If you are part of any writing group, you’ve been told that as a writer you need to “build a platform”, “have a presence on social media”, “write a blog” — these will help you gain a reader following. This is important in today’s world. People are constantly on the worldwide web, especially the social media sites, and if they are readers, they want to connect to their favorite authors on the web or social media sites.

I used to have an Instagram account but found it too time consuming having to always take pictures to share with whatever I had to say. I used to have two Facebook accounts — a personal account and a writer account, but there was too much drama, and during Covid and the last presidential election — too much nastiness and too much focus on politics. Finally, I used to have a Twitter account and for a while, I thought I really liked it once I connected with the writing community, but eventually, I stopped spending time there too. For me, all these social media platforms seemed to be huge distractions and seemed to take up too much of my time.

So, have you heard about MeWe? I had some friends telling me they had opened a MeWe account. They said it’s the newest in social media and it’s similar to Facebook, but with some great differences. At first, I didn’t really pay attention because I didn’t want to get sucked into social media again. I was enjoying not being distracted by all that. Eventually, I decided to check it out. I read all of the information about it, and I mean ALL the information, including the entire Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, and guess what I found, MeWe has no ads/no pop-ups — nothing to clutter your screen. MeWe doesn’t use algorithms, so when you make a contact (otherwise known as friend) you can see everything they post if they allow you to. What do I mean if they allow you to? MeWe’s privacy settings are controlled by you. You get to decide who you want to allow to be your contact and what you want to allow them to see.

So, if MeWe doesn’t have ads, how do they make money? They have extras you can purchase, like special emojis and stickers, etc. They also have a Premium level available for $4.99 a month, which gives you special features like video journals, voice/video calling, cloud storage custom themes, and custom emoji and sticker packs. But I’m on the free plan which I can remain on forever, unless I decide to change to the Premium level. There is also a Trial Period of the Premium level if you want to try it out.

I have been on MeWe for a couple months now and I love it. I have joined a couple writer groups, reader and writer groups, and reader groups. I have made some great connections and I am really enjoying interacting with my contacts.

So, if you’re looking for a fun, no hassle, you call the shots social media site, I suggest you try MeWe, and if you are a writer and you decide to join, you might enjoy being a part of the group I just started on MeWe. My group is called “Christian Writers Write Now” and it’s geared for writers to exercise and share their writing skills. If you are or have been on Twitter and know about their writing prompt activities, I have started one on this MeWe site and it’s off to a great start. In addition, group members are encouraged to share their Flash Fiction stories, blog posts, writing tips and experiences. They may also promote their latest book once a month only. I don’t want it to become over ridden with self-promotion, but I do want to know what writers are publishing and what they have available. There is also a group chat where members can chat about writing or other things they have in common.

I hope to see some of you on MeWe.