Why I shut down my LinkedIn account

Sent in my year-end review of the magazine and book publishing industry article to Writer's Digest yesterday. I spent most of the weekend immersing myself in publishing news archives, emerged with my head stuffed full of mergers and acquisitions, launchings and closings.

But the main topic of this Blathering is to explain why I have shut down my LinkedIn account.

As some of you may already know, LinkedIn is a business networking system that relies on establishing connections with trusted contacts to expand one's professional network. I joined a few years ago because I was curious and supposed it might be useful. It wasn't; I suspect I'm not in the line of business that best makes use of this sort of service.

Instead, I received an increasing number of requests to connect from people I didn't know or didn't know all that well. During Inkspot, I interacted with hundreds of people I had never met or would ever meet, so I was hesitant about declining straight out in case I had worked with them before. Sometimes I would write back and ask something like, "So, um, how do you know me?" but this was an added hassle and also a bit awkward. Where do you draw the line, after all?

It was also clear to me that some of these requests came from people who didn't know me at all, but were collecting contacts like business cards. The more contacts they had, the less I trusted that these contacts were people they knew. The cartoon at the top of this page is probably a more legitimate basis for a LinkedIn connection that most of connections currently in the system.



I suspect that many in the LinkedIn system DO have at least one person on their list they don't know very well. Which undermines the system, of course, because then what's the point? That ONE person can then link to other people -- may be linking to hundreds of people, in fact, that THEY don't know very well, who also become part of your "network of connections." And then at some point it doesn't become all that different from the so-called Friends list on Myspace, where some users indiscriminately add as many names to their lists as they can, whether they know them or not. This is fine for purely social networks like MySpace, but undermines the whole trusted professional connections idea behind LinkedIn.

I'm sure LinkedIn works for some people; it just isn't worth the hassle for me. Last week I got a request from a total stranger that was forwarded from 3 or 4 connections down the line, asking for advice on how to get an agent. I already get 5-10 requests of this kind a week asking me for advice: how to get an agent, where to send a particular manuscript, how to get published, etc. I admit I have to ignore most of them, or use form letters to respond. There are already so many good resources online answering these types of questions, but it takes take time for me to have to look these up, time I could be spending on my own writing. Although my tendinitis is mostly healed, I still have to be aware about how much typing I do each day. And more than half the time that I do help the person, I never get even a brief "thank you" in return.

So I explained to this stranger that I couldn't really help her, that I got my own agent through a writer friend who had worked with me on my writing. In response, she sent me a request for a LinkedIn connection. I'm sure she's not the only person in the Linkedin network who felt that one brief interaction warranted a "work connection." I declined her connection invitation with an explanation that I only added people I actually knew and was sorry I couldn't accept her invite...but I'm sure many others would have accepted.

As for the woman, I never did get any kind of acknowledgement of my response or thanks for my time. And THAT's where a lot of people miss out on true networking opportunities; if she had responded more politely (responded at ALL), I'd be more likely to remember and be willing to interact with her again in the future.

Anyway, that pushed me over the edge re: deciding whether or not to keep my Linkedin account. If someone who knows me wants a recommendation, it's not all that hard to find my e-mail address. Closer friends and associates know my phone number.



(Above photo: A friend of the family's from Japan, Mabuta, created the above origami out of A SINGLE SHEET OF PAPER as a gift for my sister.)

Home recording studio update:

The MOTU 828 works with my computer, but unfortunately it doesn't have MIDI connections (is that the right term) and is not quite as portable I expected. Epi has very kindly let me borrow the 828 for a week or two while I investigate some other possibilities; I want to compensate him somehow if I don't end up buying his 828. Meanwhile, I'm using it to try adding some flute to Seanan's "Dorothy" track. Holy toledo, is this ever easy to do with Garageband. My only worry is that there's too much background noise on the recording; if I turn the other track off and just listen to flute, I hear a faint hiss. I guess I'll let Seanan's sound engineer try to deal with that (fingers crossed). Or if I decide to opt for another audio interface, I may wait to do the final flute track to see if that helps.

Last night I recorded flute for about a third of the song. I'm experimenting by doing this in bits and pieces. I've created two Real Instrument tracks: one to keep and one to experiment with. Whenever I'm happy with a flute bit I've recorded, I move it up to the Keeper track. This system seems to be working fine so far. :-)



(Above: big raccoon that was trying to get inside our green bin last night. He wasn't afraid of me at all.)

Finished reading a ton of books lately, but I'll post about those in a future Blathering.

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Happy birthday, Ruth!

Happy birthday to my super-talented sister, Ruth!

My sister has illustrated over 40 books for children. Here is her most recent, The Couch Was A Castle, the fifth that she has written AND illustrated:



Check out the "A Ruth Ohi Picture Book" logo...is that cool or what?

