ItsGeekToMe.co

Q: Regarding your plea for more questions . . . perhaps a Facebook group which people could “follow”, given that it’s ubiquitous to nearly everyone, would motivate questions, encourage interactions, and result in more of what you need to keep on keepin’ on.

 – William R.
Fort Walton Beach, Florida

A:  Thanks for writing, William. Would it surprise you to know that It’s Geek to Me already has a presence on Facebook?  It’s not a Group as you suggested, but rather a full-blown, dedicated page.  Let’s talk a little about the column’s presence on social media, and how you, as a reader, can use it.

Since September 2012, It’s Geek to Me has had a presence on Facebook.  The page is located at Facebook.com/IGTM0000.  Over the years the page has featured previews of upcoming columns, emergency alerts for zero-day events and other hazards to the online community, along with other stuff.  More recently, I’ve used the space to post a series of funny (to me) technology memes and cartoons, along with and historic technology stories and pictures.  The flow is light – usually 1 to no more than 3 per week.  There is usually little to no conversation on these posts, but I would welcome the activity.

It seems very likely that I would see it if anybody posted a question for the column on Facebook, but I much prefer people to use the column’s website, located at ItsGeekToMe.co (not .com) for that.  On the website I have a dedicated form, specifically intended for reader questions.  Entries on this form show up in my email with a special Subject line, and in a special format that together serve to highlight the email as a user question.  This ensures it winds up in the so-called “Question Queue” that I seem to be always talking about lately.  This also keeps the questions mostly anonymous, as I only ever publish a submitter’s first name and last initial, or withhold that information completely on request.  Finally, it allows me to ask any questions of the reader in private before I finally craft the Q&A for publication.

Speaking of the website, I hope you know that each edition of the column that has ever published, as well as each new edition, posts there. Additionally, each column has its own mini chat board associated with it, where people can direct comments to me, or to the original question author.  This could be a very lively place for the interactions you mentioned in your submittal if only more people would use it.

I’ve tried a few things over time to add interest to the website.  I’ve hosted a couple of contests that featured real prizes.  I had a “Website of the Week” feature, that included reader-nominated sites that they found particularly interesting or useful.  I’ve been toying with the idea of putting up a “This Day in Geek History” feature.  I’m certainly open to ideas if any of you geeky readers have any!  The website is something akin to an unwritten book, just waiting for the proper content to come along and fill the pages.

As It’s Geek to Me rolls on into the future, you can bet that I will continue to create and maintain that which I think will be most helpful to you – my tech-interested, and sometimes tech-challenged readers.  I would be happy to do unbiased product reviews, if, and only if, the product vendor would supply the product to me.  In other words, I’m not going to spend money to pitch someone’s merchandise.  I will also continue to find more outlets for the column, including the newspapers here in the panhandle that used to carry it.

One final word, speaking of things that cost money.  I want to remind you that I have never charged a penny to anyone, any publisher, or any site that carries this column.  For the most part, my overhead is extremely low, with the sole exception of the column’s website.  I have chosen pay-for-use solutions for their stability rather than free solutions that would keep my cost down.  That may or may not change in the future.  Regardless, you, as a reader and user of the service should never notice if I change anything.  (Crossing fingers!)

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To view additional content, comment on articles, or submit a question of your own, visit my website at ItsGeekToMe.co (not .com!)