Let me ask you this. What if I was to come up with a platform for putting my work into the world in a way that would attract more fans, followers, or readers. I’ve done some homework here, and it’s just about ready to go. However, there are a few small items I’d like to run by you first. A few things that might be areas of unease, and I want to set your mind to rest. I’m hoping you are okay with my plan because my projected revenues streams are substantial.
This list of concerns might be seen as disadvantages but stay with me. PART ONE:
- Privacy and data security concerns. My plan is to sell as much of your data as I possibly can. This is one of the most important revenue streams, and something I hope to collect on as soon as the app goes live. I’m not going to tell you where that data is being sold, but my disclaimer states all this so hopefully you are on board.
- Addiction and Overuse. All of my research points to my new platform being horribly addictive, and most likely will result in your overuse of the app. Again, this is how I make money, and lots of other apps work the same way.
- Exposure to Harmful Content. I could control what I post but that would mean less revenue, so my plan is to post whatever is most beneficial to me regardless of the impact on you. And frankly, the data says that I can profit more if you are unsettled. And for you inquiring minds, no limits on nudity. It’s art right?
- Impact on Mental Health. The app will cause you emotional pain. Sorry, this can’t be helped and I’m hoping that this will be offset by the massive amounts of dopamine your body will produce while using the app.
- Disruption of Attention Span. The app will cause you to lose focus. But remember, we now live in a world that thrives on short-term data consumption, micro doses actually, so in some ways this might be helpful. And remember, it’s all about connecting people.
- Infringement of Intellectual Property Rights. What’s yours is mine right? Most people claiming infringement are just glass half empty people, or sour grapes. My view is that I would have probably thought of your idea at some point anyway.
- Negative Impact on Physical Health. My goal is to keep you in front the screen as long as possible. Sure, this might mean less time at the gym, less time outdoors, or less time with family and friends, but that’s what retirement is for right? I will offer wellness trends once a month.
- Algorithmic Bias and Discrimination. Okay, this might sound harsh but my audience is actually quite narrow, and the rest of you are not really of concern. Sorry, just being upfront here. If you are a caucasian with a median household income of $150,000 then you are going to LOVE this site.
- Disinformation. I never said I was a journalist, and the great thing about this app is that there is zero fact checking or accountability when spreading whatever I feel like feeds the cash register. I will post like I’m an authority with training or some specialized knowledge. My target audience is ages 10 to 35. I find this audience to be gullible in all the right ways. Having said that, the app’s “silly factor” will keep much older people online as well. They will mask this this as “research,” or “marketing” or “community building,” but the only person to profit from this is me. But it will be fun! In addition to my content, you will see all your favorite things. Heated political “discourse,” animals and humans being silly and lots of beautiful people selling beautiful things. I’m not claiming anything is real. The data says you find this depressing.
These are minor items you agree to when checking that little box on the user agreement. I know these seem like a buzz kill, but I’m sure you are going to love the app. The logo is so sick and early testing shows people can’t seem to put it down. Oh, there are a few others things I need to share. Not a disclaimer really but my lawyers said I should at least mention these items. I have a angel investor who is backing me on the app. They asked me not to name them specifically but you all know their company name.
It was revealed that the angel investor’s company did contribute to a mass genocide. But hey, it happened on the other side of the world, and it happened to a group of people that no one in my focus groups had ever even heard of. I don’t think it was that big of a deal. I’ve been listening to my favorite podcasts and they haven’t mentioned anything about this. It could be a fake story, but you can’t say I didn’t mention it.
Also, the angel investor’s company purposely targeted pre-teen girls once they discovered the ad revenue exploded the moment the self-harm numbers hit an all-time high. I know, I know, a lot to unpack there. Numbers and graphs and super boring stuff. All I can say is my neighbor’s daughter loves the app. She’s been using it at school and has her friends testing it as well. They are doing this thing where they drop water balloons on each other and then do a backflip. It’s hilarious.
My goal is to get you to believe that even though these things are happening you find a way to tell yourself and others that none of this applies to YOU. That YOU are the only one using the app that is somehow immune from contributing to the problem. So far, so good! Most of my friends are all in and just last night someone said “I’m not sure about all that crap, but my likes are through the roof.” And everyone is saying they think they can make money on the app right from the start.
