Well made letters need not be gilded, illustrated or embellished to be beautiful, they can stand alone and be the design itself. Learn to see Roman Letters as 26 design elements that can be drawn, painted, abstracted, reversed and combined. A minimal use of tools and materials help us to concentrate on form and the relationship to space.Based on a year long study class developed for Masscribes, Boston, This 5 day class will be comfortably paced but will result in a portfolio of designs and several finished projects.-!IMAGE707--!
This class is designed for all levels including those just beginning to study calligraphy.

The Campbell School is famous for it's classes in a very wide range of artistic disciplines, stunning and peaceful countryside, comfortable accommodations and really good food. It's worth the trip to feed body, mind and soul. Top image, Mary Lawler.
Second image by Kay Johnson, third image by Dave Flattery]]> http://artid.com/members/calligraphy/blog/post/3637 Fri, 12 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000

I was at the counter of an instant printing place and I stood up for some reason, not looking, when I went to sit back down, there was someone in what was I thought was still my seat. So there I was sitting in a strangers lap, totally embarrassed, but he was laughing and we struck up a conversation. Ballet Teacher? Is that so? I started lessons the next week.

I cross-trained for a few years but finally I gave up ballet to study calligraphy in earnest. I was involved in a local guild and we were having Peter Thornton in for a workshop. I volunteered to send out the flyers. I had no idea who Peter Thornton was, but I had seen some of his work. Just before the workshop I got a call from a gentleman asking if there was room in the workshop and I said there was. He asked about Peter's background and qualifications, which of course I had to make up because I hadn't a clue. After I had given him the sales pitch the guy broke into hysterical knee slapping laughter. It was Peter. I was busted and embarrassed, again, but we had a great workshop, even though he teased me for the next two days, he thought it was so funny.

In 1995 I attended a calligraphy conference in Trenton NJ. There was a week long class offered called Non Traditional Tools in a Traditional Craft. This was good timing, I wanted to incorporate more contemporary calligraphy in my graphic design work. Walking back to the main gathering room after the first night's opening lecture, I was fumbling in my purse for matches and dropped a pack of cigarettes. (That's one of the ways we stayed thin enough to dance, I don't recommend it). The man walking behind me picked them up, handed them to me and asked for one. I had cigarettes and no matches he had matches and no cigarettes. He asked how I was finding the conference so far and what classes I was taking. I told him I was going to be studying with some guy I never heard of named Michael Clark. You can guess the rest. I have a real knack for putting my foot in my mouth. I have had many more excellent teachers over the years, and too many stories to tell here.

If you remain open to possibility and abandon your sense of fear, all things are possible. Pay attention, the synchronicity is there. The universe sent me these teachers exactly when I need them. Alex taught me much more that ballet steps, he taught me about the visual line created by the body. He had many memorable quotes but the one I remember most fondly and use the most often is "A good dancer never blames the floor." Peter taught me practice and patience and the dangers of comparing myself to the person sitting next to me. Michael taught me to experiment, to see, to build a relationship with the letters and revere their form. Form, line, focus, discipline, dedication; dancing was just like lettering and lettering was just like dancing and on and on the connections go.

So, when you are looking for a teacher and you are ready, one will appear. Take my advice; if you have to, sit on them.]]> http://artid.com/members/calligraphy/blog/post/3508 Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000

For the past 16 years I have volunteered my artistic services to a fund raising event, The Bright Nights Ball. Every year has a theme, and each year I make elaborate table numbers (45) to mach the color and theme. Additionally, I make matching name tags for the 30 or so student volunteers. This year, like every year the ballroom was magical in shades of teal, and white, beautifully lit and staged. Elaborate floral arrangements were at every turn and the most divine scent of roses. This year I got together all the stock, cut it down, layered two shades of teal with silver and white. I painted the table numbers with pearlescent teal paint and they looked quite nice. The student name tags followed suite lettered with Earth Safe Acrylic gouache with Luminarte Primary Elements added. Everything looked fine but there was something missing. The soft shimmer of the papers and paint were not going to be enough in the ballroom light. I knew what needed to be done and I cringed a little knowing that I had to add glitter to every piece.
Glitter is just the right touch in certain circumstances but can be easily over or under done. Plus it makes a big giant mess. No matter how carefully or sparingly I apply it, and with collecting devices beneath, it gets everywhere. I used a micro cut clear glitter this year. I just wanted a starburst on the names and numbers so I dug out my Sakura Glue Pen and what do you know, after lying dormant for some time, it still worked. I drew the starbursts in glue, sprinkled on the glitter and the first few went smoothly. Then the glitter began to accumulate on the catch sheet, so I poured it back into the container. That's when the trouble started. The micro glitter, static clung to everything. It went from my hands, to my clothes, to my face, to all over the work surface. As I went adding glitter to the rest of the pieces, my black cat appeared on the table, sparkling all over, glitter whiskers, glitter feet, glitter floating in the air. The cat, of course, tracked it downstairs and you know the rest.
In the end the glitter was just the right touch for the ballroom pieces. That was a week ago. My house is still lovely, glitter winking in the sun. Good thing Christmas is coming.

