SEQUIM — It’s easy to feel isolated out here in this far corner of the world. Especially in winter.
But these days, new, free ways to connect — with friends, customers, fans and kindred spirits — are proliferating.
Some of the pathways are well-known: Facebook, Twitter, Flickr.
Others are beyond our ken — but only for now, if Renne Brock-Richmond has anything to say about it.
Turns out she and other artist-entrepreneurs in and around Sequim have plenty to say, and they’re inviting all creative spirits to an exchange of ideas this Saturday night.
“Beyond Networking — The Power of Social Media” is the title of the talk presented by the Sequim Humanities and Arts Alliance, a nonprofit group now offering such workshops once a month.
Saturday’s discussion will run from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at The Lodge at Sherwood Village’s Media Room, 660 W. Evergreen Farm Way, just off Fifth Avenue near the intersection with Old Olympic Highway.
Admission is free, and information is available by phoning 360-460-3023.
Use of Facebook
Brock-Richmond, a Peninsula College and University of Washington instructor who teaches courses in social media and virtual worlds, will explain ways to use Facebook and its online relatives to promote an artistic business and share ideas and products with a worldwide audience.
Joining her are other local artists who use social media to reach out: Mary Beth Beuke of West Coast Sea Glass, Mary Beth Blake of Irresistible Beadworks, Lisa Kendrick of XSbaggage & Co. and Kate Irvin of Tie Mee, a home-based tie-dyed clothing company.
They’re all part of Burning Down the House Creative Collective, a local group that promotes handmade art on the Internet and with events such as the annual Opulent Art Show in September.
Irvin started out selling her tie-dyed creations at the Sequim Open Aire Market.
Then she joined Etsy.com, a site loaded with handmade goods, and started a blog (tiemee.blog spot.com).
Promotional giveaway
On her blog, Irvin recently held a promotional giveaway of a new product: tie-dyed, thigh-high socks. The winner was a Canadian woman who had found Tie Mee online.
Irvin, who lives in Port Angeles, is an example of an entrepreneur traversing those social-media frontiers.
“I’m still learning,” she said. “I just got a Facebook fan page” for Tie Mee.
Brock-Richmond generates income for her art-apparel business, Unique As You, with a good old-fashioned Web site (www.UniqueAsYou.com), a blog and now with a virtual shop in the virtual world of Second Life.
Her shop is called “hue are you?” and stars her avatar, Zinnia Zauber. In her orange and red ensemble, Zinnia is one unabashedly superheroic figure.
Lest all this seem a little too far out, Brock-Richmond seeks to demystify.
“I use social media as a forum” to bring people together, she said.
Most sites free
And as an instructor, Brock-Richmond wants to motivate people, “from very beginners to long-time users, to cross the bridge over the digital divide that connects us all.”
Anyone, virtually, can use social media, and most formats are free.
But it’s important to be in control of your online presence, Brock-Richmond said.
So during Saturday’s talk, she and her compatriots will talk about how to manage your privacy, control your guest list and, as she puts it, “get ready for lots of friends, fans and followers to support your impact on the world.”
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at diane.urbani@ peninsuladailynews.com.