One last thing. The angel investor’s company is owned by a company that’s been banned in the United States. This totally seems like discrimination, but it’s mostly just politics and red tape. I’m supposed to mention theft of intellectual property, human rights abuses, blah, blah, all that downer stuff! Come on! Did you know the app lets you super size your following for $9.95 per month? Did you know we’ve built a gaming style interface we designed in the traditional of casino gambling. Speaking of gambling, the app works perfectly in tandem with some of the world’s best sports betting sites, so what are you waiting for, let it ride!
I only have one request. Don’t judge before you try. Oh, and one more thing. My goal is to get this app in the hands of your children. Remember, ages 10 to 35 is my goal. I feel if I can shape their lives to my algorithm the world will be a better place and we can all be connected. The app has nothing to do with me. It’s all about community. Namaste!
PART TWO:
As you already know, this is written like a spoof but it all too real. This is a combination of Instagram and TikTok, and my guess is reading this has forced you to “do” something. Most likely, you either agree and say “Deleted these apps months/years ago,” or if forced you to say “Well, I only use these apps for X so this doesn’t apply to me.” I’ve heard this excuse for over a decade. These apps have greatly contributed to where we find ourselves today. But there is a reason I wrote this post, a reason that ties specifically to my industry. Do you need to use these platforms?
Do you need a platform to be discovered? Do you need a platform to be found online? The short answer is “No.” People were being discovered long before these apps became a thing. However, the marketing campaign, or brainwashing, in regard to creatives needing to be on these platforms is just as crazy as this story itself. How many times have I heard lazy industry types telling creatives, “Everyone needs to be on these platforms.” No, you don’t. These people look past the horrors because it’s easy. They look past the horrors because they don’t really care, and they look past the horrors because THEY are addicted to the apps. Misery loves company right?
But I do think you need a platform. You need your own platform. I started mine in 2002. LONG before any of these apps became a thing. I started to build audience based on SEO and making unique work. When I say “Unique work,” I don’t mean life-changing original photography. No, not at all. My site was weird. I was posting photography stories right next to fake movie reviews, fiction pieces, sports stories, and family history. I was doing what people told me not to do. I was posting all these things because that is who I am.
A few years into my run, I received an email out of the blue. The email came from one of the most successful bloggers in the world. She wrote me and said “I’ve been following what you are doing.” “You are on to something but you can’t keep doing what you are doing.” “You have to focus on ONE thing, and in your case it should be photography.” My reply was cordial, and she and I emailed for quite some time, but ultimately I said “Thanks but no thanks.” I knew if I only posted about photography I would become one dimensional, and I can’t think of anything worse. Well, I can but you know what I mean.
The reason so many people still fall prey to these apps is because they want to cut the line. They want a shortcut. They want too much, and they want too fast. How do I know this? Because they tell me, again and again. “Well, I need to be on here to get discovered because I need X.” Could be a book deal, gallery show, assignments, etc. Entirely willing to overlook the carnage because their entire world is centered just above their head.
Brands use the platforms because they don’t know what else to do. It takes guts and freedom to make something unique. And it takes budget. So, most of the time, they just do what everyone else is doing. I can say that TikTok in particular has given a lot of brands pause. There is embarrassment when it comes to this app. “Are we really going to do this?,” type conversations. TikTok is great if you are fifteen and love watching people eat Tide Pods. But if you are an adult, and you know what the app does to people, well, then it’s a bit more difficult to ignore the dozens of warning signs.
Photography powers that be are often lazy. They want all of you in the same funnel so they can have their lackey assistant scroll apps to make hiring decisions. And let me rain on the parade a bit more. The photography discussion has been mostly absent from these meetings for the past five years. Now, it’s all about metrics. Brainless, soulless metrics. And don’t get me wrong, I love data. I love it as part of an overall strategy, not the entire plan.
You need a platform and you also need to slow the fu%$ down. First, focus on your work. Are you any good? Likes and follows from bots and strangers mean NOTHING. Are you any good? For real? 99% of people on the apps aren’t great. The world does not work that way. Generationally, we only produce a handful of artists that change the playing field. Are you one of those? Could you be if you focused more? Have you put the time in to learn your craft or have you jumped the line there as well?
You need to build a real audience one real human being at a time. This is a marathon, not a sprint. This is knowing the difference between 500 email subscribers and 5,000 Instagram followers. Last night, an industry person who uses these platforms said to my face, “Instagram followers means nothing when it comes to sales.” A book agent I interviewed a few months back said “IG is window watchers.” Some of you will try to squeeze in the exception to the rule here. Do these platforms work for some people? Yes. But did you read Part One? Did you? Or did you skip it or ignore it because you were reaching for the phone?
