I read an interview recently with Diablo Cody, the screenwriter responsible for Juno, Jennifer’s Body, and Ricki and the Flash (starring Meryl Streep). Like Ms Cody herself, her comments were interesting, fresh, and just slightly off-center.

One of the things she admitted she did recently was dump her Twitter account. Why on earth would anyone do that? I thought in horror, especially a famous screenwriter? Her answer was that Twitter had become an “open mic” of “humblebrags” and she’d had enough.

What’s a humblebrag, you ask? Google search defines it thusly:

1. an ostensibly modest or self-deprecating statement whose actual purpose is to draw attention to something of which one is proud.
“social media status updates are basically selfies, humblebrags, and rants”

I think of the posts I see every day on my Facebook feed, and I realize she’s right. So much bragging. Here I am at my spa weekend! Here’s my view from the hotel balcony in Cancun! Here’s the castle I just bought in France! Here’s a photo (or ten) from my daughter’s extravagantly over-priced but fabulous wedding! Here’s a glamorous selfie! Here’s a screenshot of my book sitting at number three on Amazon!

(Okay, I’ll admit it – I’m guilty of that last one.)

When I see an endless stream of posts and Tweets like that, it annoys me. Of course we want to share our good fortune. Of course we want to share the picture of us standing next to David Bowie, or meeting the White House’s executive chef. Those are unique and memorable moments.

But sharing and bragging are often separated by a very thin line.

Writers are especially prone to this. We post links to our books. We post screenshots of our top-ten Amazon ranking. We post links to our blogs, our Instagram accounts, to Pinterest and Tumblr. It’s all in the name of business, we insist as we post, post, post. And to a certain extent, this justification is valid. After all – how will anyone find and read our books if we don’t get our stuff out there? Even the marketing experts (and our publishers) scream that we NEED a presence on social media! We need to BRAND OURSELVES, damn it!

But the flip side of all this branding and bragging and blathering is, you risk annoying people with your constant self-aggrandizement and book-related blah, blah, blahs. You come across as mercenary and self-involved. And God knows, I don’t want to be that person. It’s like going to a cocktail party, trapping some poor unfortunate in the corner, and boring them silly by talking about yourself all evening.

How much better, I think, to post silly photos. Pictures of cute, Blackface lambs. Or maybe post inspiring quotes or healthy eating tips and recipes. In other words – connect with others through the normal channels of social interaction…jokes, news, a bit of gossip about your favorite celebrity, or even yourself. Because that’s how we do it in real life.

We introduce ourselves. We get to know the other person though the give and take of conversation. We try to present our best, most likable selves. What we don’t do (or at least, what we shouldn’t do) is shift immediately into a hard sell mode – i.e., I know we just met, but would you like to buy a car from me? Allow me to represent you in court? Buy my book?

Chances are, the answer we get from such behavior will be a resounding “hell, no.”

That’s not to say that a book link or an Instagram post here and there isn’t okay. It is. Just remember that it’s called “social media” for a reason, and remember to try and BE. SOCIAL.

While I’m not ready to pull the plug on Twitter or Facebook just yet, I have to say… I think I’m with Ms Cody on this one.