So...tsū...
It's a new social media website, sort of like Facebook with mint green borders. And right there you want to stop me, don't you? You want to ask, "Oh Liv, why would I want to join another social media site?"
Why would you?
Honestly, I didn't want to. I would love it if I could just hang out on Facebook and Twitter and get to know readers and other writers and talk about my dog or my kids and sometimes tell them about my writing projects. I probably still will, but Facebook is threatening to change the rules (again), which may limit what I can say.
So...tsū...
I joined about a week ago, and have so far connected with people I knew from FB and twitter, but also with people that I didn't know, that I'm getting to know, which is cool. So far my stream has skewed heavily toward book promotions, but I'm hoping that'll even out some, and allow for more actual communication. So far, I'm having fun, and I've earned $0.21 for my trouble.
I mean, who doesn't want to get paid for using social media? That's one of the main differences between tsū and Facebook. The ads on tsū are blatant, taking up the right sidebar, and don't appear to be slanted at all to my interests. Which is kind of a relief. Sometimes FB can feel a little stalkerish, the way ads for shoes show up ten minutes after you looked at a pair of shoes in a different browser. But the way tsū works - and I might be a little Pollyanna here - is they earn revenue from advertisers, then give some of it back to the users who are providing and interacting with the website's content.
As an interface, I've found it more intuitive than Google+ and a helluva lot easier to use than Ello (which, jeebus, I'll never be that hip). It's similar to twitter, in that you can organize your content by hashtags, but less abstract because you can write in complete sentences, since you're not limited to 140 characters. There are no minions behind the scenes, organizing your stream by what they think you want to see (ahem, Facebook), so if you miss someone's post, you have to go to their page to find it. Also, tsū doesn't have the ability to form groups, though there's a push among members to get the developers to add that feature.
So...tsū...
So far, so good. There may be some deep, nefarious plot to steal my personal data or otherwise ruin things, but I like what I've seen. If you're, interested, here's a link to a how-to post by someone who has clearly drunk the cool-aide. (And I mean that in the nicest possible way.) Or if you want to join, let me know and I'll send you a code. I don't see it replacing Facebook, but I'm hopeful I'll be able to do things on tsū that Facebook won't allow.
Have fun at your holiday parties this weekend...because I know you have holiday parties this weekend. Cheers!
Liv
