Stephen Higgins

Last issue I made the point that we really should spread the word about Speculative Fiction if only to awaken potential lovers of the genre to its existence. I should point out that, to my shame, I am pretty useless when it comes to social media and so I am denying myself the opportunity of doing exactly what I was advocating in an efficient manner. I have Facebooked. I have even twittered (just the once) and recently I was called upon to keep an online diary recording my thoughts about Australian Rules Football. Those of you in Australia will know the importance of this, and those overseas might wonder why anyone would have enough thoughts about football to bother recording them. Anyway, the diary was on Tumblr so I got to know how that works a little as well.

Now that Aurealis is an online digital publication, you would think that I would be well and truly into any form of media that was going to help in promoting the magazine. And I am! Honest! It’s just that I don’t seem to find the time to Facebook/Tumblr/Twitter, etc in a meaningful way. But I will—I mean this is called ‘From the Cloud’ so I think I am obliged to actively interact with this media. But hey—you're probably more proficient with the use of social media than I am, so why not comment on the stories in Aurealis and the articles, reviews, illustrations and covers. What do you like? What don’t you like? Have your say. That’s one of the great things about social media. Everyone knows about its immediacy. Clearly, this is a two edged sword in that some people give their opinions without necessarily considering those opinions when sober… I mean in the clear light of day.

We publish ten times a year, so it is an ideal place to discuss issues, promote events and publicise books. Use it!

Look up Aurealis on Twitter (Dan@aurealisozFSF). There is also a lot of fantastic stuff on our Facebook page and of course we're old fashioned enough to have a good old web page at www.aurealis.com.au.

There is a wealth of material to access and debate. There are always conventions to discover, new links to follow and of course chat to engage, enrage or educate. Reading the magazine is just a small part of the whole Aurealis package.