October Social Media Report
Oct. 28th, 2021 08:08 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rynlingIn October I maintained a strict posting schedule on all social media platforms, taking care to post original content at evenly spaced intervals. I tried new things and also created everything well in advance of posting so that I’d have time for editing and proofreading. Along the way, I did my best to be active on social media, liking and commenting and messaging and uploading “Stories” and so on.
Not only did I not gain any followers, I lost followers across all platforms. My posts and tweets performed more poorly than they have at any other point during the past year.
I guess you could say that the “effort” and “planning” you put into social media doesn’t matter as much as the ineffable workings of The Algorithm, which tends to privilege memes and vent posts. Also, if I had to guess, I’d say that a lot of people I’m mutuals with got burned out by October drawing challenges and stayed off social media this month, especially towards the end.
The way I feel, though, is that people were only barely tolerating me to begin with, and that I’m not doing myself any favors by reminding people that I exist on a regular basis. The work I’m creating isn’t bad by itself, but it’s bad because I’m the person creating it. There is something wrong with me specifically, and I will never know what this is or be able to change it. Anyone who supports me does so out of a sense of charity, and I shouldn’t test their patience by being too ambitious.
And that may very well be the case! I may very well be a horrible nasty cockroach posting horrible nasty cockroach stories and art! Still, it’s not healthy to feel like this.
“Stay off social media” is all well and good, and for the most part I do. I have a job and a life, and it takes time to create the art and writing I’m posting. But it’s difficult when the professional and creative work I’m publishing in more traditional venues gets no feedback at all – like literally zero feedback, and also zero compensation – and when there’s so much rejection involved. Even when my work is “accepted,” I’m learning that there’s no guarantee that it will actually go to print if the venue itself is unsuccessful (or mismanaged).
I need to get some sort of support somewhere, and “just take a break” isn’t really feasible. Meanwhile, “just create for yourself” is the sort of thing that people who are already getting tons of positive feedback say in order to seem relatable, and it’s condescending and awful.
I’m not doing so well, and I really would sell my soul for a little talent, or at least the ability to create work that people actually care about. In any case, I just put together a social media posting schedule for November, so we’ll see how that goes. Also maybe I’ll just have to bite the bullet and post more memes.
Anyway, I know I've said this before, but I hope people realize how powerful even the smallest acts of kindness on social media can be. I get the feeling that a lot of creative people are going through the same struggle, and leaving a like on someone's art post on Twitter or kudos on their story on AO3 can genuinely make a world of difference.
Not only did I not gain any followers, I lost followers across all platforms. My posts and tweets performed more poorly than they have at any other point during the past year.
I guess you could say that the “effort” and “planning” you put into social media doesn’t matter as much as the ineffable workings of The Algorithm, which tends to privilege memes and vent posts. Also, if I had to guess, I’d say that a lot of people I’m mutuals with got burned out by October drawing challenges and stayed off social media this month, especially towards the end.
The way I feel, though, is that people were only barely tolerating me to begin with, and that I’m not doing myself any favors by reminding people that I exist on a regular basis. The work I’m creating isn’t bad by itself, but it’s bad because I’m the person creating it. There is something wrong with me specifically, and I will never know what this is or be able to change it. Anyone who supports me does so out of a sense of charity, and I shouldn’t test their patience by being too ambitious.
And that may very well be the case! I may very well be a horrible nasty cockroach posting horrible nasty cockroach stories and art! Still, it’s not healthy to feel like this.
“Stay off social media” is all well and good, and for the most part I do. I have a job and a life, and it takes time to create the art and writing I’m posting. But it’s difficult when the professional and creative work I’m publishing in more traditional venues gets no feedback at all – like literally zero feedback, and also zero compensation – and when there’s so much rejection involved. Even when my work is “accepted,” I’m learning that there’s no guarantee that it will actually go to print if the venue itself is unsuccessful (or mismanaged).
I need to get some sort of support somewhere, and “just take a break” isn’t really feasible. Meanwhile, “just create for yourself” is the sort of thing that people who are already getting tons of positive feedback say in order to seem relatable, and it’s condescending and awful.
I’m not doing so well, and I really would sell my soul for a little talent, or at least the ability to create work that people actually care about. In any case, I just put together a social media posting schedule for November, so we’ll see how that goes. Also maybe I’ll just have to bite the bullet and post more memes.
Anyway, I know I've said this before, but I hope people realize how powerful even the smallest acts of kindness on social media can be. I get the feeling that a lot of creative people are going through the same struggle, and leaving a like on someone's art post on Twitter or kudos on their story on AO3 can genuinely make a world of difference.
no subject
Date: 2021-10-29 09:17 pm (UTC)I am of no help with social media generally, though :( Just warm thoughts. (Also, I mean, I'm not sure how much this means, but from your posts and our interactions I would describe you as a thoughtful, fascinating person with a wide array of knowledge, who writes well and is kind, and I honestly cannot picture what would be wrong with you/make you a horrible nasty cockroach. I'm not trying to ego-pet; I mean this sincerely.)
no subject
Date: 2021-11-03 03:50 pm (UTC)"Just create for yourself" was the only thing I had going for me when I first got back into fanfic. No one else was creating the stuff I wanted to see... so might as well be me, even if I'm alone ._. but even that can only get you so far; your car needs fuel to get to a destination, not hopes and dreams. And it's awful when you're playing in your own sandbox and see the other kids, so to speak, playing tag or whatever like it's no big deal. Sometimes you just want someone to come over and be like "omg your toys are so cool!"
leaving a like on someone's art post on Twitter or kudos on their story on AO3 can genuinely make a world of difference.
It's true and you should say it. I think I looked at that reply you left last week (about enjoying my stuff even when you knew fuck all about the characters) pretty much every day because it made me so happy 💕
no subject
Date: 2021-11-14 02:48 pm (UTC)Same here tbh.
I just think that most contemporary social media functions in a way that privileges a tiny percentage of creators while being aggressively unfavorable to everyone else. The emotional (and creative) damage caused by the appearance of community without any of the benefits is real, and it's disingenuous of the people who have found success to tell everyone else that it's their personal responsibility to cope with an unfair system.
What I'd like for the big "positivity" accounts like AO3commentoftheday to tell people is that Yes, the frustration of being unseen is real and it sucks, and here is a list of concrete things you can do to create, encourage, and support the community you need to be happy and healthy as an artist.
But also like, who has time for fan activism? I just want to look at my pictures and read my stories.
no subject
Date: 2021-11-20 01:02 pm (UTC)But also like, who has time for fan activism? I just want to look at my pictures and read my stories.
Yes to all of this, especially this. I've been really close to unfollowing AO3commentoftheday in particular for a while. (I definitely unfollowed mayakearn back when she complained about agents telling her that her smut story was too long to consider for publication like... I can't right now) So many of the posts lately have left me all "yeah ok, but..." that it's just... bleh. And the neverending "you don't need context, just write the thing you want to write" posts are... sigh. I'm tempted to reply to these posts, but like you said - I'm tired and just want to enjoy some images and words~