The Mirror: Choking on Gnats

Is James Faulkner gay or not? Apparently this is a major issue. His social media post saying he was out with his mum and boyfriend, and his subsequent backflip to clarify the other man was his best mate, has caused a media storm. I'm not sure why I am writing about this, but Israel Folau is facing the music today over his "homophobic" comments on social media, and a lot of people are frothing at the mouth. Both Folau and Faulkner seem to be a cynosure for outrage on the touchy subject of inclusion.

Apparently there are no "out of the closet" homosexual men in either cricket or rugby union, or indeed any of our major, high profile sports. Evidently this is a problem. There are no "out of the closet" homosexual men in my workplace either...should I find one (either by outing them or hiring them) so that my employer can't be accused of homophobia? Every television show now has a homosexual couple de rigeur, so I can recognize the need to have more homosexuals.

I am strongly opposed to discrimination on the basis of sexuality, gender, race or age. The fact there are still people in our country, and you probably know some of them, who still view people who are different from themselves, as inferior is a shameful indictment of humanity.

However, this obsession about people's sexual preferences is surely

a distraction from the main game, and the hysteria surrounding Folau and Faulkner and everyone else who puts their head above water and into the sights of "news" creators* is really annoying. In the information age people's opinions on social media generate more news stories than actual news. I don't even know what "news" is anymore.

Warnings are ringing out now, as if they haven't been ever since the advent of social media, about the need for circumspection with regard to what one posts online. A relatively recent and delightful cliche: "the internet has a long memory" states the proof of your bigotry, your indiscretions, your crimes is available forever - well, not exactly forever. You could lose your job or not be able to get one because of something you once said. You may have changed; not just your mind about a particular issue, but your whole outlook on life might have changed. Nevertheless, apparently you can still suffer the consequences. And there is no statute of limitations.

In two weeks Australia will hold a federal election. What dominated the campaign this week? You guessed it: social media posts. Liberal candidate for Lyon, Jessica Whelan's resignation is the latest example of controversy brought about by inappropriate social media comments, in Whelan's case; anti Muslim statements. Labour Candidate, for Melbourne, Luke Creasey, is under pressure due to his activity on Facebook which included such delightful things as sharing rape jokes and pornography, and distasteful comments about lesbians...in 2012. He might no longer do that, or think that is acceptable behaviour - in fact he said so when he apologized - but too bad. He said it and it can't be unsaid. It's too late. You can't grow up, change your view or adjust your attitude.

Can we talk about the issues now? I mean the issues that really matter. Education. Health. The environment. The economy. Can we have some serious discussion about what really matters? Can we stop focusing so heavily on individual indiscretions and examine the causes of our problems? Can we even agree on what those problems are? Can we stop using band-aids to treat cancers in society? Or are we going to continue to choke on gnats while swallowing camels?

In Matthew 23:24, we read about Jesus identifying this problem. He was speaking to the religious leaders of his time, but of course he was referring to people generally. He was not only saying that our priorities are wrong, but worse, we deliberately foster hypocrisy by participating in "stone throwing" exercises. I don't understand why so many people think Jesus and his teachings are irrelevant and unimportant, but James Faulkner's sexuality is. We would rather discuss Luke Creasey's comment about lesbians and their vaginas than Jesus' teachings about justice and mercy.

Anyway, as we say in Australia: she'll be right mate.

* there is a big difference between reporting on news and creating it. The latter is becomingly increasingly common, and especially evident in sports journalism.

Celebrate the Small Things: Fluff and Bubbles

Social media represents different things to different people. For some it is an addiction, for others a time filler/waster. To some it is a weapon of activist/fundamentalist warfare, for others it's all about relationships, (sharing and connectedness). For some it's about information, for other it's about entertainment. For some people it's a mixture of all these things with recipes as diverse as humanity itself, while for others it's nothing at all.

I have an eclectic group of friends on Facebook so I get exposed to a wonderful variety of people and their worldviews. I love it! It's so fascinating - irritating and offensive at times, to be sure, but nonetheless engaging, informative and entertaining.

From time to time, I like to take my friends on by making provocative comments because I like a good discussion. At other times, I just want to 'share' my own thoughts. I also, on occasion, simply want some fluff and bubbles. I think most memes are stupid so I just ignore them. It still mystifies me how a video of ducks walking along a road gets millions of views on YouTube, but...whatever. I don't tell anyone what they should or shouldn't like or share because I respect people.

