This last week I gave myself a vacation, well more like a ‘staycation’. It was a stay at home and catch up sort of break. Being designer/editor to both American Miniaturist and Dollhouse Miniatures is a very intense job and I love it! It’s fast paced and things change quickly. Being a regular contributor is also intense. It’s not part of my contract with Ashdown, but it’s very enjoyable to share and inspire.
Weeks leading up to my staycation, any feelings of joy while creating had vanished. You know that wonderful feeling when your imagination feels as if it’s floating around and carrying you along? Sort of like a Red Bull commercial. :) That feeling had been gone for months. Suddenly it was clear that a little break was needed.
After having my Instagram account suddenly shut down a few weeks ago I decided to create this blog because it’s less likely to disappear at the snap of an algorithm’s finger. Then the IG account came back. I didn’t fully trust that there was not a hacker behind the scenes and already started a new IG account. (BTW the support from our community in spreading the word about my new IG account was overwhelming. I felt the love and our community has LOTS of love!) I immediately announced this blog there incase the new IG account also turned to dust.
Then this week my original account was suddenly taken away again. This time it did hit me a little harder and this is why – I gave something that was unstable to much of myself. What is it they say, you get what you pay for? Well IG is free so you can’t complain when you’re bombarded with ads and stalked by hackers and spam or deleted. But seeing all the projects and messaging other makers and sharing stories is so enjoyable.
Social media can sweep you up and easily carry you away. It's full of endless stimulation, often more than one should have in a day to be healthy. We become programed to pick up our phones and swipe, it becomes habitual. All the while Instagram’s only intention is to sell advertising. No human support, only a cumbersome help website. Basically we are working for Instagram so they can sell advertising, but we get no assistance when we have issues. Interesting. But they have made it so much fun, when it is working, we just get on the ride with no forethought. I have been reading that many people are leaving IG because they are realizing this and because of the rise in deleted accounts and hacking.
Upon waking up this morning, in a place of peace. I wrote down things that make me happiest about creating; Inspiring others to create, sharing my knowledge, encouraging others to push their creativity and self esteem, sharing my creations/collection with those that appreciate miniatures and selling my art to those that will cherish each piece. These are all things that can easily be done without IG. There are endless amounts of stable platforms to do all of these things.
Social media can’t take away your creativity if it disappears. Yes, you do make friends on social media and the art is inspirational. Just be sure to have a healthy relationship with it. Go there for a purpose, not just because your bored or because it’s a habit. Keep a list of your favorite accounts on paper or in your computer. If IG or FB decide to shut you down without warning you can start a new and still visit your favorite makers and message friends.
Yes, you will loose your follower numbers, but true connections are more valuable than numbers…right? The algorithms keep a large percentage of your followers from seeing your posts anyway and many only follow to be followed back. Human connections are real and valuable. This should be our priority as a society.
Feel free to comment and share any thoughts on this, thanks so much for taking the time to stop by. Now I’m off to let my imagination sweep me away. Big hugs to all of you! ~Auralea
What a thought provoking post. I am rather late to the party with social media and before embarking I spoke to two family members who work or worked for Google. Interestingly they did not push their company’s products. I think it is very important to not allow your IG account to become your identity. That said, social media has allowed me to “meet” many talented miniaturists. We just must remember, “everything in moderation.”
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, that is a great way to phrase it. Not to let it become your identity. :) I have been thinking about you while putting the scallop shingles on the Jasmine house! Thank you again for using your cutter for those. It is coming along great and they are so easy to apply. Your the best!
DeleteWhen people ask me what are the best social media accounts and whether they really need a blog and a website, I always tell them the same thing; you need to OWN it. Social media is a marketing game, as you point out in your blog. Whatever you put on there is visible for a day or two, then it is forgotten. Followers mean nothing because you don't know whether you they just want to be followed in return or whether the algorithms even show them your posts. Search engines don't index social media posts, so putting in all that effort is not going to help your business to grow and have a solid internet presence in the future.
ReplyDeleteThe way to go is to own a blog. Own a website with an online shop if you are selling something. A blog and a website that are well managed will always make sure that you pop up when someone does a Google search for the items or service you offer. Whatever you do, own a Newsletter mailing list so that you have a way of directly contacting your real followers.
After that, you have social media so that you can share with people and inspire them, and be inspired in return. But you need to regard it as window shopping more than anything else.
I'm sorry that you had trouble with Instagram. I do follow you there but in the same way that I became tired of Facebook and left it, I might do the same with Insta in future. People go window shopping in a different neighbourhood all the time. It's good an natural.
Great advice. Unfortunately I couldn’t get the subscribe code from mail chimp to work in the blogger html button. : ( Still trying to figure that one out. “Window shopping “ is such great way to phrase it.
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