I digress, the object of my story is that antique case clock over there in the corner. It belonged to my Aunt Marie and when staying with her, the clock was a sort of a constant companion, the ticking so soothing, the chimes so reassuring. Unless of course you were sleeping next to it, then it jolted you awake on the hour, like Big Ben.
When Aunt Marie passed, the clock was carefully disassembled and brought to my house, where it immediately ceased to run. We leveled it, talked to it, fiddled with it, with no success. I supposed that it just missed Marie. For five years that clock has stood silent.

In order to paint behind the clock we had to carefully slide it over in front of the window. Where it immediately began to run. After we exchanged matching expressions of mouth gaping amazement, we concluded that either Aunt Marie was messing with us, or that the clock just didn't like it over in the corner, it liked it here in front of the window.
We let it go, to keep perfect time and wake us on the hour through the night. I was ecstatic, but it couldn't stay in front of the window, for a variety of reasons, so we carefully slid it back the 2.5 feet to the corner, where it immediately stopped. Put it in front of the window, tick tock, back to the corner, silent.

We knew it was a matter of balance so we got out the levels and the lasers and the shims and tried 20 different combinations, non of which worked as usual. We noted that when the clock was in front of the window it wasn't "level" at all. It pitched forward and slightly to it's left. So we went about replicating the same skew, only over by the wall. A couple of terse words and a few hours later, it ticked, then tocked and has been running perfectly since.

It made me think about balance and how we all strive for the perfect combination of art and life and time with varying success. When I am at a conference or at Snow Farm for a week, immersed in art, surrounded by artists, I am "in front of the window". The ideal setting, a perfect environment, but I can't stay there. I have to go back to "the corner" where life and gravity and physics pull me out of whack and I get stuck. The solution is to replicate as best I can, the environment that works "by the window" while I am aesthetically pleasing in the corner. It takes trial and error, time, frustration and many false starts but it works, restoring rhythm even if I do have to be propped up on a couple of shims and a beer mat.

How do you find balance?]]> http://artid.com/members/calligraphy/blog/post/3021 Tue, 08 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Our language is being abbreviated down to number and letter codes that you need a new dictionary to decipher. Conference=Con, Manicure=Mani, Pedicure=Pedi, Application=Apps, Favorite=Fav, Congratulations=Congrats, Proposition=Props.I don't understand half of the Tweets and texts I read with all the > < # RT = 4 U 2 >=> in there. It's intended to be faster when in reality it just slows me down.

The question I am pondering now is, in the future how all this abbreviated language will look in calligraphy? There are lots of studies out there, illustrating how our minds perceive language. Taking out all the vowels, mixing things up, all that clever stuff, but what will calligraphers of the upcoming generations going to do with IM texting as their written language?

"I love u > than u will ever no. My heart cries when I am w/u. U make me :) and I long 2 C U again." Do we need to start designing calligraphic emoticons?

"4 score & 7yrs ago our 4 fathers brought 4th upon this continent a new nation: conceived in lib and dedicated to the prop that all men R created =. Just doesn't have the same ring to it.

If it happens we will shudder and protest but it will be their world and their language. Just as we aren't speaking Middle English anymore (thankfully) language evolves and the written word evolves with it, reflecting the changes in aesthetics, architecture, fashion, morals, customs and lifestyles.