We are lesser people because of the apps. That’s the truth you need to deal with. We are distracted, greedy, radicalized, impatient people. The data don’t lie. How do you solve this? Start. Start now, today. Start by asking yourself who you are? What are your beliefs? How do those beliefs make you feel? What do you do that I don’t? What makes you you? And start by deleting the apps. I promise you one thing. You will suffer, physically. You will detox. The app designers are brilliant people and they know how to infect you. Their careers are based on it. (And besides, no one wants to see the shit on your phone.)
But I can also promise you, if you stay clean, you will feel different about the world around you. You will start to see clarity in the clutter. You will feel calm, more focused, and more intelligent. Most likely, you will look back at your time being the product with shame. When you find yourself reaching for that mobile device you will understand there is a better, more productive way of using your time. Your output will increase. Your clarity in regard to your path will become sharper. Your thoughts will be your own.
And these thoughts are the key. Your thoughts. Not mine, not IG or TT’s. Purity, regardless of how messy. You will listen to the sheep telling you one thing or another and you will know that does not apply to you. You will begin to build “something.” The structure will start to take shape, and it will look like something you built, and not like a track home subdivision made of colorful, algorithmic nonsense. This is your life, not their’s, so start acting like it.
Create a site. As simple as humanly possible. Post an image and your thoughts, but post when the image and the thoughts are worth sharing. That might be daily if you are a God, or monthly if your time is limited. Don’t quit. Get better at photography. Learn to edit and sequence. Learn to write better. Combine and refine. And share whatever else makes you you. Don’t worry about getting famous or building a massive following. Do ONLY what you want to do regardless of what anyone else says. And for shit’s sake, don’t expect much. Don’t expect financial reward. Don’t expect a love fest. Don’t expect traffic. Just shovel coal. That’s your only job.
PS: Check the story about what is happening in Australia with their government’s attempt at banning social media for anyone under 16. This is getting interesting.
Comments 28
Dear Musky Elon…….. Foxtrot Oscar !
Author
I was listening to a business guy describing how this is going to go. It was hilarious and scary.
You know what’s weird?? I’ve had a girl approach me in person stating I need to get Facebook again because she missed me on it. That’s so weird. I said, no thanks, I like reality better.
Author
I know a ton of people like this. And how many people have said “Ya, I’m never going to your site, so you have to go back on YT if you want me to follow you.” To these folks I say “Goodbye and good riddance.” I’m not into lazy, and that is precisely what this speaks to.
My sense is you have to get traffic from somewhere, because posting on one’s site usually means crickets. SEO ain’t what it used to be. I post my writing on Medium.com, Good Men Project, and Mr. Feelgood (although I think they finally closed shop). My essays include an invite to checkout my weekend newsletter. I have 10k newsletter followers but they only comment on my posts when I send out my newsletter. I also get traffic from Facebook which is a little odd because I infrequently post there. Instagram brings me hardly any traffic and I should drop it. Cal Newport doesn’t use social media and has a good following, but then he also writes for the New Yorker and is an established author. I guess it’s all about patience, producing great work, and working hard!
Hi John, just wondering, what’s the deal with Medium.com in terms of the small print / copyright? Anything to be aware of? And how about Medium.com vs. Substack? Any thoughts? Thanks!
Author
Substack has never made a profit and lost their latest round of funding. They have a tiny percentage who profit and the rest get nothing. And, they have a problem with white nationalists. They have pulled a lot from Medium. My guess is there will be a replacement for both in the next two years. All of my fav writers have left both platforms. Some have gone to Ghost, others to their own site.
Author
Why you need traffic? For what goal? End result? Medium has been surpassed by Substack,which is now in trouble. What’s next? Those platforms, any that promise following, will prey by benefitting bad behavior. How did Cal get established? You think it was social? Catering to the crowd? Not likely. Most likely he practiced and worked his ass off.
