The Top Ten Reasons Why I Might Want to Tweet Instead of Make Art By Lisa Call Lisa Blog: Contemporary Textile Art.
Editors Note: We invited Lisa to share her views after a discussion ensued that was prompted initially by Clint's article, A Spectacular Way to Avoid Doing What Really Matters, which was critical of Twitter's
marketing value. This article offers an alternative view of Twitter by
a real artist who utilizes it every day. We have not edited the
following article in any way. Enjoy . . .
Why Tweet
My top 10 List of reasons I might think writing a tweet for twitter is
a better use of my time than creating art in response to Clint's
comment on his blog:
Why ANY artist would think that sending a "Twit" is a better use of their time than creating art is totally beyond me.
My list:
- As
an artist if I made art 24/7 and never marketed it I would eventually
run out of room in my house for the art. I spend a full 50% of my time
running my art business. I think Clint knows this as he advocates
blogging, so I will assume his comment meant "why would an artist tweet
vs. doing any other marketing activity".
- I
do not view what I do as "selling" my art. Instead I look to just be
me. Authenticity is my goal in marketing myself and therefore my art.
For me this means having a conversation, not selling. Making a
connection is what I'm interested in, not doing the hard sell. Even if
not connecting with a real live collector every minute on twitter, it
is all a wonderful opportunity for being authentic and writing openly
about myself and my art.
- Twitter
gives me a chance to be authentic in a different way than with my blog.
With my blog I put a lot of thought into my posts. They tend to get
long and can take a few hours to compose as I edit and re-edit a lot.
My tweets are much quicker thoughts dashed off in a few moments. It's
basically me, uncensored. Very authentic.
- I
think with twitter, at least the people that are using it to connect
and not sell, you get to see the real person behind the art. It's a
fine line to walk between being boring, giving too much information and
too much self promotion. I find myself dropping the feeds that are only
about selling - it annoys me and adds zero value to my life. I want a
conversation with someone that feels like a real person. I don't watch
tv, I block ads on the web via adblock in firefox, I rarely listen to
the radio, read no newspapers and few magazines - my tolerance for
advertising is very low - if I feel all I'm getting is an ad - I'll
turn it off.
- I
believe social media could likely become a more effective method of
communicating with ones tribe than email. I think we are all completely
overloaded with email. There is simply too much of it and we need a
more efficient way to communicate. I find myself emailing less and less
the more I use twitter. I can't see into the future but I see the
present and I see a lot people not liking email so much. At my day job
as a software engineer, email has been rendered virtually useless as
noone has time to read it anymore. A very common theme I hear from
artists is that email takes up way too much time. I don't view twitter
just as addition to email, but hopefully a way to reduce that email so
it takes less time.
- I've
been online since 1983. Admittedly I'm a geek. For me, one of the most
natural ways for me to communicate is online and I'm very comfortable
in public chat type forums. This is absolutely authentic for me. I
think some people communicate well this way, others don't.
- I can completely relate to Steve Pavlina's comment on his latest blog post about facebook:
No
doubt some people will question how Facebook could help me with my
business. The truth is that I don’t really care. My modus operandi is
to pursue growth experiences and mold my business around that, not the
other way around. So all I’m looking for on Facebook is to make new
connections that can lead to interesting growth experiences. I don’t
center my life around a profit motive.
There is more
to being an artist than making cash from the art. Connecting with other
artists is incredibly valuable on both a personal and professional
level. Where will it lead? Let's find out.
- I
find some really great information on twitter that helps with with my
art career. References to articles and tools that other artists are
using. While this might not be a direct sale of art to a collector,
who's to say that an opportunity I learn about via twitter doesn't?
It's networking at it's finest for only a few minutes a day.
- My
16 year old son tells me only old people email. Kids text, they use
social media. Email is too heavy weight for them. My son assures me I
am far from cool, but at least I'm willing to give this new thing a
try.
- I
buy art. I'm on twitter. I found art on twitter I liked. I bought it. I
do not believe I am the only artist that buys art. And if I am, well so
be it. Hopefully someday I'll buy one of my own pieces and twitter will
pay off.
My Thoughts Without Numbers
Okay
- truth in advertising here - this isn't really a top ten list. It's
just a random list of the things I thought of in no particular order
and I attached numbers to the paragraphs because I always wanted to
write a top 10 list.
I
have no idea what the future of twitter might be and what type of value
I might get out of it in the long run. And honestly, I don' really
care, which is why it has taken me over a week to finally sit down and
write the article I promised Clint.
The
short answer on why it is not beyond me to understand why an artist
(me) might tweet instead of make art: Making art is a solitary
activity. As a full time software engineer and full time artist, my
opportunities for getting out are fairly limited. Twitter is a way to
connect with my tribe in a very immediate way. It's a fairly new way
for artists to connect and I have no doubt I am making all sorts of
"mistakes" that I will cringe or laugh about in the future, which is a
large part of the appeal - testing it out and seeing where it will take
me.
A
final note. This is my experience. I'm not saying other artists should
or shouldn't hop onto the social media bandwagon. I think everyone
needs to evaluate it for themselves and determine if it will fit into
their art career. I'm happy to see Clint is actively using twitter now
and his opinion in the future will be based on experience.
Lisa Call
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