I've joined quite a number of social networking sites in the past couple weeks or so, trying to spread word about my writing/books. It's been a very mixed bag so far. I've gotten a decent feel for each of them now and thought I'd spread word about each of them in case anyone out there was curious to give a site other than Facebook, MySpace or Twitter a gander.
DirectFolk.com: This is a fairly inactive site. I've updated my page regularly, with a Facebook-like status and blog posts with excerpts from either my poetry or my smart aleck book. I received two "likes," but haven't seen much activity outside of my own. The only benefit of posting work on the site is that it appears in a Google search. That's about the only plus I see with it, however.
Kiwibox.com: This is very similar to DirectFolk.com. It loads a little faster and there appears to be even less activity on this site than the before-mentioned one, if that's possible. Again, the only benefit I see from this site is work being noticed in a Google search. If you're not wanting to sign up to a great number of social networking sites like I have been to spread word about my writing, I'd probably bypass these first two.
Lafango.com: I'm not completely decided how I feel about this site yet. It's a "talent"-oriented site, where a person can post written work or videos of themselves dancing or singing and the like. Like the previous two sites I mentioned, your work from this site will be noticed via Google search. I have received two comments, one positive and one with a link for me to check out the person's video on the site. That's been all as far as comments are concerned. The crazy thing is I've had over 1,500 views so far on 80 blog posts in just over two weeks, I'd say. That's a very large number of views. I'd definitely recommend this site over either DirectFolk or Kiwibox, but with the few number of comments it appears to generate and that it seems to mainly be an Indian community/site (not that there's anything wrong with that. I just wonder if the majority of members on the site write/make videos of what they're more familiar with culturally and perhaps aren't as cognizant of literature and music from the West), it wouldn't be my first choice either.
Wattpad.com: Like Lafango.com, this is a mixed bag for me. My work has been viewed about 400-500 times, which is solid. I've also received five comments, all positive, which is more than the previous three sites combined. Also, like with the previous three sites, your work can be seen via Google search. The downside to this site is that it's a teenage-dominated community. There is a minority of people ages 21 and up, but the majority are between the ages of 13 and 19. The site is mainly geared toward those younger aspiring authors. That's alright, but it limits the constructive feedback for more adult work and one has to be a bit more careful about adult content. All things considering, though, I'd probably rank this site slightly above Lafango.
Tumblr.com: This is like a hybrid of Blogger and Twitter. I'm not a fan of Twitter and love Blogger. I think Tumblr is a great combination of the two. Like with the other sites, your work is posted in Google searches. I haven't received any comments, but have received many "likes" and "re-blogs" of my posts. The nice thing is, unlike Twitter, you're not limited to 140 characters. You can write blogs just like on Blogger. Yet, you can also "follow" other people's work and likewise, they with you. I still don't know how effective this site has been in spreading word of my writing. I'd definitely rank it above DirectFolk and Kiwibox. Based on the number of responses I've received in one manner or another (likes and re-blogs in this case), I might rank this slightly above WattPad. The forums of WattPad could be effective, but again, with the community being dominated by teenagers, that feature can only do so much on the site, I'm afraid.
ABCTales.com: I haven't been a member of this site for too terribly long. I have received quite a number of views, however and one comment, which was very positive. I think this site has some potential and even in the short duration I've been a member, the site far exceeds DirectFolk and Kiwibox. I have a feeling that, in the end, it will exceed LaFango, WattPad and possibly even Tumblr, but I'll have to wait and see if my prediction comes out to be an accurate one.
GSPoetry.com: As the name of this site should make obvious, it is a site to share poetry. I think I have to rank this site right along side Lafango, if not slightly below. I've received 360 views so far, but only two comments and the comments were very strange. The comments weren't positive, negative or even neutral. These two individuals responded to my poems with poems of their own. Perhaps there's some poetic back-and-forth tradition at the site of which I'm unaware, but I'm not thinking that's the case. As far as poetry sites go, it's not bad, but if you're comparing to writing sites, in general, it wouldn't be my first choice. It's also slow with loading. It is a newer looking site, so hopefully they can speed things up in the future.
AllPoetry.com: Let me get right to the chase. You're a free member for only 3 days. After that you either have to pay money or you can have a max of three posts a day if and only if you give 5 comments per post. So, you'd have to comment on 15 other poems every day in order to reach your maximum output of poems daily. GSPoetry isn't a great site, but it far exceeds this one. There have been far more views on GSPoetry, more comments and the site is more active. I received one comment on this site and it was by someone with very broken English and I honestly didn't understand what was written. I checked out his profile and he is 15. Perhaps it's run by a majority of teenagers, like Wattpad. As far as writing sites go, though, Wattpad is a much better one than AllPoetry.
