why I love social media

Current work: revisions (yeah, I know, still – have I mentioned how much I hate doing revisions?)
Listening to: Beethoven (my box set of the complete symphonies is through, yeehah)
Reading: next on TBR

Social media can be a timesuck, and I’m terrible when I’m procrastinating. (Look away now, dear editor – it’s when the writing isn’t going well that my FB feed is really busy.)

But I see it as being a bit like the water-cooler in the office. It’s my virtual office, because I work from home and I’m here on my own with the dog all day. Every so often, I need a break and a chat. I love it when people recommend a film or book or a piece of music they think I’ll enjoy (note, not touting for business, but people with similar tastes who say, ‘Have you tried this?’). Or swapping recipes. Or sharing beautiful pictures, witty cartoons and the kind of dry, slightly sarcastic humour I like. Especially the stuff with wordplay.

And it really came up trumps for me, this week. It’s been muggy and miserable, and one of my FB friends sent me a link to a website with a cooling gel pillow which she said might work for me and help me sleep. I had a look, rang them up and had a quick chat, and ordered one.

Last night was muggy and miserable. And, for the first time ever, thanks to the gel pillow, I slept through it without having to get up and sit next to a fan for 20 minutes to cool down, then be like a zombie from lack of sleep the next day. So thank you, Kate MacDonald, for recommending something that worked beautifully.

Had it not been for social media, I might not have met Kate – or a lot of other very nice people I know online. (Sure, there are mean people out there, but I believe that everyone’s nice until proven otherwise. Not rosy-tinted glasses, either, because it’s quite rare that people disappoint me by being mean.)

So I’m raising my mug of coffee this morning to social media. And long may it stay that way!