The New Age Amazon’s Practical Guide to Buzznet
Hello there. Welcome to Buzznet. I’m the New Age Amazon. You can also call me Ashly. Please don’t spell it with an “e.” Long story.
ANYWAY, as the Buzznet Empire expands with the acquisitions of lesser websites (bow before us, Idolator! BWAH-HA-HA-HA!), the userbase here on Buzznet is growing on a daily basis. And, like with any other site that is suddenly on a popularity rise, that means a more diverse audience is going to be attracted to Buzznet.
Buzznet is unique as a social networking site because it concentrates so heavily on user-created content. Buzznet is home to many extremely talented writers, photographers, artists and videographers, and it’s one of the reasons I have such a huge love for this site. But, as Buzznet partners with sites like Friends or Enemies and Tila’s Hotspot, we’ve seen a new group of people come in, people who have been referred to, usually derogatorily, as “Myspace types.” These are people who’s talents lay more in the areas of modeling and social networking. And there’s been some friction. And by some, I mean a whole hell of a lot.
I’ve already ranted in a bulletin about how we don’t all have to like each other. But one of the things that does get on my nerves is people showing up to announce they’re “going to be a Buzzmaker” like it’s something that happens in no time flat. I also get annoyed by people PM-ing me and asking how you become a Buzzmaker. As if there is a step by step guide to doing so.
There isn’t. Sorry, folks. I can’t give you that. But I can give you a couple practical guidelines that won’t help you become a Buzzmaker, but might help you make the most of your Buzznet experience.
TIP 1: BE YOURSELF:This is something I cannot stress enough. While you might think putting on an internet persona (often one you’ve given an alliterative name with “creative” spelling…for example, I might call myself “Ashly Apokalypse!”) is going to get you attention, I’d advise against it. First of all, people are going to realize you’re faking it most of the time. And if they wanted to roleplay there are other sites for that. Buzznet is about expressing yourself…so be yourself around here. Don’t feel like you have to be edgy or disaffected or over the top. Be the person you really are, because trust me, you’re probably more interesting than you realize.
TIP 2: BE ACTIVE:This comes through on two fronts. First, creating content. Buzznet offers a ton of ways for you to show the world your interests and your talents. Whether your interested in sharing your poetry, writing a gossip blog, showcasing your photography, vblogging, premiering your band’s music videos or getting your modeling pictures out there, Buzznet has ways for you to do so. And you should totally take advantage of them. A few tips while you do so:
1) Spell check your writing. Either use a browser that has a spell check option for text fields or type out what you want to say in Word and then copy and paste it. Trust me, it’s easier to understand what you’re trying to say if it’s spelled correctly. I know a lot of people on here don’t speak/write English as their first language, and in that case it’s even more important to be sure of your translations.2) Be able to take constructive criticism. This is important for any artist anywhere and is something I know a lot of them still have trouble with. We all have different opinions and different skills and views to bring to the table. And sharing them and considering them makes our art stronger. So, if you put your work out there publicly, there’s a very high chance someone will saying “I like this, but you could have done X, Y or Z to make it stronger.” You don’t necessarily have to agree, but sometimes having someone make a suggestion like that can really help what you’re doing.And for those of you leaving crit? Be polite and constructive. Don’t rip people’s work apart. Try to stress what you liked as much as what you think could be improved.3) Don’t get discouraged if you’re not getting a ton of comments and buzzes right away. It takes time to attract people to your stuff! And with that, we move on to part 2:
Get active on other parts of the site!Buzznet also offers a ton of groups and forums for you to interact with other users. No matter what your interest is, odds are you can find a group for it. And if you can’t? Start one! You might just be the first one to think of putting that group together!If you’re not sure what groups to join, I’d suggest starting out with Question of the Day. Other options are to check things posted on the Music Blog, Movie Blog and Community Page. You can also hang around the blogs of users like Breesays, Panasonicyouth and yes, even DJ Rossstar‘s blog is good for a debate once in awhile.And don’t be afraid to friend people first. While not everyone friends back immediately (I do, unless your username is something like “p*ssymonster”) you can at least see what people are up to elsewhere on the site. And who knows, you might make friends through other friends. It’s crazy, but it happens a lot around these parts.
TIP 3: DON’TSThis will be known as AMAZON’S BIG LIST OF BUZZNET “DON’TS”DON’T think you’re being cool by using abusive language. Because it won’t make you cool, it’ll just make you banned. A few tips to the words that tend to hit my buttons: any negative reference to the female reproductive system, any use of the word “slut” or “whore” in reference to a woman who does not actually exchange sex for money (please note: these terms do not apply to any woman in Hollywood you don’t like. Deal.) or any usage of “gay” as a synonym for “shitty.”DON’T use a mass-adder program. If someone doesn’t want to be your friend, they don’t want to be your friend. Meet people the hard way: by clicking +Friend.DON’T whine or complain about how nobody’s paying attention to you. You have to get out there and be active to get people to notice you. Don’t be afraid to promote yourself a little here and there.DON’T beg for buzzes/comments with bulletins. It probably won’t get you the sort of attention you want. And offering “buzz for buzz” really isn’t okay, because that’s suggesting you’re entitled to it for reasons other than doing quality work people are interested in. AND THE BIGGEST DON’T: DON’T TRY TO BE A BUZZMAKER.If being a Buzzmaker is your primary goal here at Buzznet, you shouldn’t be here. Because hanging out here shouldn’t be about e-fame. That’s not to say Buzznet isn’t a good place to promote yourself to a certain extent (I landed a writing job in part due to my celebrity gossip and opinion blogs) but Buzznet isn’t here to make you famous. It’s not here to get you noticed. It’s here for people to interact with like-minded individuals. Some people manage to get little pink stars while doing this.
On top of that, I’d like to add: Andy Warhol was right when he said everyone deserves 15 minutes of fame. But people need to realize how short 15 minutes really is.
TIP 4: HAVE FUN, YOU GUYSIn the end, this is a website that’s meant to be enjoyable and fun for people. If you can’t have fun? This isn’t the place for you. Don’t take this place too seriously, outside of the Terms of Service, don’t take other people too seriously (being hated by a person on the internet isn’t the worst thing in the world, trust me) and most importantly, don’t take YOURSELF too seriously.
Happy Buzzing!