We'd better get started on those emoticons.☺

If you have an idea for a calligraphic emoticon, send it to me and I will post it with your name in a future blog. mary@artid.com

After many weeks of reading, asking questions, curing quills, scorching quills, cutting, mangling and muttering, I finally got a quill to write. Two of them actually. The aluminum can strip reservoir is a pain as far as I'm concerned. I can't get the thing to sit straight or touch the back of the quill properly so I resorted to holding it in place with masking tape. It worked. I did the entire piece (except the painting of the stones) pictured with a quill and gouache on a very poor choice of laid charcoal paper. Put that on the list of things not to do again. The color was perfect but the surface was frustrating. I need to rework it, I think the stones look like potatoes. But the quills worked! Happy dance!

No matter how fastidious you are, we all get ink and gouache and paint on our hands sometimes. I try to keep my work area immaculate especially when working on a final piece, one little over-dip, one fumble and you're done. I have had many a struggle with an ink bottle cap and lost. Fountain pens and their maintenance are the worst offenders. I should just accept that ink is going to get all over the place and put on an apron and some laytex gloves before tackling a fountain pen.

Some materials stain more than others and can be tough to get off. Dye based inks that are not lightfast will come off pretty easily and any residue stain will fade. Permanent and waterproof inks are harder to get off. So, how do you get ink stains off your fingers? In a recent Cyberscribes discussion some of the top suggestions were:

1. Pumice stone and dish detergent
2. Clorox Bleach and a scrub brush
3. Marvelous Marianne's Savvy Soap Hand and Brush Cleaner
4. An electric toothbrush and hand cleaner
5. GoJo, (hardware store)
6. Double D Eucalyptus oil
7. Baby Wipes
8. Clorox wipes
9. Electric toothbrush and Windex
10. Leave them there, they will wear off

I thought the electric toothbrush was pretty novel. Personally, I stay away from bleach on my skin. Harsh cleansers will take the stains off and some of your skin along with it, so use the least amount possible.

I prefer Baking Soda and Peroxide to clean paint and ink off my hands. That mixture is good for cleaning almost anything, teeth, sink, bathtub, kitchen counters work surfaces, and grout. One hand and brush cleaner I have found that works extremely well and is eco friendly is Earth Safe Hand and Brush Cleaner.
You need very, very little, it works well and won't hurt you like some solutions will.

Some scribes expressed a preference for not scrubbing stains off at all, rather wearing them as a testimony to the craft and hard day's work. I can see the logic in that. Stains can also serve as a visual aid, "See what I'm working on, it's this green and this blue and a little gold." Yet there are times when ink under the fingernails can be interpreted as dirt, so use your judgment. If you know you are going to a wedding or cocktail party later in the day, just avoid the studio all together if possible, otherwise you are just tempting fate.

Why the picture of the coleus? I found this variety at a greenhouse and the name on the tag was Inky Fingers. I couldn't leave it there, could I?]]> http://artid.com/members/calligraphy/blog/post/2750 Fri, 12 Jun 2009 00:00:00 +0000 Being able to determine the grain direction of a piece of paper, board or book cloth is essential to a successful book binding project. If you have ever had trouble pasting or binding paper together only to have it warp or bow, here are a few pointers for determining paper grain, what it is, and why it is, you need to know.

Eco Friendly Acrylic Gouache

Adding Color
I put the gouache through a series of tests to see how it would perform and I was very impressed. I started with very little, maybe one half teaspoon in a dappen dish. To that, I added colorants in this case a blue, a black, a white and a green. The colorants come in 22 colors and are easily mixed for custom colors. Colorants are so highly pigmented that they should be added one drop at a time to achieve the right intensity. I mixed very little of each color because acrylic cannot be reconstituted after it dries. Tiny jars would be ideal for storage, I kept the blue over a week, hydrated and covered with plastic wrap. I got carried away with the green, so I guess I'll have to use that up on some project. Colorants and mediums can be used on fabric but also check out their other product Fabric Magic.

Consistency in Writing
Water was added a drop at a time to get to a proper writing viscosity. It was neither gloppy or slimey like some acrylic inks can be. I wrote with pointed pen and Mitchell nibs on a variety of paper colors, weights and surfaces.Charcoal paper in a tan, Diploma Parchment, dark green Fabriano and lots of different envelope stock. I had no trouble with any combination. I was able to pull fine hairlines and maintain a consistent opaque color even when thinned down. You can water it down so much that it can be used as a glaze and the written over or vice versa. The White was a bit disappointing, I had hoped for a really true opaque white, but the white colorant like most whites was a little too transparent on dark papers. It showed up just fine, but I would have preferred a more highly pigmented white.

