Finding our place in this space

Who knew the world contained this variety of duct tapes?

I've been thinking a lot about community.
And culture.
And what makes a space a space.

Havi talks (brilliantly) about culture.
And Diane has been talking about (financial) sustainability in our crafty world.

And the range of answers in her comments has me wondering: what is our online, bloggy, crafty world?

There are craft bloggers and podcasters (like Diane) that don't sell what they craft.
There are crafters who don't blog or podcast but want to sell what they craft.
And crafters who sell what they make, but don't blog or Twitter or even get online.

And then there's me.

I starting blogging (oh Diaryland!) 10 years ago (and no, you can't read what I wrote then) and have been writing something online ever since.
But it's not really humor.
It's not really tutorials.
It's not really essays on the craft world.
It's not really…anything.

Over at Blonde Chicken Boutique, I write about my yarn. How I make it, what inspires it, what to do with it.

Here, I talk about having a crafty business. What that's like, what I've learned, how you might do it.

I'm part of the community, but I'm not interacting in the same way.
And this works for me.
It's built a business and friendships and allowed me to do what I really adore (talking to other crafty business-lovers).

But is that allowed?

Several of my newest clients are brand-new to the whole online-craft-world and they're wondering if they should do it all: blog, tweet, podcast, sell their craft.

My answer is always the same: do what suits you.

If you like writing (as I do), write.
If you like photography, Flickr.
I you like getting to know strangers with similar interests, tweet.

I'm not sure where I fit into the greater craft blog world and that's ok.
It's ok if you don't know where you are either.
And it's really ok if you don't blog or tweet or sell your thing.

You are welcome here all the same.

(Remember, there are no secret handshakes.)

Finding what works for you is the first step to making sure you spend your time on doing what WORKS for you.
What brings clients.
What fulfills your needs.
What makes your business hum with fun and profit.

I'm working on a class that will answer your specific questions on using social media (blogs, twitter, etc) to sell your thing (it's not quite ready to announce yet, but you can sneak a peek here), but before I announce it, I just wanted to remember:

It's ok to be where you are. It's ok to NOT use social media.
It's ok to use it however you've been using it.

Really. You can't do it wrong.

The only thing that's wrong?

If  it isn't working for you.
If you're not getting what you want and need.
If it's wasting your time and frustrating you.

And that's what my class will be about: ignoring the shoulds and finding what works for you, in a non-icky, totally full-of-ease way.

I'm curious: what do you know works for you?