Do we really need a Facebook?

Besides the fact that I love playing Scrabble with my mom, do we really as musicians need FACEBOOK? I ask myself that every time I have to update something about myself. It's crazy, what with MYSPACE, FACEBOOK, TWITTER, a personal website, not to mention all of the other sites that could promote my music, it's a zoo.

But having said that, I'm great at start-up and not so great at follow-through. I can set up online accounts and sites in a heartbeat, but it's the constant updating that drives me nuts. There has to be an easier way.

My advice? Make sure you have a presence. Even if it's only just a template website like SAYVEE.com or Bandzoogle. Both offer reasonable rates and a lot of templates you can customize to suit your music and look. I think it's one of the best places to start. It gets you a homebase on the net and from there you can venture into social media.

I admit, I have a FACEBOOK account. I have several in fact. It's a great way to connect with friends on a regular basis. I use it all the time. It's easy and it's accessible.

I also have a MYSPACE which I rarely use. I find it's not as friendly as FACEBOOK and not so easy to upload and move around in. I know lots of folks who swear by it but I'm not so easily sold.

I also have my music on several genre specific sites - like Artist Direct, Americana webrings, girl guitar sites, indie radio sites, not to mention CD BABY and all that that entails. CDBABY is great, just for the digital distribution alone.

But like that pesky email list, they're all useless unless maintained and that's a whole nother topic.

Till tomorrow....