Shimmers
Another product by Earth Safe is Shimmers, pearlescent gel mediums. It comes as Shimmer Opaque, and Shimmer Translucent each comes in 12 colors. I added a little Shimmer White Translucent to regular gouache and it did shimmer a bit, I could have used more, it also made the regular gouache dry waterproof. Shimmer Opaque was added to the blue acrylic gouache and that dried with a beautiful soft shimmer. Colorants can be added to the shimmers as well and I can't wait to try them as backgrounds and on paste papers.

Waterproof
Like a good acrylic should, the fluid, as glaze or opaque, stayed put even when soaked. This gouache dries very rapidly to a matte finish, you won't have to wait or worry about off set. I even used it on glossy photo paper, hairlines are not possible but it wrote well, dried fast and stayed in place. It dries very rapidly on the nib too so a wipe down now and then keeps the line crisp.

Clean Up
Earth Safe Hand and Brush Cleaner did a great job on the mixing brushes, my hands and the nibs. I only needed a tablespoon in a small dish and let the brushes and nibs soak for a minute or two while I cleaned my hands. The cleaner took even old paint out of my brushes that other cleaners did not. The nibs needed a once over with a soft toothbrush and they were perfect.

So What?
There are lots of acrylic gouaches, gel mediums, dyes and cleaners out there and most are labeled Non Toxic. I was surprised to learn that there are 100,000 synthetic organic compounds associated with artists products. A product can be labeled Non Toxic and still contain harmful amounts of VOC's.

Environmentally Responsible
All Earth Safe products are manufactured with low or no VOC's (Volatile Organic Compounds). These are common organic substances that evaporate at room temperature. They keep paint in liquid form and help the paint dry quickly from a liquid to a solid. The evaporation process is called off gassing and can continue to release gasses for months after the paint has dried. Biocides are the preservatives that keep these same products from spoiling, these too can off gas and cause reactions. Artists with chemical sensitivity can use Earth Safe products safely.

I am all for products that are made in the US, are non-toxic and work really well. That is why I was happy to discover Earth Safe Finishes. Their website is packed with information, specifications and testimonials.
True to their commitment all ESF packaging is reused and recyclable. Earth Safe Finished ships worldwide.]]> http://artid.com/members/calligraphy/blog/post/2522 Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Nothing is more frustrating than trying to work and feeling like you are fighting a battle. Many factors must be considered when "things just aren't working right." Here are a few things you may want to check: Paper Quality and Surface
Fluid
Posture
Pen Nib
Temperature
Light
Pencil
Humidity
Concentration

Fluid: Ink: acrylic, walnut, sumi, metallic, pearlescent or concentrated dye. Acrylic paint, gouache, and watercolor, each will have their own personalities. If the fluid won't flow off the pen in a reasonable and consistent manner it may be too thick. One drop of water at a time until you reach the right consistency will usually remedy that. Remember, as you are writing, your fluid is evaporating, from its container and from the nib, so you may have to check if it needs water. Fluid that is too thin can be left to stand and evaporate down to the right consistency but that can be time consuming. If you use thinner inks like Higgins Eternal, put some in a separate jar and mix in a drop or two of Gum Arabic. The gum will help it to cling to the nib and not run off so fast. If you use gouache regularly, when it dries out you can reconstitute it with water, but keep in mind, as the water is evaporating out of the paint, so is the binder. Replacing that lost Gum Arabic (a drop) now and again and it will keep the paint from getting crusty.

Pens: Is it brand new? You may want to clean it with a little soap and water to get the oil off. Is it the right size for the writing style you want? If it's an old favorite, is it clean from the last time it was used? Mitchell nibs will often need a reservoir when using ink, but not with gouache. After a surprisingly short time, ink or gouache will accumulate on the nib in thin layers and before you know it your nib is half again as thick as it was when you started. Clean off that buildup regularly especially with acrylic inks.

Graphite: If pencil lines are too heavy and done with a soft pencil, graphite can accumulate on the pen nib, mixing with the ink and making it thick.