Today I feel grateful for the World Wide Web, and in particular, social media which is, on balance, a wonderful thing. So today because I'm feeling light and fluffy, here's a video of ducks; just for you.

Too Much Trouble

I have nearly 400 Facebook friends. I spent an hour individually messaging them - well almost individually- before Facebook messaged me to suggest that I may be doing something inappropriate, to let them know that my third novel Ashmore Grief had been released. I didn't ask anyone to buy it, but I did include a link to the website wherein one can find the blurb, a preview of chapter one, and the purchase links. At last count, after 7 days, around 6 people have replied to my message.

I have been asking people to Like the Ashmore Grief Facebook page for roughly a month, and have managed to get 77. My goal is 100, and everyday I am sorely tempted to "buy" Likes. Sorry, I mean "promote" my page. The last status update was apparently viewed by 55 people. Have a guess how many comments the status received. If you said, "less than one" you are correct.

I have been blogging weekly for 4 years, and despite various attempts to increase traffic to my site, including numerous direct requests for friends to join the site, I am stuck on 20 something followers. Most of my posts receive no comments except for spammers who can get through only because I have made it easier for real people to comment if they want to. It seems that they don't want to.The most comments I have received was 6, which occurred during the 2013 A-Z Blogging Challenge.

Over the past week, I have contacted nearly twenty media organisations, newspapers, television and radio shows. One reply. I contacted nearly a dozen organizations who work with refugees and asylum seekers, seeking a partnership based on the fact that Ashmore Grief deals with that very topical issue. Four replies: two said no, one said maybe.

I must be insane to worry about all this, but if I am, then I welcome the madness. I embrace it because every now and then someone tells much how much they love my writing, and they get very animated when talking about how they feel about one or more of the characters I created. Once in a while, I get a quantum of encouragement and I press on, I write on.

Oh, and as for Twitter? I get one reply, or retweet for every twenty tweets, and I have over a thousand followers. Clearly, either I am boring, or people can't be bothered. I'll go with the latter.

The Museum of Anonymity

The Loathe Your Neighbour book tour was a spontaneous, last minute marketing ploy which I tacked on to a planned road trip. http://dacairns.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/the-world-revolves-around-me.html

Here are three things I want to share.

1. I have tried everything to build my platform and sell my books but my numbers are paltry. I take the advice of authors and bloggers who have significant followings. I spend at least an hour every day on social media. I share "me" at least as much as publicize my work. I join conversations. I try to build relationships. I even add prayer to my hard work. Nothing really works.

2. I love driving. I went to Canberra via the scenic route just

because I could. With no dead lines and no passengers to consider, (apart from a very compliant copy of Loathe Your Neighbor on the passenger seat) , it was just me, and my Falcon XR6 cruising the open road to the sounds of my favourite tunes.

3. I spent hours at the Museum of Democracy, http://moadoph.gov.au and I came to this conclusion: the Australian version of democracy is great. I may have missed out on Question Time but as I walked the halls, and trod the lush carpets of Old Parliament House and considered the  

long, furious and passionate debates which went on there as our political leaders argued over decisions of great national significance, I felt awed and grateful. When I watched interviews of refugees and migrants to Australia talking about what democracy was, and how they appreciated being able to express political opinions without fear of imprisonment, torture or death, I felt proud. One man simply said that he felt safe in Australia.

Although the trip was a commercial flop, it was a personal success.

Next week, I'll talk about another example of what a superb democracy Australia is. For now, I'd love to hear about your successes, your triumphs and your feelings about democracy.


See the full set of Loathe Your Neighbor book tour photographs here.
https://www.facebook.com/david.a.cairns/media_set?set=a.10200645452394670.1073741832.1111123911&type=1

A Prodigiously Prodigal Prodigy?

I may be a marvellous, extraordinary example of an author, and my books may be wonderful, but I am too old to be a prodigy. I am 44 years old. My talent, as special as it is, was neither identified or nurtured during my formative years. 

The word prodigal refers to the behaviour of the younger son in the Biblical story after he received his inheritance from his father. He squandered it, wasted it on wild living: prostitutes, booze, carousing and debauchery etc. Prodigal means recklessly extravagant. I am neither reckless or extravagant. In fact I am still in a recovery group for the parsimonious. I have been prone to stinginess in the past. I'm not proud of that, but I am proud that I am not reckless or wasteful.

