Write on, Kiera! As a painter and writer, I want to share my work with people I know and also reach out to new colleagues, viewers, readers. I like seeing what others are exploring and accomplishing, but hopping on social media daily to view posts and to post interrupts my deeper thinking, work flow, and comfort. I haven't had to deal with a surge of followers because I don't know how to play with the algorithms as you did and my posts on Instagram aren't going viral, but I'm struggling to find a way to participate that suits me (an introvert who likes people). I would like the process of engagement to be enjoyable, productive, and stimulating rather than distracting. It's a question of getting the right balance, I'm sure, because social media algorithms are part of the creative landscape and here to stay until whatever is next for being in touch in the progression from pre-telephone, telegraph, party line/operators, phone booth, home landline, internet, cell phone, social media apps.... mental telepathy? You and I are on the same wave length. It takes time to truly engage and not just "like" something or post a picture of one's breakfast. I appreciate creators who originate thoughtful content.
Thanks for the thoughtful comment, Christine! I feel you. It’s hard to balance a desire for discovery with a desire to create freely. I wonder if eventually there will be a way to provide input on who you hope to be “discovered” by. Like what if I could get a say in who my posts should go to? Or what if I could accept subscriber requests like you can Instagram followers? Those would help me feel in control of my creations while also allowing me to grow.
It's similar to an artist having an studio open house vs a private showing. I used to participate in Open Studios in San Francisco. Anyone could climb the stairs to my warehouse loft studio. They'd feel free to give me their critiques - good and bad. I learned to listen and take it in or discard, and I also learned to put away some of my sketches or works in progress -- anything I didn't want to put at risk of comments. It's probably best to accept that our creations, once online, are somewhat out of our control no matter what the platform/app. And in the off-line world, we aren't totally in control of our creations once we release them to galleries, publishers, events, small group shares. But we are in control of what we create next. No one can take that from us, though we may need to silence those other noisy voices in our working solitude in order to hear ourselves think.
I have a substack account but haven't started to post. For longform, I have my ReadtoWriteBooks blog on Wordpress, which gets views and readership but very few comments. I like the WP interface because it allows for visuals/graphics, which relate to my posts about writing craft, and I enjoy writing the longform posts. But I don't think of WP as social media, and perhaps it's seen as old school. Everything changes. I have thought about transitioning the posts to Substack, but that's another platform to engage with. So for now, I only follow/subscribe to a few people here.
It always helps me to have in mind who is reading or viewing my posts, long or short. I like reading posts that feel intimate (though not overly confessional) and authentic. I like a voice speaking to a specific audience, group of friends, network—real people who want to dive deeper and also venture into areas outside of their area of expertise. I follow a quantum physicist on Instagram. Images and words. I have no idea what he's talking about half the time, but he excites my brain and expands my world!
Kiera I find this interesting because I often find myself wanting more readers but I have anxiety about what kind of readers I attract and what they will say! Those things are out of my control though, the one thing I control is what I share and write. In that way I share your perspective!
I found you when you went viral! But this post is a good (hopeful!) reminder that social media algorithms still favor small content creators. Thanks for writing!
Write on, Kiera! As a painter and writer, I want to share my work with people I know and also reach out to new colleagues, viewers, readers. I like seeing what others are exploring and accomplishing, but hopping on social media daily to view posts and to post interrupts my deeper thinking, work flow, and comfort. I haven't had to deal with a surge of followers because I don't know how to play with the algorithms as you did and my posts on Instagram aren't going viral, but I'm struggling to find a way to participate that suits me (an introvert who likes people). I would like the process of engagement to be enjoyable, productive, and stimulating rather than distracting. It's a question of getting the right balance, I'm sure, because social media algorithms are part of the creative landscape and here to stay until whatever is next for being in touch in the progression from pre-telephone, telegraph, party line/operators, phone booth, home landline, internet, cell phone, social media apps.... mental telepathy? You and I are on the same wave length. It takes time to truly engage and not just "like" something or post a picture of one's breakfast. I appreciate creators who originate thoughtful content.
Thanks for the thoughtful comment, Christine! I feel you. It’s hard to balance a desire for discovery with a desire to create freely. I wonder if eventually there will be a way to provide input on who you hope to be “discovered” by. Like what if I could get a say in who my posts should go to? Or what if I could accept subscriber requests like you can Instagram followers? Those would help me feel in control of my creations while also allowing me to grow.
It's similar to an artist having an studio open house vs a private showing. I used to participate in Open Studios in San Francisco. Anyone could climb the stairs to my warehouse loft studio. They'd feel free to give me their critiques - good and bad. I learned to listen and take it in or discard, and I also learned to put away some of my sketches or works in progress -- anything I didn't want to put at risk of comments. It's probably best to accept that our creations, once online, are somewhat out of our control no matter what the platform/app. And in the off-line world, we aren't totally in control of our creations once we release them to galleries, publishers, events, small group shares. But we are in control of what we create next. No one can take that from us, though we may need to silence those other noisy voices in our working solitude in order to hear ourselves think.
I have a substack account but haven't started to post. For longform, I have my ReadtoWriteBooks blog on Wordpress, which gets views and readership but very few comments. I like the WP interface because it allows for visuals/graphics, which relate to my posts about writing craft, and I enjoy writing the longform posts. But I don't think of WP as social media, and perhaps it's seen as old school. Everything changes. I have thought about transitioning the posts to Substack, but that's another platform to engage with. So for now, I only follow/subscribe to a few people here.
It always helps me to have in mind who is reading or viewing my posts, long or short. I like reading posts that feel intimate (though not overly confessional) and authentic. I like a voice speaking to a specific audience, group of friends, network—real people who want to dive deeper and also venture into areas outside of their area of expertise. I follow a quantum physicist on Instagram. Images and words. I have no idea what he's talking about half the time, but he excites my brain and expands my world!
Kiera I find this interesting because I often find myself wanting more readers but I have anxiety about what kind of readers I attract and what they will say! Those things are out of my control though, the one thing I control is what I share and write. In that way I share your perspective!
Glad you found it interesting Istiaq! I like the idea of focusing on what you can control
I found you when you went viral! But this post is a good (hopeful!) reminder that social media algorithms still favor small content creators. Thanks for writing!
Glad you found me, Tara! And enjoyed the New Yorker article you shared about Joan Didion a few weeks ago!
well this is how I found you, so glad you went 'viral'!
Haha - yes! glad you found me :)
Very interesting. It’s weird how quickly it starts to feel bad for your brain when something gets big. Fame seems really unpleasant!
It does! :)