I’m debating whether to close one or both accounts — About three years ago I bought my first and so far only smartphone. Why? Because I’d read that Instagram was one of the best places to market a business. I had just returned to online bookselling and wanted more exposure. But I could not post on Instagram without a smartphone…

Memories, photo-sharing, and armchair travel can be addicting — For the uninitiated, Flickr is an international photo-sharing site. I first joined at some point before Yahoo acquired Flickr and insisted that members have Yahoo email addresses. I had an ATT email account. It ended in sbcglobal.net, rather than containing att. Somehow Yahoo acquired all those ATT accounts, but their…

Writing a personal letter is like stuffing yourself into an envelope to pay a visit. A Facebook post is like waving at someone. — From the time I was a teen until my forties, the mailman’s visit was the highpoint of my day. Back then mailmen (and they were men) walked their routes, carrying their mailbags or wheeling them along. The mailman delivered personal letters from people you knew or bills you needed to…

It will only help people take advantage of you and those you love — Dear Friends and Family, I do enjoy looking at your inspirational or funny emails and Facebook posts. I read them and am inspired and happy you thought of me. Sometimes I get a much-needed laugh. But then I get to the last section. That’s where you lay the guilt trip…

When I joined Instagram to help promote my blogging business, I never expected it to provide so many learning opportunities — I Joined Instagram for Business, Not Pleasure I bought my first smartphone because I wanted to be able to post to Instagram. I had heard it was a good way to promote a business. I didn’t want to be left out. I’ve now been active there for four months. I’ve done very little to promote my blogging…

Here’s what stopped me from sharing a post I just read. — Are You Unintentionally Offending Your Readers? I read your post all the way through. I cheered most of the way through it. I kept thinking I wanted to share it. Until I got to one sentence. And then I changed my mind. Your post was not really about politics. It was about good communication. But you…

How to find your way around a new platform and make the right friends — A social media revolution? MeWe and Parler are new social media platforms that want to compete with Facebook and Twitter. Will they succeed anytime soon? I hope so. MeWe looks and functions a lot like Facebook now — something it did not when I first joined. …

Here’s why — Why I Joined Facebook: The Good When I joined Facebook around 2008 it was because I wanted to connect with old friends I’d lost track of and distant family and friends I rarely get to see. Maybe you joined for the same reason. It’s fun to see who my ex-students became, who they married, and what…