Interesting, thanks. I’m such a terrible capitalist, I didn’t even think about any profit. I was thinking more about retaining 100% ownership of text and images (even in terms of things not worth stealing, there are still important principles that we should consider – the ways in which Facebook, Linked In, etc., automatically and unnecessarily delete metadata is unethical, but nobody seems to care, which is how they get away with it). I did see something online before about the prevalence of white nationalists on Substack, so it’s interesting to read this again. I suppose they are everywhere, unfortunately, but maybe the difference is whether the platform’s owner is a white nationalist, anti-democratic algorithm narcissist, who people think is some kind of genius when he’s just a rich kid who bought his way into big things but never invented anything. In this case, contributing to discussions on that platform is a losing battle (and better not to support it at all – let it fail). In Substack’s case, I don’t know much. Never heard of Ghost – will look that up. Traffic makes sense if it’s somehow contributing to discussions that in some way counter and undermine the white nationalists, but not for the sake of traffic; not ‘content’ for the sake of ‘content’. I was never on Twitter, but Bluesky seems relatively appealing – even if just to support the alternative to the X hell.
Cal Newport – from what I can see, a lot of common-sense advice about time planning and productivity. Good advice, but common-sense advice. It appears he’s a computer scientist who spends more time writing and talking (making ‘content’) about being productive than being productive in computer science. Having been an adjunct working 60+ hours a week just to survive, with no time for my own work, I have a problem with the way in which he depoliticises the luxury of a tenure track or tenured position that allows time for his ‘deep work’. Higher education is exploitative (and it’s going to get worse). He’s definitely appealing to the ‘brosphere’ right-wing leanings that embraces the fallacy of meritocracy; and he’s definitely not rocking the boat in academia to make it a better place. Cal Newport might not “use social media”, yet, ironically, he does the rounds on podcasts and YouTube channels – including one 3-hour interview, watched by 1.3 million people, with the dubiously anti-science Andrew Huberman – thus relying on others using social media in order to promote his work. Three hours! Just pause the video after the first five minutes and spend 2 hours and 55 mins getting on with some ‘deep work’.
Author
Ah, it’s funny you bring that up. The point about Cal talking more than being productive in the space he is known for. That’s one of the real issues with things like YT. You go from being a photographer to being a YT photographer. Talk more than do because that’s what brings in the revenue. The best photographers make photographs. They don’t make YT films. They COULD make YT films but that would take away from making the photographs.
Right! The paradox of the YouTuber without a career already behind them. The paradox of the computer scientist (not occupational psychologist) making time-management (with a new twist) their main job.
Author
It’s quite the drug. Notoriety.
This is only reinforces my recent experience. I had an in person, actual conversation with a master printer in Toronto last week. We spoke about HP5 and Pyrocat-HD, the demands of shooting large format and, most importantly, how a class of college photo students visited him and how they didn’t know who Irving Penn was (they were asked to leave the studio). It was all vastly more informative than any YT video about which M mount lens will change my photography or why someone bought or returned a Leica.
I believe it all depends a bit on what kind of audience you are looking for and why you are looking for audience in the first place.
If you are looking for and requiring attention from any kind of audience, not matter what, then TT and FB and YT are probably good places to get that from. As long as you can play the algorithm there. And the algorithm that comes next year. And the one after that.
If you are looking for a more specific kind of audience, informed, interested, engaged, long-term, then you probably go somewhere else. But that will cost you likes and likes are dopamine. If you want dopamine you post on TT, FB and YT and try to play the algorithm there. Play it like you would play any slot-machine while having a solid gambling addiction. What could possibly go wrong?
In the unlikely event that you are not desperate for likes, you can choose to cater for… well for what actually? I was tempted to write “for an educated audience”, but that would be wrong. Nowadays it would be “As long as you are not desperate for likes, you can choose to cater for an audience that has not been been transformed by TT, FB and YT.”
In the end it’s not their (the “users”) fault (btw. there are only two kinds businesses who call their customers “users”). Brains are capable of neuroplasticity and will adapt to what they are regularly confronted with.
But why the excitement about this? None of this is new. Roman emperors new 2000 years ago, there are only two requirements: keep the populus fed and keep the populus entertained. As long as those two are given, who gives a frak about what the emperor does?
The only difference is that, 2000 years later, our emperors play with rocket ships.
Thinking about it, there is actually a third component. Keep the populus fed, entertained, and enraged about someone else. Preferably about any kind of minority. That works wonders. But then again, that was already well understood 90 years ago. Trust me, I’m german, I know what I speak of.
