Friday 4 January 2013

Social networking and creativity


Social networking for creative people


 I've still got loads to learn but over the last few years I have started to realize the value of the internet to artists designers and well; anyone creative.
To gain recognition for what you do, people need to see what you do there is no point having loads of talent but no one seeing it. (Unless that’s the way you like it) 

Here are some websites I think will be useful to creative people


Twitter

Twitter wasn't something I got into straight away I joined up and had a go but didn't understand anything so I stopped shortly afterwards, I think this is something a lot of people do at first. Then with encouragement from a friend I tried again.

What is twitter

It’s a place where you can be in contact with people from around the world  Friends, celebrities other Artists, Museums, shops, magazines etc. You can share your thoughts, interest artwork music and so on.
So when you join twitter you need to start following people. There’s no point tweeting until you have an audience.
To get started join twitter and give yourself a good descriptive profile. so when people search for people to follow you will come up as a choice for them. use words such as #creative #artist #art #photographer I put hash tags in my profile I think it helps. 


Also in your profile give links to your work on other sites or websites. 

to start getting followers type in a keyword (like artist or writer) in to the search bar at the top of page and click follow on all the people you think will be of interest also follow people they follow.

FF= follow Friday you choose people who you think other twitter user would like to follow and tweet there @name and write #ff    ff @broniasawyer @stephanieearl @carolukehurst you tweet this and people normally do the same for you. This does help you to gain followers. and find interesting people to follow.


RT= retweet  if somebody tweets something beautiful/interesting or funny you might want to share it with your followers.


Remember big companies, magazines and celebrities are less likely follow back
So you need to follow normal people that you think would be interesting.
And hopefully if they think you’re interesting they might follow back

this blog is quite interesting

http://blog.jugnoo.com/the-7-phases-of-twitter/

also share images on twitter
                                                                      

linkedin 


I only recently joined but it seems easy to use and a lot of professionals use it 
I recently asked a question about pricing on linked in and was happy to get some advice pretty quickly



Flickr


Flickr  is a fantastic place to store your Photos and a great place to share them and It is free to use. 

When you upload a photo on to flickr you share it in a variety of ways. 

Firstly in the flickr groups which is a good start to get feed back on your images.
there are hundreds maybe thousands of different groups each group has a different genre for example blackandwhite which you would add black and white photography/art

You can also share your photos on flickr with a number of different sites the main ones I use are Twitter Tumblr Facebook and Stumble upon.
You can also edit photos on the online editor that is attached to Flickr called aviary which is pretty simple but useful

 you can add your work to personal sets (like albums)  to make it easier for people to find the work that they are interested in looking at. To add your images to sets or groups go to organize and create.
sets are like albums you can make your albums private or public.

Be aware of the licencing choice for each photo I tend to have mine set to all rights reserved but you can licence images to be shared and used by other people. when uploading your images there is a choice on what licencing you would like to add. you can also change the licencing at anytime after you upload.



Glossom


Glossom is like Flickr it’s a place to show off your work
I feel Glossom is more professional looking than Flickr but shares the same idea you can share photos and collect contacts

I find it is simple and easy to use and makes work look great.
I really really like Glossom. it has a great professional feel to it


Behance
another very professional looking site its more complicated than Glossom and flickr but I think once you get the hang of it its fine.


Tumblr


Tumblr is like a mini blog when I upload to flickr and Instagram I often share to tumblr.
And people reblog images to there own blogs



Blogs

Blogger and blogspot word press 


Blogger is a free blog from google it takes a Lot more work than tumblr but  you have a lot more control with the layout.
also word press is a popular blog site I hear its equally as good as blogger but I don't have experience with it.
for me blogs are like an extension of my website. I like to have links on my website to my blog posts although I dont tend to use blogs like other people. many people use them as a creative journal. 


A personal website

Creating your own website isn't as difficult as you might think. You don’t need to know lots about building a website its quite straight forward
My own experience is with moonfruit.com

I started with the free website they have a free option and reasonable priced  pay yearly or monthly options.
Your website is the way you want people to see you. I have made mine quite  personal. but its good to look at what other people have done and decide what's best for you. I have changed mine a lot in the last few years and im sure it will get another face lift soon.

I have tried to be as personal as I can but its totally up to you how you would like to be perceived by your audience

think long and hard about what you want to name your website as it’s a pain to change later on so try and get it right the first time.

Other website free and paid





Facebook page
get yourself a facebook page practically everyone who uses the internet uses facebook so having a facebook page is good for getting your work out there. Remember do not set up a separate facebook account make a facebook page here is a link explaning the difference https://www.facebook.com/help/217671661585622


http://www.artbusiness.com/facebook-tips-help-protocol-etiquette-and-instructions-for-artists.html


Instagram
If you have an Iphone/smart phone you might want to share your work on Instagram its quick and easy make an account and start adding pictures from your phone. from instagram you can share on to flickr twitter
I would suggest starting one at a time when you get to grips with one site try another building your web presents as you go. the more places you put your work the more chances of people finding you. 




other sites
also if your in the uk http://www.a-n.co.uk/is good for leagal advice and insurance for artist
and this is a good site too http://www.acid.uk.com/ for leagal advice.

things to subscribe too
http://www.artnews.com


promote yourself

Places to get business cards
Vistaprint
Moo
Or make your own



 like I said Im not an expert but we all have to start somewhere and if this helps that’s great
also if I've missed a good website please let me know
and ill update 
 if you find this helpful please leave a comment Thanks



ps I apologise for all spelling punctuation and grammar mistakes there's only so much spell check can do for a dyslexic artist


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