This post can be found on my Goodreads blog.
I'll admit it. I have never elevated any other social media platform at such a high status. I do not have Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Tik Tok, or anything similar. I have a Reddit account, but I only made one post on it, and the only time I use my account is when I want to help answer fellow community members' surveys in the "takemysurvey" group.
Goodreads, however, is a different story. I check it at least three times a day. Even before completing school work, I give in to the temptation to click on the shortcut with the brown "g" in a box.
Of course, as an author, Goodreads.com is essential to me, but there is so much more to Goodreads than building a platform for authors' promotion.
I know that Facebook, Tik Tok, and Twitter are meant for a wider variety of individuals and posts, but I can't help but embrace Goodreads.com, among all other websites. Even before I acquired an Author Profile, I still used this website as a reviewer.
I mean, I take pride in being an individual who frequently visits a website dedicated to books, reading, and writing! What I admire about this website is that people of all nationalities, backgrounds, personalities, genders, demographics, and professions unite to talk about books, reading, and writing. Now, there are common stereotypes and misconceptions about people who read/write:
-They are intelligent, or embrace intelligence
-They are introverted
-They have expansive vocabularies
-They wear glasses
-They are serious
However, I have seen people who both align these stereotypes (in a good way, though) and subvert these stereotypes. There are writers and readers who embrace intelligence, live independently, have an expansive vocabulary, and think seriously about what they read, which is very inspiring to me, because that is what I always aspire to do, but I also admire the readers and writers who bring humor, colloquialisms, liveliness, and their own cultures into their book reviews and writing. On no other platform do I see people of diverse personalities and backgrounds discuss books, reading, and writing! It is possible for platforms such as Facebook to have this, but stuff like this is buried in other posts. Goodreads is actually CENTERED around creating a diverse book community. Goodreads.com, generally speaking, doesn't just pigeonhole people who read.
Plus, Goodreads.com usually filters out all the non-book-related material and leaves me with something I am genuinely passionate about: an entire website dedicated to reading and writing. In social media platforms such as Facebook, practically ANYTHING can be posted, so there could be stuff that I would rather not view. (Ex. Nude photos, sexualized men and women, disturbing things in politics, etc.) I am pretty sure there are people who read and rate books about the examples I listed, but there is a lower risk of having to see that material. Pure book talk and writing can be revealed!
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