't know if I like technology quite that much - but I think it's neat that such things can be done!
Thanks!
Edit: Hurgh, now I can't get the little denied access thing to go away. http://grab.by/3Nbp
-A
Bother. I was looking forward
Bother. I was looking forward to commenting by video, but I'm denied access?
I like the new feature. I don't love it - I don't know if I like technology quite that much - but I think it's neat that such things can be done!
Thanks!
Edit: Hurgh, now I can't get the little denied access thing to go away. http://grab.by/3Nbp
-A
And now I've committed the
And now I've committed the lovely little crime that is double-posting. Wonderful.
-A
For posterity...
...the double posts have a nice haromony.
Aaargh, as you might say. You are so right. I had neglected to double-check the permissions. You should be all set. Give it a try.
I also am monkeying around with the video story feature. I'll post a new announcement soon...
cheerio
gg
video comment
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Looks cool. This is the kind of feature I'll probably use just because I can.
-A
Search engine
Can i suggest something? I've always had a hard time finding specific entries that aren't by the " Writers to read" Do u think u could have a search engine to search for users and entries?
-FrogGirl
I think there's one in the
I think there's one in the top right corner above the Prompts Cloud.
I tried that one, but it
I tried that one, but it turns out it's to search the web.
-FrogGirl
You have to type in your
You have to type in your search term, and then when your results come up, hit "search by user." You should be able to find any blog you want that way.
___________________________________________
"The opposite of war isn't peace, it's creation."
Thanks!!! That helps a lot.
Thanks!!! That helps a lot.
-FrogGirl