haha so funny i was about to say, to build your 'brand'--twitter! but looks like you already started an account for that =p and i was going to say another blog but looks like you are on that too! (i like blogger's layout...)

as for facebook..what about another fb account? i mean, you could hide your pix and your wall i guess but i am always upset when i can't write on people's walls. hahahaha. or you can start a fan page!! =p you can update your own fan page, i'm pretty sure...but yeah, i was sort of upset when work people added me on fb cuz i couldn't NOT accept them but once you accept one, you have to accept them all =/ (i hid all my pix though...it's just weird updating my status and going into work and having a sr editor ask you about it..i was like huh what? the first time--now i think before i post hahahaha). but i am against adding total strangers (jeff of the LA boyz is not--i believe his friends are in the 5-digit range...don't ask me how i know this)

anyway i am still new/bad at this brand-building thing too (like, my website is still..err, not really a website yet? and i havne't touched my food blog in months--and was only updating about once a month)...but yeah if you tweet a lot, i bet you could get picked up! apparently one of our writers is super witty/tweets a lot and got picked up/rec'd by gawker!

(the dialogue thing sounds like my screenwriting class...who would have thought 15 pages of a formatted script would take me all night long to write! i've given up the thought of ever trying to write a novel...though i hope one day to do a nonfiction book, once i sort through what it is exactly i want to write about hahahah. btw, have you read twilight? a few friends of mine can't put it down, though they all agree (and they're all writers/journalists) that the writing sucks a** and it's just the plot that is so good/keeping them...i thought that was interesting.)

yeah I agree with A. Facebook is a good tool for self-promotion, but you should separate the accounts.

re: writing--have you ever tried talking through your characters? I know it's been a while since drama club, but I think you might be able to "feel" what is lacking in the character if you are forced to think about what direction you'd want as an actor.

On a totally random note, branding in academia is so bizarre. It's such a small pool of people that you get known within, unless you somehow become a "public intellectual." I've pretty much given up all my online presence, except for my photoblog--which has nothing to do with anything professional, haha.

As long as you don't send me a bill for the comment you left, you should be fine. Some of the other questions on that forum asked things like, "Is it OK if I help someone with English conversation and they buy me dinner in return?" I think people are getting the impression top-secret agents from the immigration office are in disguise around the city. Then again, maybe they are...

So you're on facebook now, eh? Can't remember if I'm friends with you yet, but I'll search for you. I've avoided, for the most part, adding people I don't personally know. I don't really have personal info on my profile, but it just feels weird. I use it mostly to get in touch with old friends, keep friends up to date on what's going on, etc. So I agree with the other comments that you could create another account. I know a few people who've done that (one of my friends has a business, so he created an account for his business name).

Are you writing a sci/fi novel? Hopefully it's not a romance novel, with a picture of a Fabio look-alike on the cover staring into the eyes of a woman on a grassy hill with a horse in the background or something. Although some would say that's where the money is in writing.

1) no. especially if they are from your fans. i am very big about internet security, so i generally think that it is a terrible idea to put too much information about yourself out there. if there is a wider body of people who want to access you via facebook, that ought to be a good thing, except you don't know who is out there. even if you are friended to them on fb it doesn't mean you know them.

instead, i suggest privatizing yourself entirely on fb so that only you and your actual friends can access your info and pictures, and rather than having strangers come up to you to friend you, create a "fan" page for your writing persona on fb. just like obama and mccain during their campaigns. it also creates an aura of officialdom around yourself and further establishes your status as a published writer.

2) good for you - glad to hear that you are pursuing your genuine interest. again, same advice regarding fb - create a fanpage for yourself instead. or, have someone else do it for you, so you don't appear to be an egotistical blowhard.

3) twitter, fb, and linkedin are supposed to be great networking tools for professionals, and they are supposedly increasingly more necessary to find a job these days. i'd suggest keeping a twitter and linkedin for all your professional stuff; that's where fans and future employers can find your work and resume. however, i recommend keeping all of your photos and stuff private - that's not for the whole world to see.