Anyone out there reading this blog?
Class demo yesterday at LAAFA...
Has Facebook/Twitter replaced the blog forum? The quickie FB/ Twitter t snippet better than the rambling blog post?...I am beginning to think so.
I have been blogging for a while now. My blog has not hit the stratosphere of blog hemisphere. I know that. I am pondering this...
One of the problems with blogs is that they are self-promoting in the extreme...Facebook and Twitter you self promote in exactly the same way FOR SURE but have a word limit. This could is a good thing. It is less obvious (still the same promoting however). It is a fast-food snippet WORLD. Unlike blogs that have to be found. You have to get people to them, writing witty stuff, posting great pics, and this takes time. FB is somewhat easier it seems to me and a helluva lot less writing and effort.
FB/Twitter...aka... a chicken McNugget. Tasty morsel. Fast down the hatch. Not much left to show for it. Burp...And definitely wanting more...nothing substantial.
A good blog should be educational and fun. The best are. I knew when I started blogging that I had to make it readable and hopefully offer something personal of my world sharing around the arts. And, yes, of course self-promoting....
But I think blogging could be done for me. Few post. I am not hot. Sad but true..
I am beginning to feel for me blogging might now be narcissistic in the extreme. I ramble on to a few devoted. I don't quite see who reads because few post...which raises my question.
Compare to FB/Twitter... if you are super-fab you will get at least 15 responses to a mindless listing. Fun to watch who the super-fab are.
Watch how the successful male artists, especially on FB, seem to get a huge response. I have yet to see a female artist I know of on FB get quite the same response to the men. Shoot me men ok!
Male or female, everyone seems to want a slice of the successful life/art/desire pie on FB. Posture. posture, posture...
Hey, if you are really successful, just tell them on FB what you had for dinner, and you will get a post or five. Don't need to share any color theory at all. But you are keeping your profile way high. Sometimes people share in such a careless way (I am having a hot bubble bath right now folks, FB'd by a female artist) that it is not sharing at all. That is just too much personal laundry on the global washing line.
I get some responses on FB, more than on my blog. SAD for me as my blog is super personal and takes me way more time. And I enjoy it way more than FB. By the way, I had pasta for dinner. And I didn't take a picture on my I Phone. Sorry.
So as I head to France, thinking I should take the time to find that remote Internet cafe in this tiny 15th C medieval town, take time to write my thoughts, share, which I enjoy doing, but time away from painting nevertheless, I wonder is it really appealing to people? Am I wasting my time? Should I just load up an image on my phone, twitter a line or two, and FB a post?
Or, snakes alive, just write personal thoughts in a lovely journal that a dear student/friend gave me at the end of this semester to take to France. Hey, what a concept. Keeping our thoughts and daily rumblings private like they did in the old days!
You let me know...blog or not...post!
10 comments:
Hi, Johanna,
I read your blog every time you post! I am very excited (for you) about your France adventure!! The "wash" colors you mentioned in your class demo were gorgeous! Such skin tones!! I drool.
Email me sometime and tell me all about your wonderful new home by the water! We close on ours next week -- finally.
Have a GREAT trip to France. I look forward to your blogs about it so I can live vicariously! Keep dry!
Shelley
Hi, didn't see your WHOLE post when I wrote before. I LOVE reading about your classes, your color theories, your wonderful stories - you are quite the writer! I like blogs I can learn from but have NO idea how one goes about getting "known". I like the links to others' blogs that some artists have -- they lead me in directions I might never have gone! And I am amazed at how many people comment on their fellow bloggers' art work. Sometimes I don't think the comments are totally honest, but definitely encouraging and I guess that is their point. If I were brave enough to even HAVE a blog, I'd prefer honest, constructive comments (as well as oohs and aahs!!)
I don't comment much because it seems that I can't add to what has been said much of the time, but I, for one, would miss your blog! I learn so much!