Btw, two things: I’m still waiting for your regular newsletter and I feel that the FWIW podcast could benefit from a healthy injection of love – even if I’m 50% (at least) of the informed, interested, engaged, long-term audience on that medium 🙂
Author
I write about this because I keep being asked about it. And yes, if your audience is your primary mission, well, you are in a long and lonely road. A fickle road, algorithm heavy. Dance monkey, dance. It’s why so many influencers end up with mental health issues.
With asking them to leave a chance of conversation, education und new enthusiasm is missed. 🙁 Usually the problem with SoMe but now transfered to the real world.
Author
We’ve got to find a way to rebound.
Author
Most folks under 30 are socially inept. I know that sounds harsh but I keep running into this reality. And knowing history is a weakness. Why bother? Those are old people. I’m a genius. Like when my nephew starts talking trash about the music he listens to. Ten seconds into the first song I say “oh, your fav guy is copying so and so.” “He’s ripping off X.” And I’m always met with “Who?” He thinks his generation invented this stuff. My younger family members are terrified of phone calls and speaking to other humans. They will stand in the automatic check out line for an hour to avoid talking to a cashier. This does not bode well for the world.
Many social groups in the arts or education use Instagram as their sole method of communication and don’t have a website, email, or phone contact. I find this so frustrating sometimes because I do not use IG anymore.
If you’re reading this, you run a group, and you’re only available to contact on social media, please consider adding a phone or text option. That way, leaving IG is not a choice between you or the app.
Author
It’s so dumb. So, so dumb. And lazy. When I get asked to shoot something and say “I don’t do this work anymore but will find a photographer for you.” If I find a photographer who only has IG I know they are not a serious player. I could NEVER send anyone to someone with just IG. First, good clients aren’t on that platform. Second, a lot of the best clients can’t risk being on social. And most higher ups who own the companies would never go on social. They don’t leave trails like that. And how many of these educators claim to be “concerned” citizens but they gladly engage with these platforms. Can’t have it both ways.
Thanks Dan! I needed this. Especially the part about writing about all the weird things that interests us. I have thought too much about focusing on photography instead of just writing about whatever.
“Specialization is for insects.”
I love to write and as I have my own website I should just put out the content I want for myself. That is the beauty of having your own website as you so rightly points out.
Author
It’s the only way to stay for the long haul. Otherwise you are going to be jumping platforms every 2-3 years. Forget about all of us. Think about you.
As well meaning as it is, fb has had a ten year head start so it’s a bit of a joke. The politicians here have no way to police it and kids can get around it like they did when internet filters were first a thing.
Author
It has almost no chance. The real question is why they feel the need to do so.
The problem is that these people on social media don’t know what they’re doing or saying, yet because they have followers, they believe they have the moral authority to give advice and share opinions on topics that are way beyond them. How is it possible that Ackerman has barely 8,000 followers while Peter McKinnon has 3 million? What does McKinnon know about photography compared to Ackerman? Yet, that’s how it is on these social platforms.
Even worse, they judge you for not having followers, as if that were a valid argument to describe your work or knowledge. The solution? Don’t play the social media game and do whatever you want, ignoring the opinions of anyone you don’t care about.
Author
Social is about skill.Social is about marketing and following. Two different skills. Influencers cater to the masses of uneducated viewers who don’t know any better. And they are damn good at it. This has nothing to do with photography skill. They best photographers are working. They aren’t influencers and dont’ spend their days filming themselves.
I’m going to be the lone weirdo in here possibly. I still have a facebook account. I am a member of 3 fairly niche groups (private ones) that widen the info net so to speak. I may log in for 15 minutes once per week, or I may not check things for 6 weeks. I rarely comment or acknowledge anyone else’s comments/posts in the main screen, and only chime in if I have something pertinent regarding the 3 groups.
as an example, if you’re into early 20th century sewing machines, or wood turning or Cirkut cameras or whatever, the data in your town or even state may be thin, but if there is a facebook group, you may get useful info from around the world.
It still can have its uses, but I agree with pretty much everything that has been said above, and I am certainly skirting the issues at hand with my particular use case.
What baffles me is the few photographers/creatives I’ve seen lately who have decent (in my opinion) work and a reasonably clean and functioning website who then say “please follow me on…” Is Insta going to get someone a gallery show?
Author
All good. But you have to make peace with doing business with a company that sparked a genocide and purposely targeted pre-teen girls for the ad revenue.