Kranz On Copy: Insights and answers on copywriting and writing copy

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So I've finally taken the plunge -- with a profile and page on Facebook. (Right from the get go, I'm confused: Should I have one OR the other? Or both? Damned if I know. So I've made the lazy man's move and have both.)

But here's the thing. I've been reading about social media for months (seems like years). I've read numerous posts and articles insisting that it's the way to go. It's what's now, man. It's what everyone talks about on The Daily Fix where I occasionally post.

Yet none of the hype inspired me. Then just this Tuesday, I had a five minute conversation with Mike Steltzner of WhitePaperSource in which he very convincingly persuaded me of the value, nay, the virtual necessity of having a virtual networking presence.

So yesterday I signed up with Facebook.

So here's the thing I promised three paragraphs ago: It took a real live conversation with a real live person to convince me of the value of having virtual conversations through virtual networks. Trippy, huh?

So what does this suggest? Two things, I suspect. One, a strong online presence is too important to neglect. Two, virtual networking does not replace the power of the real thing.

Give me flesh and blood. But until then, feel free to introduce yourself to me in bits and bytes.

Labels: Facebook, social media

My wife, Eileen, is an excellent writer. After years of teaching at Boston College and publishing short stories in literary magazines, she's now working on novels for the young adult market.

A couple of weekends ago, she participated in a rigorous, one-day workshop teaching writers how to position their work to agents and publishers. Although she got encouraging feedback, Eileen came home weary.

"It feels like starting from scratch all over again," she said of this new world of agents and this new market she wanted to enter. "Why, after so many years of experience, does it have to be like this?"

I could certainly sympathize. Starting my business was difficult. And with each new phase -- launching a newsletter, creating a website, exploring new industry markets, expanding my service offerings -- I've always felt like greenhorn stumbling through unfamiliar terrain, trying to hold my own among people I was certain had more experience, expertise and wisdom.

In short, I felt weak. Exposed. And I suspect that many of you out there who have started new ventures have experienced something similar.

So I said to Eileen that maybe that's the price we pay for being creative. In exchange for the opportunity to pursue something new, something we haven't tried before, we expose ourselves to risk. To making mistakes and miscalculations. Maybe, even, to some foolishness. Certainly we make ourselves vulnerable.

And that, I think, is the rub. Article after article, book after book, seminar after seminar exhort people to explore, to expand, to be more creative. But after all this ink and air, have we really seen any great increase in creativity or creative thinking? Not really. And I don't think it's from lack of intellectual ability or innate talent, per se. It's because creativity comes with a cost most of us would prefer not to pay.

Show of hands: Who wants to be the newbie? The fool? The awkward rookie? Especially when youth is water that has long since passed under your bridge? Especially when you have an identity -- as a parent, community leader, business founder or accomplished professional -- that you want to protect within the armor of "wisdom"?

Doing something new is scary. I tip my hat to those of you out there who aren't afraid to shiver a little. Or to look a little silly. Yours is the kingdom of the creative.