A sample spread from the book (click image for a bigger version):



Here's one of the roughs from the book (click image for a bigger version):



You can find out more about this book here.

You can order it from Amazon here.




Ruth was interviewed by the Toronto Star a couple years ago.
(Click on image for bigger version)


My sister did the illustration on the Toronto Public Library children's membership card:



She's been featured on TVO's "Imprint" show:



...and This Is Daniel Cook:



She puts a ton of energy into her talks at schools:



...and public events like Word on the Street:



You can see all my sister's books on Amazon. You can find out more at RuthOhi.com, which I plan to revamp once I know more CSS! Here are 20 Things I Love About My Sister.

What still amazes me: that she manages to juggle a very active motherhood schedule (my nieces both have a ton of before AND afterschool activities) plus her own career. She works harder than anyone I know.

Check out this sample page from her calendar:



AND she still finds time to work out, cook dinner, have quality time with her family, talk with me when I need a listening ear. I feel incredibly lazy compared to her; she's always been an inspiration to me.

I have the coolest sister in the world.




Above: Ruth and Jim, many years ago.

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It's a Nanowrimo day

I've updated He's Dead, Jim! with my report for Where No Man Has Gone Before. Before the more acute of you (I originally wrote "anal types" but I decided to be more tactful :-) get on my case...yes, I know Frank Poole wasn't the one to say this line to HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey (it was his partner, Dave Bowman), but I figured the reference still worked. Don't forget that you add this feed if you're on LJ (thanks again for setting this up, Rob!).

Big news on the home recording studio front: I have a MOTU 828! Well, almost. "Epi_lj" and I rendezvoused on a street corner yesterday afternoon after LJ-ing and e-mailing about an 828 he was thinking about selling on eBay until he read about my dilemma in Blatherings. I felt so covert, as if we were exchanging contraband; I found myself wishing I owned a trenchcoat. Anyway, I met Epi (not his real name, obviously) at a Toronto Nanowrimo get-together some years ago, and we've been keeping in contact via LJ ever since.

Anyway, Epi is kindly letting me try out the 828 to see if it works with my computer before I pay him. Jeff's going to help me test it out this weekend...please keep your fingers crossed for me! I'm SO excited about this!! If this works, it means I can start recording on my laptop; I'd be using Garageband (which can record up to 8 tracks at once, by the way, not 2). It means I can add a flute track to Seanan's CD. It means I don't have to rely on the tinny little mike built into my laptop. It means possible other recording projects. Lots of potential musical goodness!




The Nanowrimo where I met Epi, by the way, was the one where I also wrote the rough draft of the same novel that is currently out there, hopefully being accepted by a publishing house even as I type.

And while we're on the topic of Nanowrimo, looks like I'll be doing some cartoons during November for the Nanowrimo Web site. Look for an announcement on the site about this next month! I won't be participating in Nanowrimo this year myself; I want to focus on my existing writing projects.

I'm hoping to check out The Word On The Street tomorrow. It's been six years (!) since I had my own booth at Word on the Street, for Inkspot.

Hey, has anyone out there used BookMooch? I found out about this from an Inside The Net podcast. Sounds like a fun to way to get rid of old books and get new ones, so I'm going to try it out. I did try Bookcrossing, but I never heard of any of my books being picked up (at least no one filled out the online form for them) and I kept imagining the books being dumped in the trash at the end of the day. At least with BookMooch, the recipients actively WANT the books. I'll let you know how it goes.




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More TVstuff

Hey all. After seeing some of the comments posted in LJ, I thought I should clarify yesterday's Blathering:

- I actually do NOT believe that TV is the work of the devil.

- There IS such a thing as good TV programming.

- Indulging in "bad" TV once in a while won't melt your brain.

My post was focused on Jeff's and my choice to go without cable tv for a while and the resulting benefits thus far, NOT an exhortation for the rest of you to do the same or a condemnation of those who don't.

I enjoyed reading about some of you who have been through similar experiences, by the way. Especially fifona's:

"About a year after we got married we decided to give up TV completely, thinking we would spend more time together, be more active, and read a lot more books. The money we saved on the TV Licence (a British phenomenon I'm not sure you have) was quickly spent on magazine subscriptions more than books, we spent more time going to evening classes for our own individual rather than shared interests and then....umm.... then we had a baby!

So all in all, it was not quite the outcome we expected! :-D"



Speaking of good TVstuff, check out Tanya Huff's announcement about a yet-untitled TV series based on her Blood books; looks like casting's been finalized. Here's the IMDB listing using "Blood Ties" as a temporary title. Christina Cox plays Vicki, Kyle Schmid plays Henry and Dylan Neal is playing Mike Celluci. Woohoo, how cool is that?

Aw geez. I wish I could just subscribe to the Space Channel...

