[Armchair BEA] Day 2: Social Media

Social Media
How do you use social media to expand your blogging/writing horizons?  Social Media is all about networking and connections, and utilizing today’s technology to the fullest.  Make sure you mention your own social media pages. Do you have another blog, maybe a Tumblr? Have a Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook? Or maybe there’s an underrated social media program that you like.

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Wow, where to begin? The interwebs has become a lifeline to me, although that sounds pretty terrible. In the blogosphere, however, it is extremely important to use social media. Because dude, where else are you going to rant, rave, and yell (type) your thoughts out? 

I’m not exactly sure where to go with this prompt, so I’m just going to type whatever comes in my mind.

Let’s rewind six hundred years back, when Gutenberg just created the first printing press. The impact it made was so enormous that it’s literally the first thing we learn about in history class today. How else was the Protestant Revolution able to affect the church so much? This way, the same information can be distributed to people around the country. Humanity is one step closer to a more integrated society where people can hear thoughts from thousands of miles away. But seriously, it would have been so much easier to just email a copy of 95 Theses to everyone.

Okay so bring that to three hundred years back, where our Founding Fathers wrote up the US Constitution after months of labor on what to write in it. You know what would have made that easy? Using a Google doc for suggestions and editing. 

Finally, the advertisement of books through social media has allowed people to broaden their horizons. My homeboy Poe may not have been so popular during his time, but a click of a retweet button could have made more people aware of his works.

Although I can’t understand Luddites, I certainly respect their decision to not use machinery or technology (ya know, whatever’s groovy for them). However, I believe it is integral to the book market today. Readers can connect with authors, editors, and publishers to get a clue on what goes on beyond the books. Readers can connect with other readers and discuss the things they love and hate and everything in between.
In the end, it all comes down to reading and sharing the things you like. Who are we to take away this happiness from people?

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So what do you think about technology? I think I’m in the majority for this topic, but if you’re not cool with social media, then I’d love to hear why! 

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Ah yes! Links to my own social media sites for blogging:

Twitter | Instagram | Tumblr | BlogLovin’ (I’m not even sure how to use this?) | Pinterest (laughs because I don’t use this at all)

[Armchair BEA] Day 1: Introduce Yourself

Hey guys!

So, being in the book community these days have been a little overwhelming because of Book Expo America, or BEA. It’s THE PLACE to go to for any book blogger, reviewer, author, or agent to go to, from what I gather. The hype on Twitter as well as blogging sites have made it seem irresistable to me, so how could I not feel a little envious?

Thank God that just yesterday, I came upon the jewel Armchair BEA. This sounds a bit cheesy, but I think that this is a great idea for the many bloggers like me who feel left out of the fun going on in New York (where BEA is)! I don’t have real life blogging friends either (nor many close online ones), so I’ve decided to step out of the zone and do a little more things I haven’t done before. Armchair BEA being one of them.

The hosts for this online conference have given some questions to anwer, so I’d love to share mine and read yours!

Tell us a bit about yourself:

How long have you been blogging?

I started this blog around spring of 2014, I believe. However, my friend and I (the co-blogger in the About Me page) weren’t really involved in the blogosphere. We usually just put up our own opinions and reviews and never tried to connect to other people.

However, in December 2014, I started picking up this blog. Now it’s just me running it, but I’m also starting to reach out to other bloggers. Reading is what gets me going through life, and I hope I can spread that love to other people.

Where are you from?

Florida! Land of sunshine and oranges and old people.

How did you get into blogging?

There’s actually a story behind that!

This blog came up the day that Jessica Brody, Jessica Khoury, Anna Banks, Christina Farley, and some other lady authors went to my high school and introduced their books.

You see, before that happened, I was a little disconnected with books. Although I spent my middle school career in the media center, when I entered high school and got inundated with classes, new friends, and a new environment, my book-reading teetered to a stop. When these super nice authors came to my school though, my interest got revamped and One Way Or An Author came to be.

What does diversity mean to you?

Diversity is my life. 

Not to be dramatic or anything, haha. I’m an ABC, or American Born Chinese – first generation. This makes diversity a major part of my life. I grew up reading about caucasian characters my age going through adventures in America. And while I love reading about my favorite wizard or demi-god, there has always been a feeling of discontent about the lack of representation in children/young adult literature.

Why aren’t there any Asian characters?

How come the main characters are always white?

If this book takes place in Egypt, where is the culture?

I’m not saying there aren’t books out there with non-white characters, but they’re never as exposed.

Fortunately, this has changed with awesome campaigns like We Need Diverse Books and more and more people realizing that there are WORLDS out there that literature has not explored yet.

What is your favorite genre and why?

Fantasy, hands down.

I read to escape from my life, and the amalgam of different worlds in fantasy books provide the kind of escape I’m looking for.

That’s it for me! If you leave a comment or link up your own introductory post, I would be happy to read it. Thanks for stopping by!