Platform Building. It does sound like something the oil industry might do, but, to no one’s surprise, it’s de rigueur these days if you want to have a shot at making it as a writer. Whether it’s actually a prerequisite for writerly success, I have no idea. After all, writerly success still eludes me. But when you comb through reputable sites dispensing advice for aspiring writers, platform comes up sooner rather than later. So what is it?
From what I’ve gleaned, platform is a catch-all term for how you present yourself on the interwebs. And that you have to present yourself, curate your persona, and become a brand, hardly anyone seems to doubt.
So where does that leave introvert, privacy-obsessed nerds like me? Between a rock and a hard place, I’ve often argued. More recently, I’ve come to the conclusion that nobody gives a shit about my feelings. Just because I don’t like the idea of social media doesn’t mean that I can opt out completely.
Even people who love their jobs don’t love every single aspect of it. I guess I’ll just have to “suck it up, snowflake”. So I’m currently reframing the problem and giving myself an attitude adjustment in the process. Once you shift your mindset and regard social media not as something that you have to do or should do, but as something that lets you build connections with other people, all of a sudden, things don’t look so daunting anymore.
So now it becomes a matter of balancing privacy, discoverability, reach, and personal preference.
The serious privacy issues rule out Facebook and its satellites for me. There’s no way I’m throwing my data into that company’s insatiable maw and ethically questionable business model. If this makes me a paranoid luddite, so be it. I’ve been called worse.
All right. Deep breath. On to the next point: Discoverability. If I’m going to use social media at all, I want to make it worth the trouble. So I need reach as well as a place where potential audiences hang out.
And then there’s personal preference. I’m not going to go in front of a microphone or post videos, which rules out certain platforms. Also, I put constraints on time spent on social media as well as on access. You won’t find any social media apps on my phone, so my access is limited to the times when I’m at the computer as well as the times that aren’t blocked off for focused work (or fun things like hanging out with friends or family, or less fun things like chores and errands).
All of these considerations put together leave me with Twitter as my one and only social media presence.
The bulk of my efforts at platform building is directed towards my website. For one, the content I put here takes more time to develop. Focusing my efforts here makes sense because my website is a space that I fully control (yeah, as I’ve already established, I’m a control freak). No arbitrary company decision can freeze my account or change the rules on me. If I don’t like my web host’s decisions, I’ll just take my content elsewhere.
So I have this website with static elements like my contact information and some basic information on who I am as a writer. And then there’s the active part. My blog, which I prefer to call my Musings. Because that’s what the are. My thoughts on writing and reading and productivity and life in general. And a modest newsletter that people who find value in what I have to share can subscribe to.
So here we go. Platform. Not a big platform and not an elaborate platform, but a format that’s sustainable and doesn’t take too much time away from what I enjoy most: Writing stories.