Some random person on Twitter posted a question along the lines of "In your opinion, what's the best song cover that is better than the original." There were a few I agreed with, some I didn't. I lot of people referred to "Nothing Compares 2U," both the Prince and the Sinead O'Connor versions, to the point where I lost track of who was the original and who was the cover. A lot of Bob Dylan covers were mentioned, like "All Along the Watchtower," and "To Make You Feel My Love." (I didn't pipe in with my favorite BD cover, Hoyt Axton singing "Lay, Lady, Lay." I'm not sure it was better than the original; I just know it better from growing up hearing it played in my house more often.) I did nod approvingly when multiple people cited the Johnny Cash cover of "Hurt." I debated whether to offer my opinion, on this unknown person's thread, and quickly I got over my shyness to insist my favorite cover, that well outstrips the original, is "For You," the Manfred Mann version. Bruce Springsteen had a seriously wordy phase in the 1970s, where his songs were catchy as hell, but he tried to jam too much poetry into too short a space. Twice Manfred Mann came along and edited his songs to great benefit. Sure, the original poster on Twitter snapped back at someone who suggested that "Blinded By the Light" was better the second time around (and I agreed that MM made it easier to listen to), but as of now, I haven't had the sarcastic "Blocked and reported," joke he made to the people who uttered musical blasphemies. And now I'm stuck with that song in my head. It could be worse. It could be the original Springsteen.
I have started spending way more time on Twitter than anywhere else online. I'm more addicted to it than I ever was to Facebook. In fact, since we moved back to Colorado almost three years ago, I've really struggled with being on Facebook at all. Most days, the only time I go there is to post a link to this blog on the page I created, and then to copy it over to my personal page. I actually scroll through and read it maybe twice a week. They've talked a good game about the changes to the algorithms they made in the last few months, that are supposed to show you more of what your friends post and less of the sponsored crap. I have indeed seen more from friends I thought had fallen off the face of the earth since then. But I have not once been offered a post from groups I used to love like TinyKittens. (Though, thankfully, I still get my Marillion group posts, but it probably helps that I'm friends with the guy who started that one from way back.)
With all the negative press Facebook is getting, and the feeling I have that they really aren't sharing the links on my SFSP page as much anymore, I wonder where I should shift my focus. Years ago, when I first signed up on Twitter, it was because I thought maybe it would be a good place to share the blog posts, but when I put the links there, and allow it to cross-post to Facebook, the reach is usually fewer than 10 people, while the FB page usually reaches over a hundred. So instead, I have turned Twitter into my rabid political space, so that I keep that stuff off of here, and I am mindful to check Facebook every once in a while to make sure my cranky political retweets aren't shared there. (If you want to see that side of me and are on Twitter, my handle is @SmithParkCCL -- the "CCL" stands for "Crazy Cat Lady," but I haven't put much about my felines there in months.) I finally caved in and got an Instagram over the winter (another scenesfromsmithpark), but so far I haven't gotten into the habit of posting much. And this one is entirely cat pictures thus far.
I don't know what to do to keep making the blog accessible. I enjoy feeling like I'm having an extended conversation with an audience, but I am feeling weird about how to keep offering up links to it. I'm not going someplace I am forced to pay to reach people. I'm not selling advertising, and I'm not making a penny off of this in any way. It's just a very public journal, not an income-generating vehicle. I suppose for now I'll keep posting every single night to Facebook, as I have been, but I'll be watching for ways to publicize without the baggage that comes with the world's biggest data mine. I'm only looking for platforms that are easy and free, and simple enough to keep me coming back to it.
No comments:
Post a Comment