Honestly, I’ve been avoiding social websites for years.  I’m easily distracted, crazy curious about random things, and have very little filter.  Thank you ADHD.  But when I’m googling questions, I see a lot of results from reddit. 

Reddit is a cross between a news-aggregator, Dear Abby, and a poorly researched Wikipedia.  For all that, it is rather entertaining to see what people are thinking about.  You ask questions of the community, start discussions, or comment on random things.  People then have a chance to respond, read others responses, and generally make fools of everyone and everything. 

It is rather easy to start and intuitive to use.  Click the “Create New Account” button, enter some info, and off you go.  I was able to start answering and commenting immediately and had already done some back-and-forth conversations within 5 minutes. 

I think this is going to be best for either personal interests, like “how do I beat this level in such-and-such a game” or “did this character ACTUALLY die in this show”.  I’m not sure how to use this professionally, aside from research into likes and dislikes or purchasing advertising space.  I’d need to spend more time puttering around and learning about the community before I can come up with something more solid. 

One of the reasons I have avoided social websites is privacy.  I have very little filter, so the least risky option for me is to not even start talking.  I don’t need to reconnect with people from my past, there is a reason they’re in my past.  I don’t need more advertising and junk mail, I get plenty already.  I have a family that doesn’t need to be stalked online.  One of the ways I have protected my privacy online is with my profile pictures.  Generally, I use a picture maker, like from Doll Divine, to make an approximate image of me.  (My favs are Mega Anime Avatar Creator and Chibi-Maker.) Red hair, green eyes, pale skin, glasses.  Easy enough. 

I’ve been more generous with my blog.  I’m not putting it out there for views, just for the people I know and for classes.  I’ve been posting more personal details and more pictures.  My writing sounds more like the way I talk than the way I write formally.  Especially since my classes have been remote, I try to have some of my personality come through. 

Since logging on to Reddit, I have discovered that there are a lot of ways to make pie crust and that I’m not the only one with a collection of vintage Betty Crocker Red Book cookbooks.  I’m still a fan of the 2000s Bridal edition buttermilk pie crust.  It’s softer to work with, but the extra acid make the crust flaky and it bakes up nicely for custard-style pies.  It’s a bit mushy for cream pies, though. 

Hugs and Hi-Fives! –Val