Have you ever watched the Inspector Gadget cartoon as a child? I was always amazed at the arsenal of research and other spying gadgets he had to help him catch the bad guys. But he always seemed to have a hard time figuring out how to efficiently use all those things. Just when he needed a particular thingamajig to pop out from under his hat, something always seemed to go wrong and Inspector Gadget would deal with an unknown tool that he didn't quite know what to do with.
That's what I feel like sometimes. I know I'm in the 21st century where everyone has five or six different electronic gadgets dangling from ears or fingertips, but I still stumble over trying to keep up with everything that's out there. Thank goodness for my techno savy son or I wouldn't be able to access the internet on my new iPhone. I'm pretty good with making my way around the Mac laptop he gave me a few years ago when he decided to trade it in for a newer model, but I never did get the hang of the iPod gift that is now collecting dust in a drawer somewhere.
He also gave me a Kindle when he wanted to step up to an iPad. Unfortunately, the iPad idea never really materialized for him, and now I have a Kindle for the past two years that I have opened maybe once. I think I would rather enjoy this particular gadget...that is if I could ever find the time to figure out actually how it works and then I'm afraid my REAL books would get jealous to find my nose buried in a VIRTUAL one.
Writers these days have so many ways to stay in touch with their audience. In addition to all the electronic "toys" to make them available to the world, they also have Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, and a ton of other social media avenues to connect with those readers out in cyberspace. I think Inspector Gadget's head would explode if he had to keep up with all that is out there today.
Who knew things would be so challenging in today's world of electronic gadgets? The only problem I see is that I never aspired to be a super hero. I just wanted to write a book...
I am a 19th century person who loves books. Real paper and ink books. One of my favorite movies is Fahrenheit 451. Four hundred fifty-one is the temperature at which paper burns. To me, it is a horror movie because the idea of destroying a book is abhorrent to me. But I agree that electronic gadgets do help authors get their stories to more people faster. I just don't look forward to the day when I am dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century. I concede to electronics for your blog, unless you are willing to hand write it and mail it to me....
ReplyDeleteI commend your willingness, Janet, to step into the 21st century long enough to read my blog...lol. Even though my readership thus far can only be counted in the slight hundreds, I don't think I could do a daily blog AND mail it out to every follower. I think my head might come off just like my fear for poor Inspector Gadget! ;0)
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I confess to only a passing acquaintance with Inspector Gadget, but I do appreciate the "gadgets" in my own life. Janet's suggestion of mailing the blogposts made me think of another advantage of our "gadgetry" -- imagine the expense of mailing out even a weekly or monthly newsletter! Although it does sometimes make one's head spin, the advantages are boundless. And we get to "meet" all kinds of people we'd never encounter otherwise. I so appreciate your closing sentence... "I just wanted to write a book..." ;)
ReplyDeleteI sometimes think, Beth, that we have TOO MANY gadgets and that prevents people from actually using the brains they were given...;0)
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All of these gadgets make writing books so much easier, especially when it comes to research, but I think they make it infinitely more difficult to get published. So many people are now writing books that it's hard to get anyone's attention these days, and at a time when publishers are publishing less.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Stephen, that it certainly appears much more difficult to catch the eye of a publishing house in today's market. And unfortunately poorly written books are being self-published which I would think makes it even harder for agents and publishers to sift through the "slush" to get to the worthy books out there. But I am the eternal optimist so I will continue to work on improving my writing skills and will remain hopeful that I will find the right agent/publisher for my work in due time...
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Okay, I have to say I love this post just because you mentioned the Inspector Gadget cartoon (and now the theme song is running through my head). But I agree that sometimes I think we have too many "gadgets" than is good for us. I realized about a month ago that I was spending more time blogging about writing and becoming a writer than I was WRITING. Eek. That was scary. So I've been trying to do things to change that for me. I blog, try to respond to comments, try to visit other people as best I can, and use facebook. I'm just now entering the world of twitter. We'll see how that goes. But outside of that I don't think I can handle much more if I'm going to still do the actual job of writing. The people who DO handle so many social networking things at one leave me in awe. =)
ReplyDeleteHi, Lissa, and thanks for stopping by! I know how you feel. My greatest challenge is to make sure I save time for my actual WRITING...although this blog is in some ways is just as important as my other writing as it helps me stay connected with both my followers and other writers I admire...
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YES, I loved Inspector Gadget (including that cheesy song @ the start of it)! And I totally get you on the techo stuff. I'm doing what I need to, to build author platform, but sometimes I think, what am I doing checking my blog when I need to be WRITING!?? On another track, your blog really looks great! I had to add the character verification back into mine...just wish there were some way to get that old one-word verification back.
ReplyDeleteHeather, I do wish I was somewhat more comfortable with some of the gadgets out there because I know it would probably help me in certain areas but right now it requires more time and effort than I have at the moment. Thank you for your kind words about the new blog look.
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My gadgets can get a bit confusing at times, LOL. We got new cellphones about a month ago and I'm still having trouble figuring out what some of the things on it do. Every time I push a button or a key, I'm worried I'm going to get charged for something. All I want to do is have a phone that I can make calls on or text on. I don't need any fancy features that tell me the weather in other countries, lets me check my email, or even do my shopping. Why can't they make a simple cellphone with just the features I want and need?
ReplyDeleteHave a great day! : )
Susanne
PUTTING WORDS DOWN ON PAPER
Lol...Susanne, they call those types of phones "dummy phones" and I don't know if it's because THEY can't do anything fance or WE can't! I just switched to an iPhone after having a "dummy phone" for YEARS and I too am not sure what all the buttons and icons can do so I am very careful when I use it...;-)
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