Internet-opolis; Why building a platform is like moving to a new city.

I read a blog post somewhere that compared building a writer's platform to building a house. I really wish I could remember the blogger because I'd link over to the post and give the writer props, it was cool. It made me think and ponder and re-tweet.

Anyway, the blogger mentioned that, like an actual house, your writing platform needs a foundation, walls, and a roof. They used a few cool analogies to house building and for some reason the post really stuck with me. I thought about it for several days until I realized something: I don't know how to build a house! 

That's when Internet-opolis was born...or built...whatever.

Your platform is like a city. 

Yeah, I'm throwing the house idea out the window...well, almost. Sure, your platform can be like a house, or an apartment, or swanky city loft with cement furniture but if you wall yourself in how are you going to make friends (my non-scary phrase for networking)? The house anology, though awesome, wasn't quite working for me. Besides, I don't have an architectural degree. 

Your website is your map. 

At least mine is...I hope. It gives basic info about the city I live in and where you can find me. My regular hangouts. 

Your blog is your home.

I've put off making a blog for a long time. I didn't know what kind of theme I wanted and I already had other places like twitter and facebook to hang out but, recently, I've started to feel like a vagabond. Wandering aimlessly around the streets of Ebay, stopping in Papa Johns.com to see if they had any specials, getting my fix on Pinterest. Then I stumbled across Tumblr which paved the way to Blogger. It is the coolest thing in my virtual life so far.

Why?

Because a blog is my own personal place. It's a page all about me. The only reason someone would come to it is to see ME. And, unlike my webpage, it's super easy to update. So, I've finally laid down roots in Internet-opolis and I'm feeling good. *kicks off shoes*

Everything else is city to explore.

I think of Twitter as the mall. A big place with lots of people and stores (links) and lots of quick conversations before moving on to the next thing.  Facebook is more like the local coffee shop. You can sit down and share stuff, take your time. Personally, I like to frequent the local art museum, DeviantArt. Google+ is kind of like the gym, I know I should go more often but I forget. And I recently went into Inkpop a couple times, I don't know if I'll go back. It's like Trump Tower over there, everyone vying for the best position. I don't know if I'm ready for that.

Anyway, the most important thing you need to know is that, just like life in a city, you can find places you like to visit and places you know, from trying them out, to stay away from, and that's totally okay! Just because you make a profile on a page you don't have to stick it out if it's not working for you. Find places you enjoy and start making friends. Then visit often so you don't lose touch.  

<3 Crystal

(Here's my map: http://www.wix.com/fynn47/author-website?ref=nf)