re Facebook, etc.

Art is something one does because one can not not do it. The writing of poetry is its own reward, but there comes a time when the need to share it becomes keenly felt, a need rather than a desire. Writing it is a solitary undertaking; it’s a blessing that I love solitude, but too much solitude can become loneliness, an itch that only others can scratch. I’ve been writing poetry nearly all my life. It took me a year or so to organize it all, deleting much of it and rejecting more. Then came the gift of a website, a very time consuming undertaking so that I could share my life’s work by publishing it, so to speak. Facebook seemed to be the most obvious place to attempt to attract readers to my website it so here I am struggling to learn how to use it effectively.

I’ve had a Facebook account for years, but never really used or paid much attention to it beyond scanning the Timeline occasionally. In truth, I didn’t really know how to use it, as primitive as that sounds. I had a couple of friends who would give me a helpful tip from time to time, but it looked like Trial & Error was going to be my most useful teacher. And also, of course, the ubiquitous . . . . for Dummies. That’s harder than it looks. I seem to have a self-diagnosed partial dyslexia. I can read a book a day, but I don’t easily comprehend directions.

I have a fierce pet peeve when it comes to things computer or electronic. No matter how simple they claim to make their guides and manuals their vocabulary always assumes some knowledge that a true beginner just doesn’t have- yet. It’s like starting school in the second grade. So this self-education comes very hard for me – and slowly.

It took me about two weeks to embed my poetry in the website. The site creators really did a wonderful job of making that part of it truly easy for me. And I wrote some exposition that I thought might be useful.

Then came FACEBOOK! The young say how easy it is, how like nothing at all. My mind is not hard wired to deal with it, but I’ve been working hard at it every day and it’s coming along. My progress is slow because it’s new to me. I’ve been making mistakes, of course. Please excuse; I’m learning.

I now have a Personal page and a Promotional page. And I’m a member of 13 Poetry Groups including one of my own, Google+, Poetry, and others. My impetus has been to attract readership to my website. Not realizing the thin line that separates spam from non-spam I got myself suspended from Twitter my first day on that site; they have since forgiven me.

The whole enterprise has been very exciting and rewarding. And a lot of hard work.

The Poetry of
Jack Scott

Notebook

re Facebook, etc.