Litsay.com: Judging by what I see on the site, it's fairly new and has a nice look to it, but after 3 days, I've canceled by account. Like AllPoetry.com, it's not very active yet, although it does seem to be up-and-coming, whereas AllPoetry seems to be going the other direction. I didn't receive many views. It didn't appears as if there was much activity. Also, the commentary was often times rude. I received three comments. One was very positive. The other asked me a series of questions, including, "What is your motive? Why do you write?" Eh... What? The final one was extremely rude, as this woman (the same one asking me the questions in the other comment) basically called me an a**hole. Yes, she used that very word. It was lovely. Not five minutes later, she posted a comment asking me three questions for whatever reason. You know, I can handle constructive criticism, but personal attacks and insults? Eh, no thanks. So, while the site has a nice, modern look to it, I don't think I'd recommend it for a little while yet. I also had problems e-mailing the site. I tried twice and received the mail back not even a minute later, saying it was not deliverable. I also had problems editing my work. Like I said, a new site.
WritersCafe.org: Of all the sites I've listed, this one is my favorite thus far. The only problem I've had with it is it can be slow to load. I've received many views, a good 10-15 comments already and I've put little to no effort into receiving comments. The comments have all been extremely positive, which makes me wonder if that's usually the case. However, there are groups you can join with reviewers whom will make it a point to make mention of the strengths and weaknesses of the work presented to them. It's a pretty modern-looking site, with a wider age range than Wattpad and appears to be quite active. If you're a writer and looking for a way to share your work, receive feedback, spread word about your writing and improving as a writer (via the forums), I recommend this site.
So, here's how I'd rank the 10 sites, with 10 being the worst:
10. Kiwibox.com (D-)
9. DirectFolk.com (D)
8. AllPoetry.com (D+)
7. Litsay.com (C-)
6. GSPoetry.com (C)
5. Lafango.com (B-)
3. Wattpad.com (B)
3. Tumblr. com (B)
2. ABCTales.com (B+) (from what I know thus far...)
1. WritersCafe.org (A-)
Well, I hope that helps some whom either want to get connected to another social networking site or are interesting in joining a site dedicated to writers. Best of luck either way!
DirectFolk.com: This is a fairly inactive site. I've updated my page regularly, with a Facebook-like status and blog posts with excerpts from either my poetry or my smart aleck book. I received two "likes," but haven't seen much activity outside of my own. The only benefit of posting work on the site is that it appears in a Google search. That's about the only plus I see with it, however.
Kiwibox.com: This is very similar to DirectFolk.com. It loads a little faster and there appears to be even less activity on this site than the before-mentioned one, if that's possible. Again, the only benefit I see from this site is work being noticed in a Google search. If you're not wanting to sign up to a great number of social networking sites like I have been to spread word about my writing, I'd probably bypass these first two.
Lafango.com: I'm not completely decided how I feel about this site yet. It's a "talent"-oriented site, where a person can post written work or videos of themselves dancing or singing and the like. Like the previous two sites I mentioned, your work from this site will be noticed via Google search. I have received two comments, one positive and one with a link for me to check out the person's video on the site. That's been all as far as comments are concerned. The crazy thing is I've had over 1,500 views so far on 80 blog posts in just over two weeks, I'd say. That's a very large number of views. I'd definitely recommend this site over either DirectFolk or Kiwibox, but with the few number of comments it appears to generate and that it seems to mainly be an Indian community/site (not that there's anything wrong with that. I just wonder if the majority of members on the site write/make videos of what they're more familiar with culturally and perhaps aren't as cognizant of literature and music from the West), it wouldn't be my first choice either.
Wattpad.com: Like Lafango.com, this is a mixed bag for me. My work has been viewed about 400-500 times, which is solid. I've also received five comments, all positive, which is more than the previous three sites combined. Also, like with the previous three sites, your work can be seen via Google search. The downside to this site is that it's a teenage-dominated community. There is a minority of people ages 21 and up, but the majority are between the ages of 13 and 19. The site is mainly geared toward those younger aspiring authors. That's alright, but it limits the constructive feedback for more adult work and one has to be a bit more careful about adult content. All things considering, though, I'd probably rank this site slightly above Lafango.
