"Facebook fan pages are for egomaniacs that have no shame."
"Twitter is for crazed fans who hang on every syllable of their celebrity obsessions."
The following photo is a spare of the moment interpretation of an egomaniac or a crazed fan:
Not exactly pretty, but ridiculous and amped up.
None the less, the above assessments were ones I had once had, but kept to myself. I was wrong. Of course there are some offenders, surely, but for the most part I just see a lot of people trying to find their audience. Which is exactly what I am attempting to do, now that I have joined the ranks.
At first I thought is wasn't going to be difficult, due to:
A) My friends and family are generally really supportive of the works that I share on the personal fb wall. It reminds me of how fortunate I am to know each and every one of them, and encourages me that I am doing the right thing by sharing my work.
B) Melissa loves Lemon Pledge! If she 'liked' a faceless corporation's page, surely she would support that of a friend...or maybe she has low standards, and of course would just love my fan page.
I posted a couple of times about if they wanted to stay up-to-date with my work, it would be as easy as liking my facebook fan page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Krystal-Booth-Fine-Art/220009428038292), and I wouldn't be sharing much on my personal wall anymore. This was due to the idea that I don't want to badger those who are not interested. I don't want to bother them over and over if they really don't care for it. That would be the first way to create bad relations.
The truth of the matter: It is difficult. The truth is found in the difficulties - I believe that people are supportive of me as a person they care about, but not especially what it is I am doing. That's alright, as I don't expect my art to be for everyone. If it was, I would feel like a failure of sorts - as generally, art that is for everyone is generic, and well, it doesn't exist anyway...at least I can't think of any examples right now. For every monument, painting, dance routine, music, or haircut, there are people who love it, people who think so what, and people who hate it.
What is the goal? To find my audience. To engage with people - art is communication. It is a conversation. Every work completed and posted is an invitation for dialogue. What better platform for art than one that is based on communication and images like facebook? That desire to engage, and learn from others - this is what facebook fan pages are about. (I just don't really like the word "fan" - it implies egomania or narcissism, and who wants to 'like' that? Unless it's Steve Martin, because he makes it hilarious.)
It still makes me a bit uncomfortable, and the change of attitude has been slow by keeping the page a secret for the majority of the time it has been up. But now I can see the value and how important of a tool it is to find one's audience. We don't create to just make noise for the sake of noise. We're seeking connection.
As far as twitter goes, I don't really get it, but making an effort anyway. Currently, I'm just adding to that noise, but every little jot is a hope that it will be more this time, and my work will find who it is looking for.
Thank you for reading, and for those of you who find this and have fan pages, I'd love to hear about your experience. Maybe my experience and attitudes are not the norm.
"Twitter is for crazed fans who hang on every syllable of their celebrity obsessions."
The following photo is a spare of the moment interpretation of an egomaniac or a crazed fan:
Not exactly pretty, but ridiculous and amped up.
None the less, the above assessments were ones I had once had, but kept to myself. I was wrong. Of course there are some offenders, surely, but for the most part I just see a lot of people trying to find their audience. Which is exactly what I am attempting to do, now that I have joined the ranks.
At first I thought is wasn't going to be difficult, due to:
A) My friends and family are generally really supportive of the works that I share on the personal fb wall. It reminds me of how fortunate I am to know each and every one of them, and encourages me that I am doing the right thing by sharing my work.
B) Melissa loves Lemon Pledge! If she 'liked' a faceless corporation's page, surely she would support that of a friend...or maybe she has low standards, and of course would just love my fan page.
I posted a couple of times about if they wanted to stay up-to-date with my work, it would be as easy as liking my facebook fan page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Krystal-Booth-Fine-Art/220009428038292), and I wouldn't be sharing much on my personal wall anymore. This was due to the idea that I don't want to badger those who are not interested. I don't want to bother them over and over if they really don't care for it. That would be the first way to create bad relations.
The truth of the matter: It is difficult. The truth is found in the difficulties - I believe that people are supportive of me as a person they care about, but not especially what it is I am doing. That's alright, as I don't expect my art to be for everyone. If it was, I would feel like a failure of sorts - as generally, art that is for everyone is generic, and well, it doesn't exist anyway...at least I can't think of any examples right now. For every monument, painting, dance routine, music, or haircut, there are people who love it, people who think so what, and people who hate it.
What is the goal? To find my audience. To engage with people - art is communication. It is a conversation. Every work completed and posted is an invitation for dialogue. What better platform for art than one that is based on communication and images like facebook? That desire to engage, and learn from others - this is what facebook fan pages are about. (I just don't really like the word "fan" - it implies egomania or narcissism, and who wants to 'like' that? Unless it's Steve Martin, because he makes it hilarious.)
It still makes me a bit uncomfortable, and the change of attitude has been slow by keeping the page a secret for the majority of the time it has been up. But now I can see the value and how important of a tool it is to find one's audience. We don't create to just make noise for the sake of noise. We're seeking connection.
As far as twitter goes, I don't really get it, but making an effort anyway. Currently, I'm just adding to that noise, but every little jot is a hope that it will be more this time, and my work will find who it is looking for.
Thank you for reading, and for those of you who find this and have fan pages, I'd love to hear about your experience. Maybe my experience and attitudes are not the norm.
2 comments:
Exactly how is how I feel but didn't know how to say it. Thanks for this post.
You're welcome and thank you so much for your comment - makes me feel more comfortable with sharing this post. Thank you for reading, Jayne!
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