THE PREMIER WRITING GROUP IN

THE CHICAGO AREA

OCWW makes a splash on Social Media

Your OCWW dues dollars go further when you network and stay in touch with fellow writers

OCWW Bulletin — this is our familiar, traditional print communications vehicle. It is issued five times per year to the membership by snail mail. The next issue is scheduled to arrive in your mailbox at the end of the summer. There has been some discussion about converting this to an e-newsletter and, in the fall, we will again poll the membership to gauge your interest this kind of a change.

OCWW Website — www.ocww.bizland.com. This is our official Website. It includes upcoming programming information, a list of board members, downloadable manuscript guidelines, the list of our lending library books, membership information and fees, and links — links to our Facebook page, links to our members' sites and blogs, and a few links to writing-related organizations. The Website is maintained by member Helen Gallagher and is updated periodically with new programming information. If you would like to add and/or change your links on the site, email Info@ocww.bizland.com or Helen@cclarity.com. This free listing is available to members only.

OCWW e-blasts — this e-mail is what we call an e-blast. They are sent from our Google account, OCWW.info@gmail.com. They are generally short and are specifically about OCWW programs or, occasionally, to disseminate information quickly to the entire membership (at least those who have e-mail). During the programming year, the e-blasts are sent weekly to remind you of the upcoming speaker/program. They are also sent at other times depending on need.

The Yahoo Group — there have been a lot of questions about the Yahoo Group, so I will explain it to the best of my ability. Yahoo and Google server similar functions on the Internet and offer similar services. This e-blast is sent to you via a listserv, which is simply an e-mail mailing list management system. Google and Yahoo both also offer discussion boards or forums called groups. Some are open to anyone, some are by invitation only. Our Yahoo Group is open to current members and is administered by Almira Gilles. The concept is simple. Once you are registered, the Yahoo Group acts like an electronic bulletin board. You and other members can post information, ask questions, share news, promote your book or book signing. You can even post pictures. Once again, this is a members-only vehicle. To register, e-mail Almira at astudillogilles@yahoo.com. She will send you an invitation to join the group. You can then choose whether you want to be notified every time someone posts to the group, or if you would prefer a daily or weekly digest of postings.

Facebook —  is a social networking site, a place to meet and greet friends, relatives and strangers with common interests. It is privately owned, but as of March it topped Google in number of "hits". Individuals sign up on Facebook using their real names. Then you make "friends", and messages appear on your wall from all your friends. You do NOT need to be a Facebook member to see the OCWW Facebook page. You DO need to be a Facebook member to post to OCWW's wall. In many ways, our Facebook page is much like the Yahoo Group with a couple of significant exceptions. It is primarily a bulletin board where you can post information on your current writing project, ask a question of your fellow writers, post pictures and discussions, promote your work, or share an interesting link. For example, while OCWW does not facilitate critique groups, the Facebook page would be a good place to put out feelers about joining or forming such a group. What is different about the Facebook page? First and foremost, the Facebook page is PUBLIC. Anyone can "like" or be a fan of our Facebook page and get notices on his or her wall about us. This is a good thing — a way to spread OCWW joy and info, so to speak. Also, it offers a much more immediate experience where conversations appear in real time. If you are not on Facebook, it is a good first step into social networking.

Twitter — is another social networking site. It's like Facebook on speed. Once you sign up, you get a wall (or bulletin board) just like on the Yahoo group and Facebook. Like Facebook, Twitter is public. Anyone can follow your messages (or Tweets). Messages on Twitter are limited to 140 characters (that's characters, not words, and those characters include spaces and punctuation. Twitter has it's own lingo or shorthand that takes a bit of getting used to. Hash tags, for instance, are keywords that let people follow a conversation. They are preceded by a # sign. A typical Twitter message from the OCWW account might look something like this:

@OCWW: Chicagoland's oldest #writers workshop, OCWW, is on hiatus for the summer, but our conversation will continue on #Facebook and Twitter.

@OCWW is our Twitter handle (or user name). People following conversations about "writers" or "Facebook" would see this message, as well as anyone who is following OCWW. Again, Twitter is a way for us to reach out to a wider writing community. Another feature of Twitter is chats. By following a given hashtag, you can participate in schedule chats, such as #yalitchat, #scribechat, #askagent, #pblitchat (picture books) and many others. Many agents and publishers are on Twitter and often follow the chats.

You do NOT have to be a Twitter member to visit the OCWW Twitter page. You DO have to be a Twitter member to send your own messages.