If you haven't read Tanya's Blood Books, by the way, you can now order them in collections from Amazon:







I have no idea why that last book has a smaller image on Amazon and I'm too lazy to re-size it.

Anyway, I LOVE this series; it's creepy, sexy and funny at the same time. Totally engrossing reads, and I love Tanya's writing style throughout. Hey, and you can buy the first collection for just US$7.99 from Amazon! That's an incredible deal, considering it's a collection of two books. Far cheaper than paying for a movie ticket these days, and you're also much more likely to enjoy yourself.

But I digress.

Check out the e-mail I got yesterday:

--

From: Heather Teta
Date: Sep 21, 2006 3:10 PM
Subject: ABC seeks families of filkers! $20,000!

Dear Sir or Madam,

I'm a Casting Producer with ABC Television and we're looking for great families who share a love science fiction or fantasy art, music, movies and television. We're looking for families who love sci-fi so much that they create their own music, stories or comic books together in that genre. We're looking for those creative families that attend conventions or gatherings – whether to perform together or to watch other talented filkers at work. We're looking for families who march to the beat of their own drum – families who are creative, quirky and fun. We're looking for those fun, larger than life characters who aren't afraid to be different.

We're currently casting for ABC's hit family show, 'Wife Swap!' Please don't be confused by the title - "Wife Swap" is a family show on ABC primetime. The premise is simple: two moms from two very different families get the opportunity to swap lives (but not bedrooms - everyone has their own!) for a week to experience what it's like to live a different lifestyle - and to see what they can teach each other about their own! In this case we're looking to feature creative families with unique interests and hobbies - and all the fun that goes along with it. I would greatly appreciate you forwarding my information on to any of your family members, friends, and associates who might be interested in sharing their lives with us for a week!

All featured families will receive a $20,000 financial honorarium - and $1000 goes to anyone who refers a family that makes it on the show! We are looking for two parent families with children (between the ages of 5 and 18) who are ready for adventure! I appreciate your assistance in reaching out to these great families and look forward to hearing from you soon!

Best,

Heather Teta
Heather Teta| Casting Producer | ABC Television - Wife Swap

--

Apparently others in the filk and other fannish communities received this letter or one very much like it as well. This SO looks like a "hey, let's make fun of how weird sf fans can be" episode. I'm sure they'll find someone, but so far it looks as if all my fannish friends plan to stay far away from this.



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20 months without cable TV

Jeff has introduced me to the TV series, "Rome." Some GREAT writing here. Good thing, too, else I'd be way too turned off by all the gore to keep watching. Jeff and I both love relying on DVDs rather than TV; we've been without cable TV for 20 months now, and neither of us miss it. I estimate we watch about 1-3 hours of movies and/or recorded TV shows a week at most...FAR less than back when we had cable.

I admit there are times when I feel a wistful twinge, especially when some of my favourite shows start their new seasons, knowing I have to wait. I get used to hearing the occasional spoiler of shows that haven't come out on DVD yet.

But y'know, so far I've found the payoff well worth it.

I'm doing a lot more reading, as I've mentioned before. And learning new skills. Right now, I'm learning Quickbooks and XHTML. Quickbooks because I've finally come around to the fact that I need to be more organized about my finances; my freelance income has also been climbing, which helps with the motivation. I bought Quickbooks For Dummies at Chapters/Indigo earlier this week because it seems geared toward my level. :-)

As for XHTML...as I mentioned in Technonerdgirl recently, I find that the more I learn about CSS, the more I realize I need to learn about other stuff as well. Like XHTML. I'm determined to clean up my messy hackwork HTML code! Right now I'm working through an XHTML tutorial on Lynda.com as well as continuing a tutorial on CSS Design. I watch bits at a time, whenever I take an arm break.



I'm also using non-TV time (time I used to spend watching TV in the old days) to do more music. Did some more work on my Chocolate song last night. I'm starting to transcribe the five vocal parts in Finale. A bit tricky, since I'm also learning how to use Finale at the same time...the old version of Finale (which won't run on my new machine) had a VERY different user interface.

Another bonus of avoiding TV is that it gets me off my butt! I sit all day in front of the computer, after all. Now I do more running after work, working in the garden, taking walks. Some days it's tougher to get exercise than others, particularly when I haven't been exercising in a couple days in a row (funny how exhausting not moving around can be).

Still no word from the publisher about my novel, but I'm plowing ahead with other writing projects meanwhile. My "2006 overview of the book and magazine industry" article for Writer's Digest magazine is due next week. I finally decided to splurge and subscribe to Publisher's Weekly. I've been resisting for a long time because of the hefty subscription fee, but so far it's been SO worth it. For more details on why I finally decided to subscribe, see my Will Write For Chocolate blog post (below the comic strip).

Life's good right now, and I'm grateful. Yay, and I get to see my friend Luisa today!



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