Metaphorical Spaces on the Internet

The internet is a major source of language change, for funny reasons.

Every social medium or website has its own formatting and limitations, and those change how we write, and even how we speak!

For a long time I was essentially Facebook-only, because I meshed better with the long-format personal posting, and my brain could understand the configuration of a social space in which people who were “friends” could see what I posted. I always imagined that virtual space as a metaphorical living room.

When I first joined Twitter, I had a hard time because I didn’t “speak Twitter.” What were the differences? Well, for one thing, I found the character limit very tricky to cope with. I tend to have long complicated thoughts, ha! I also had a hard time with the idea of a cocktail party the size of the whole world (which was my metaphor for the Twitter space). Small talk, with just the people who you’re connected to, but which can potentially be shared anywhere? What a concept… Over time, I started to understand what it was good for, and the character limit went up, and so I spent some time working on learning Twitter’s language. Then, just as I was starting to get it figured out and figure out how to create threads to untangle my complicated thoughts, it crashed under new management.

The introduction, strengthening, and changing of algorithms on both Facebook and Twitter really hurt my experiences there. I came here to have a living room where I can invite my friends! I came here to talk to the people in my immediate vicinity in this room! But you’re telling me that’s not what happening? Someone is blindfolding the people in my living room? Someone is taking my chitchat and handing it to bad actors? Anyway, I’m no longer on Twitter and don’t miss it. I’m still on Facebook because I do still speak the language and I value the connections I have there.

But my main home base for the past few months has been Bluesky, and it’s my current favorite. As a metaphorical space, I find it’s the most like Old Twitter - a funny thing to say, given that Twitter itself is not that old. It’s the cocktail party model, except that the culture is much more to my liking, and there’s no algorithm standing between me and the people I’m connected with. The culture of blocking there is also very helpful. I can use the language skills I developed for the Twitter space, but I have more room to expound and to create threads. And the way people pass posts on is organic. Lovely. Come find me there (@JulietteWade).

Then there are blogs and websites. I spent years blogging (at talktoyouniverse.blogspot.com if you want to look for my archive) and I really enjoyed it, but now that I’m a professional novelist, I wanted to have an official website. I’ve had them, but I could not for the life of me speak WordPress, and not for lack of trying. I’m so happy to have found a place to host my website where I can actually edit it myself (so I don’t have to bug people) and not feel constantly lost!

So I’m moving my main blogging space here, and hoping to do more both here and on Patreon going forward.

Welcome!

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