Temperature: If the temperature in the room is above 80_ the individual paper fibers may be swelled enough to affect your writing, creating a "drag". The opposite is also true. Below 55_ fibers tend to contract, sometimes resulting in a skip. Ink too, will flow slower at colder temperatures and vice versa.

Humidity: The big battle. Humidity between 30% and 55% is ideal. A small humidistat is available for a reasonable price. Keep both a thermostat and a humidistat in your workplace. If the paper is warm and moist the fibers are doubly swollen, making the paper soft and bits are easily picked up by the pen and dragged around. Moist fibers will suck up ink and cause it to spread on some papers more than others. Try gouache. It can be mixed thinner or thicker depending on the components at play.

Posture: It's so easy to slump, put your chin in your hand, cross your legs, and where are your elbows? Sit up to open your diaphragm and put you at a better visual distance from your work. Check to make sure your work is in front of you, it's easy especially with longer lines and end up with your hand and elbow too far to your right. A protective sheet under your hand will help keep your skin oils from transferring to the paper and making it difficult to write halfway down the page.

Light: Do you have any? Has the sun gone down since you started? You know what your mother would say and she's be right. I prefer concentrated light from a task lamp over lights in the ceiling or regular household lamp.

Concentration: The single hardest thing is to clear your mind. Shut the door turn off the phone, and the blackberry and the pager and the TV and the iPod. Fighting kids, barking dogs, construction, the doorbell, all pull us away from the place we need to be to do our best work. Threaten or bribe if you must, but ask for a little quiet.
The sign on my studio door says, "Do not disturb unless blood or fire is involved". Make sure your family and friends respect your needs. An unwanted visit from a friend bursting in "I just have to tell you this one thing..." can ruin the whole deal.

Just one or a combination of all these factors could be the cause of your trouble. If you have any other tips or a question, please email me at mary@artid.com]]> http://artid.com/members/calligraphy/blog/post/2407 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0000 Calligraphy Made Easy...Learn To Play Piano In An Hour... Lose 20 lbs. In A Week. We want so badly to believe it but deep in ourselves we know none of it is true. If it were we would all be thin, piano playing calligraphy masters. No matter how far we sink into our immediate gratification culture some things will never change at least not very soon. Babies still need months in the womb. Broken bones will still take a few weeks to heal. It still take 365 days to make a year and 60 minutes to make an hour.

Instant gratification is most certainly here, in the form of food, product and information. We can get anything we want, anytime, even if we can't afford it. Now firmly entrenched in the Information Age we can access information in a flash. Too bad so much of it is wrong.
Instant gratification does not exist when it comes to craftsmanship and skill. No matter which way you spin it, no matter how pretty you dress it up, Calligraphy is a skill and an art that requires patience and practice, study and dedication. Qualities in humans that are disappearing at a rapid rate.

Pen and paper are being replaced by digit and keyboard. Get over it. We are wasting unbelievable amounts of time and energy bemoaning the death of handwriting and the lack of interest in calligraphy. We are being heard loud and clear by those we wish to influence, that we are exasperated, angry and disappointed that more people don't want to be like us. That negativity only serves to drive prospective students away. Step Over It, move on. The LAST thing that lettering artists should be doing, is quibbling about, the validity of styles, the rights and wrongs of techniques and the means to attract new interest.

If Calligraphy is going to pass into obscurity then the best thing I can do is, teach whoever wants to learn and leave behind a prolific body of work, good bad or mediocre. Who will know the difference? I can only leave evidence that I practiced this art to the best of my ability. I want my work to show that I was happy in it's process and it was worth the time and discipline I put in to gaining my level of proficiency. I was here. The world, our lives, our culture is changing. All we can do, is what we do, for as long as we are able, and be satisfied.]]> http://artid.com/members/calligraphy/blog/post/2339 Fri, 20 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0000 There has been some discussion lately on the Cyberscribe's group about breaking in new nibs and I thought it worth a little research. All metal nibs are sprayed with a very fine oil when they are manufactured to prevent rusting in shipping and storage. Before you can use any new nib the oil must be cleaned off or the ink will bead up and not flow. There are many methods for cleaning a new nib, some better than others. You can wipe the nib with a soft cloth and a mild mix of ammonia and water, glass cleaner or saliva. Spit solves just about everything but do not put the nib in your mouth, not because it's unsanitary, but because you run the risk of getting your tongue caught in the slit or stabbing yourself with a pointed nib. Oww. How do I know that? Done it, more than once, I don't recommend it. Some people wipe the nib with gum arabic, some stand it in water, there are a hundred rituals.
I've seen people run the nib over a match flame to "burn" off the oil. It will burn off the oil but heating the nib that way is really called distempering. This is really unnecessary and can damage the nib. Distempering will cause the metal to be more flexible and in many cases brittle. You still have to wipe off the carbon residue so it's seems redundant. Mitchell nibs are plenty flexible enough without roasting them.