Tumblr.com: This is like a hybrid of Blogger and Twitter. I'm not a fan of Twitter and love Blogger. I think Tumblr is a great combination of the two. Like with the other sites, your work is posted in Google searches. I haven't received any comments, but have received many "likes" and "re-blogs" of my posts. The nice thing is, unlike Twitter, you're not limited to 140 characters. You can write blogs just like on Blogger. Yet, you can also "follow" other people's work and likewise, they with you. I still don't know how effective this site has been in spreading word of my writing. I'd definitely rank it above DirectFolk and Kiwibox. Based on the number of responses I've received in one manner or another (likes and re-blogs in this case), I might rank this slightly above WattPad. The forums of WattPad could be effective, but again, with the community being dominated by teenagers, that feature can only do so much on the site, I'm afraid.
ABCTales.com: I haven't been a member of this site for too terribly long. I have received quite a number of views, however and one comment, which was very positive. I think this site has some potential and even in the short duration I've been a member, the site far exceeds DirectFolk and Kiwibox. I have a feeling that, in the end, it will exceed LaFango, WattPad and possibly even Tumblr, but I'll have to wait and see if my prediction comes out to be an accurate one.
GSPoetry.com: As the name of this site should make obvious, it is a site to share poetry. I think I have to rank this site right along side Lafango, if not slightly below. I've received 360 views so far, but only two comments and the comments were very strange. The comments weren't positive, negative or even neutral. These two individuals responded to my poems with poems of their own. Perhaps there's some poetic back-and-forth tradition at the site of which I'm unaware, but I'm not thinking that's the case. As far as poetry sites go, it's not bad, but if you're comparing to writing sites, in general, it wouldn't be my first choice. It's also slow with loading. It is a newer looking site, so hopefully they can speed things up in the future.
AllPoetry.com: Let me get right to the chase. You're a free member for only 3 days. After that you either have to pay money or you can have a max of three posts a day if and only if you give 5 comments per post. So, you'd have to comment on 15 other poems every day in order to reach your maximum output of poems daily. GSPoetry isn't a great site, but it far exceeds this one. There have been far more views on GSPoetry, more comments and the site is more active. I received one comment on this site and it was by someone with very broken English and I honestly didn't understand what was written. I checked out his profile and he is 15. Perhaps it's run by a majority of teenagers, like Wattpad. As far as writing sites go, though, Wattpad is a much better one than AllPoetry.
Litsay.com: Judging by what I see on the site, it's fairly new and has a nice look to it, but after 3 days, I've canceled by account. Like AllPoetry.com, it's not very active yet, although it does seem to be up-and-coming, whereas AllPoetry seems to be going the other direction. I didn't receive many views. It didn't appears as if there was much activity. Also, the commentary was often times rude. I received three comments. One was very positive. The other asked me a series of questions, including, "What is your motive? Why do you write?" Eh... What? The final one was extremely rude, as this woman (the same one asking me the questions in the other comment) basically called me an a**hole. Yes, she used that very word. It was lovely. Not five minutes later, she posted a comment asking me three questions for whatever reason. You know, I can handle constructive criticism, but personal attacks and insults? Eh, no thanks. So, while the site has a nice, modern look to it, I don't think I'd recommend it for a little while yet. I also had problems e-mailing the site. I tried twice and received the mail back not even a minute later, saying it was not deliverable. I also had problems editing my work. Like I said, a new site.
WritersCafe.org: Of all the sites I've listed, this one is my favorite thus far. The only problem I've had with it is it can be slow to load. I've received many views, a good 10-15 comments already and I've put little to no effort into receiving comments. The comments have all been extremely positive, which makes me wonder if that's usually the case. However, there are groups you can join with reviewers whom will make it a point to make mention of the strengths and weaknesses of the work presented to them. It's a pretty modern-looking site, with a wider age range than Wattpad and appears to be quite active. If you're a writer and looking for a way to share your work, receive feedback, spread word about your writing and improving as a writer (via the forums), I recommend this site.
So, here's how I'd rank the 10 sites, with 10 being the worst:
10. Kiwibox.com (D-)
9. DirectFolk.com (D)
8. AllPoetry.com (D+)
7. Litsay.com (C-)
6. GSPoetry.com (C)
5. Lafango.com (B-)
3. Wattpad.com (B)
3. Tumblr. com (B)
2. ABCTales.com (B+) (from what I know thus far...)
1. WritersCafe.org (A-)
Well, I hope that helps some whom either want to get connected to another social networking site or are interesting in joining a site dedicated to writers. Best of luck either way!
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