As a writer, my ambition is becoming increasingly HD. One of my goals this year was to write and have published another novel. My second, Loathe Your Neighbor was released in Jamuary this year. It has been moderately/hugely successful, selling thousands/tens of copies. I also want to increase my social media presence, by adding to my hundreds/scores of Facebook friends, and thousands/hundreds of Twitter followers. I spelled January incorrectly, did you notice? My latest goal is to become prodigious. When I hear someone describe an author as prodigious, I say to myself "that is cool. I want to be prodigious." Prodigious means extraordinary in size, amount, extent, degree, force, or in the case of an author, the number of books written. I want to write a lot of books.

Do I have a lot of books in me? Absolutely. The mind God has given me is not great with facts and figures, it does not enjoy mundane, repetitive tasks, it is not great at recall, it does not always grasp new concepts quickly or easily, but it does create. Because I believe in a creative God who has blessed me with the ability to write, I know the wellspring of ideas will not run dry. The world will hear much more from the pen of D.A.Cairns. It begins later this year with the release of Ashmore Grief.

What goals have you set? How are they coming along?

The Fast Track to Clarity

It's easy to get lost, to lose perspective, to live an unbalanced life. There are times when I not only forget to stop and smell the roses, but I can't smell the coffee, and the stench of some dead creature in the corner of my office cupboard fades from my olfactory register. Sometimes I run but I forget where I am going.

For five days this week, I banned myself from social media. I fasted from something which in itself is neither good not bad. For me, however Facebook and Twitter, had begun to distort my view of myself and of reality. One of my best lines, when my children show me something on Facebook, is that Facebook makes me despair for humanity. Lately, it had been making me despair for myself.

The problem is I don't like to communicate in a vacuum, and who does? If I say something, I would like a response. If I ask a question, I would like an answer. My experience of social media is that it is mostly one sided. Roughly half a dozen of my Facebook friends interact with me, and the figure for Twitter is even lower. This dearth of interaction annoys me, and the reason I get irritated is because I am self centred.

I am looking for love in the wrong places. Social media is a tool not a barometer. The popularity game promises great rewards but delivers superficiality. I chose not to play this week, and as a result I wrote four chapters of my next novel. Fasting something which I enjoy (usually) but do not need, helped me to see clearly that I am an author, and I am important regardless of how many hits, friends or tweeps I have. This clarity led to productivity.

I also fasted from Coke for three days, but that is another story.

Photograph sources:
http://www.totalwallpapers.com/wallpapers.asp?number_id=574
http://hicks-tuj.blogspot.com.au/2011/10/social-media-and-its-contributions-to.html

Lost in the Twittersphere

I thought Facebook was addictive but it pales in comparison with Twitter. Twitter isn't new, but I'm always behind the times. The only cutting edge I am a familiar with is my MiracleBlade knife, (it slices beautifully without undue force.) I am a newly hatched chick discovering the Twittersphere, hopping around, tweeting, and learning what I can about how to use this terrific communication tool: social media. What a modern wonder.

As a writer, I am told by those who know, that if I am not tweeting then I am barking mad. What do I say and how often should I say it, and to whom? And who should I follow? How do I make Twitter work for me instead of enslaving me with promises of popularity? There are lots of people offering advice on how to get the most out of Twitter. How do I decide which pieces of advice to heed and which to reject? If I encounter conflicting nuggets of wisdom, how do I choose between them? How many people need to say the same thing before I can accept it as gospel? Fumble, bumble, somebody turn on the light please. Credibility is an issue. Authority is an issue. I need to consider what I want to achieve - that's a piece of cake but how do  I get there? Which ferry will take me to the other side? Or do they all travel to the same place but use different routes? I just don't know. It could be me. My lack of technical nous and my paucity of social media experience has me floundering in the Twittersphere. How am I going to break through the noise and be heard?

I know one thing for sure: popularity is not necessarily a refection on quality. Whether my writing is popular has very little to do with how good it is. It is very good actually, in case you were wondering. An average singer came second on X Factor and won a recording contract while better singers were eliminated from the show because they didn't receive enough votes. People get more likes on Facebook for pictures of their bellybuttons than they do for saying something intelligent or thought provoking. Sometimes Facebook makes me despair for humanity. There's a YouTube video featuring ducks crossing a road which has been seen by millions of people. Popularity is a weird beast, and in the Twittersphere, excellence does not seem to count for more than a hill of baked beans which give you gas. I may be lost but I'll keep trying to find my way through the maze. I am a work in progress. Tweet! Tweet!

A final thought, a question: Who Tweets more? People who care about what others think, or people who don't?