BTW, I don't "get" the point of Twitter!
Hope to see some posts from France!
Shelley
I read your blog too, and I enjoy learning about your creative process, upcoming shows, as your work is inspirational to me. I do not find FB or Twitter nearly as informative; I've tried them (and use them as well), but I end up perusing hundreds of sentence fragments, and not getting one iota of useful information. Maybe I fear that one of these days I will forget how to form a complete sentence...
I agree with Shelley..
I agree with you....
First and let me emphasize this... I would MISS your blog. I love reading about what is going on in your life... artwise and otherwise. I learn from you and although I know that your goal isn't to teach US... somehow I think distilling and writing about color, or value or line, patterns and even about the players club / rubbing elbows events is in some way helpful to you... helps distill your thoughts etc. Sure you COULD do that in a journal, but then your do leave the rest of us out of it...
You're right... certain people seem to get more "hits" when they make their FB posts about enjoying a good cigar or having dinner with a friend. So what?
Blogging really ISN'T for everyone... It is self serving, yes... but for me it adds a bit of pressure to paint and post things. I find the writing about it therapeutic and clarifying... I also find that when I photograph any work I want to post, I analyze it more... You may not need that ... I do. AND... blogging DOES help me reach out and meet other people and artists.... although FB probably connects me with non-artist people more, I have found that many people I have met in one venue or another READ the blog but don't necessarily comment.
There is also the question of how much time it all takes and of balancing what YOU think is the best way to spend it...
I know you'll do what's best for you, but as I said before, I'd miss reading about your art and your adventures.
PS... Hi Shelley!!! Hope you are well and happy painting!!
PSS.... I don't get the point of Twitter either... FB is okay.. a bit all over the place and I get to learn about a wide range of people, but I like to write... so... blogging is MY favorite.
Hi Johanna,
My over 140-character comments are as follows:
You are an intelligent writer, so keep at it (and I'd like to hear about France!)
Blog posts are permanent Web pages, which help people find you online. Tweets help drive traffic to your site in the short-term. Two different creatures.
You might enjoy reading How Facebook Ruins Friendships from the Wall Street Journal.
Regards,
Karla
I also read and enjoy all of your posts even though I don't comment every time. As an artist that is interested in portraiture, I especially value your insight, challenges, rewards, opinions, etc. that you blog about. You really do not get that on FB. I have to admit I do read a lot of FB postings but I spend the majority of what free time I have reading the blogs that I like to follow--and yours is one of them.
Thanks all for your thoughtful posts...it has made me think. Maybe a bit anew.
Blogs serve the artist as a public journal...in a way that FB and Twitter don't. Maybe I had missed this point at times. The artist has to decide if one wants to just do that... public journal, spend the time on it for oneself, and not think about the rest.
Thank you. I appreciate the dialog.
Hi Johanna,
I read every post! I am an artist who also paints portraits living in Houston, Texas and I love reading all I can about the world of portraiture on your blog. Your blog is professional and informative and as a bonus it's entertaining. I am glad you don't add politics (which has caused me to stop reading some blogs) or what you have for every meal!
I read the article you linked to your blog about "unfriending" people on FB or basically how to stop all the annoying chitchat. Here is how I have solved that problem: I don't have a FB page! I don't get tweets or alerts or any of that junk, I just go about my life on my own schedule, paint as much as I can, and when I want a "dose" of art speak I check on the 4 or 5 blogs I follow. Otherwise I am actually having lunch with friends or walking with friends. It works for me anyway.
I have cut way back on my blogging because I realized it was taking away from painting time, or family time, or other things I wanted to do instead.
I hope you keep blogging, some of us don't have all that FB and twitter stuff so I would miss you.
Joan
Thanks Joan. What a thoughtful post. I like your sentiments too. And thanks for nice words about the blog being professional. I am pleased to hear that. You inspire me to keep blogging...and yes, no politics! That can get you into hot water.
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