Some writings make reference to the Mitchell nibs being coated with shellac which can be removed by placing the nib in a strainer and submerge it in boiling water for a minute to remove the shellac. The before and after pictures show a slight difference in the finish after boiling and they wrote exactly the same so I don't think it's worth the trouble.

Occasionally a new nib will have a burr or be a bit scratchy and need a little sharpening. A wipe with a crocus cloth is usually all that's needed. Crocus cloth is an iron oxide (jewelers rouge, carborundum) coated cloth, (it looks like fine black sandpaper) 1200 grit extremely fine abrasive that is used for polishing metal surfaces. I use a fine sharpening stone very sparingly. Put a drop of water on the stone, the nib should be placed bottom side down at a slight angle and run gently in a circular motion with little or no pressure.
Luce Zolna suggests "I have been using a acrylic nail emery board style buffer. It has 4 different pads from a rough surface all the way to a polishing pad. They are glued to a foam subsurface which is gives it stability. It is handy to keep in your toolbox and it works well. You will find it in a drug store or a beauty supply house." Mine is called a Mini 4 Way Buffer, I gave it a try and it really does work.

To really customize the nib width, Stephen Rapp uses a sharpening stone to file down the nib on each side to narrow the width. If you can still see to do itty bitty teeny tiny writing, try filing down a #6 like he did for this work. Even Stephen admits he doesn't work this small anymore.

The idea is pretty straight forward, clean the oil off before using a new nib. Writing with a nib is the best way to break one in, well used and cared for nibs are best, they have gotten used to your hand, your pressure and your slant. Keep your nibs clean and they will last you a good long time.]]> http://artid.com/members/calligraphy/blog/post/2136 Sat, 03 Jan 2009 00:00:00 +0000

This is a great article about creative envelope addressing and the Glasgow Mail Centre. Enjoy! http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/arts/2008/10/05/sv_harrietrussell.xml

As things change, they remain even more the same. Ways of interacting, communicating and building commerce change, but the reasons behind it do not. The means we use to communicate and socialize have evolved according to need and capability. Fifteen years ago, when the computer took a firm hold on our society, calligraphers were up in arms, this would put us out of business, the same way we thought movable type would. We failed to embrace the technology as a tool then, as an addition to our traditional tools. Now, we are more comfortable with the technology and use it to stay in and improve our business.
The internet has flung more information at us than we can handle, given us ways to socialize and do business we don't even understand. The cyberfluent are speaking a language we might grasp six months from now. As our world careens toward the virtual, we are romanced by technology, caught up in the hip, the gadget, the "app". We want more of it and we want it now, but we really don't know what to do with it. Internet marketing and social media are the new buzz words of cyberbusiness. Everybody has to blog, Link, Flickr, Twitter and Diggit. Maybe, but not to the extent that we abandon previous methodology altogether.
Nothing takes the place of human interaction. We are social beings, we need to congregate, to celebrate, laugh, to protest and to argue. We need to touch, shake hands, hug, caress and high five. The reason I have 30 calligraphers in my Facebook is because I met them at conferences, took classes and ate meals with them. That being said, I have "met" many more around the world with whom I maintain a flow of ideas, support and inspiration. Both are valuable.
I maintain that artists are not resistant or slow to use new technology. We are cautious. Before we start spending time blogging, twittering, linking and pod casting, we want to know if it's worth the investment. Is it a fad or an advantage?
Where is the balance between technology and craftsmanship?
The shift from quills to metal nibs was a new tool,movable type was a tool. The internet is a tool, social media is a tool, not to be dismissed but used wisely. Take the time to learn a little about the advantages of social media now and you will be ahead of the competition when it becomes mainstream.