My genuine thanks for endlessly searching for better options.
I loathe Instagram / Meta and unfortunately if the medium is the message then every photographer is a writer on substack and to be blunt this platform is full of great writing (most of which is not by photographers.)
Instagram is too shallow and gamified, substack is too content heavy.
I like the concept of “ArtStack.” Isn’t that what Foto aspires to be? The only plus I’d give for Instagram and the like is that there are so many images - and good ones - that you can’t see it all. Especially in a slower, more thoughtful way. And at the other end you have great newsletters like Blind that feature emerging photographers in a more comprehensive way. I suppose an ArtStack would need both a “more like this” and a “surprise me” function to let you both find artists you like and be exposed to different work.
Plus, META shuts down sites for no reason/no warning. I lost 20 years of photographs and Artwork not to mention my writing, Art, and photography groups. I think personal website blogs may be the way to go. Substack rocks, though. Just discovering it!
I had no idea about Meta shutting down sites? Could you tell me what happened in more detail?
Yes, Substack is great, especially that it can be used on a desktop and full screen. But the reality of sifting through 10s of thousands of blogs posts by photographers is unrealistic. I need to see pictures in some organized way before I care to read writing about them.
You can only take in so much here. There needs to be a way to make updates so that people can actually see progress but in a sustainable way not an Instagram post every day kind of way while also on a higher level somewhat work for the medium as a whole.
I truly don’t know what to do. Social media seems more about building community. Yes that is important, but it doesn’t do much to help connect me with galleries and art lovers or buyers.
I completely agree! I wouldn't say it adds nothing to the experience, but I have been bombarded with noisy music so many times, and it's very unsettling. I do prefer to look at pictures in silence.
I've been blogging for nearly a quarter century. Never had much of an audience. As with capitalism in general, the upside applies largely to a small group of very influential people and the downside is far more widespread. We used to be able to at least communicate with our group of friends, but now that some people want follower counts with M's after them, we can't even have that. And of course "engagement" online is based on negative reactions. If we see something we like or agree with, most of us nod and move on. It's when we see something we disagree with that we are most likely to feel compelled to respond. The corporations have no idea how we feel when we agree with things; they only see responses.
I created a blog site in 1997 to teach myself HTML, Javascript, CSS, PHP, and Photoshop, coding directly in Notepad.
It was a goofy, personal blog about my life as a divorced single mother and Technical Writer in Corporate America. It was when the World Wide Web was becoming popular, but before website templates, laptops, tablets, cell phones, or ubiquitous social media sites, and way before A.I. It didn’t take off for a decade, but when it did, it blew up in the most surprising way!
It became an accidental startup! And it’s an understatement when I say it happened when I needed it most — during the Great Recession of 2008, which was more like a Great Depression in Orlando, with rampant foreclosures and evictions. Families with small children and babies, and professionals with multiple degrees were living in their cars and in tent cities behind the East Orlando Walmart on HWY US 1.
With the continuous layoffs at every job, I felt as if I were jinxing employers, but mostly feared my kids and dogs and I would be joining the hapless , jobless at Walmart.
Then the unthinkable MAGIC happened. I truly believed Heaven heard my prayers.
Unemployed software engineers hired me to write their end-user software manuals and website content for their startups, brick and mortar small business owners contracted me to write newsletters, product descriptions, articles, and employee manuals.
(Scroll down for Part 2 on how my goofy, sometimes venting, personal blog became an accidental startup)
The only SM I actively use is Bluesky and Medium. I loathe all the algorithm driven platforms (including this one to be honest) and the damage they are doing to our minds. For me it’s the process of writing and photographing that keeps me sane in an increasingly insane world. I don’t care about likes, only what interests me.
Gave up on Instagram two months ago, as an alternative, I asked if anyone would be interested in a monthly photoletter/newsletter. Amazingly I had 18 people who did, so I produced one for July in PDF form. I had more interaction with my 18 people, than I ever did on Instagram. I'm now using substack for my August photoletter and I have just loaded my July issue onto substack.
I'm really enjoying building my visual diary each month, they will be great to look back on in years to come.
Hi Andy! I avoid Instagram for similar reasons, I don't want to see ads either. I recommend the fotoapp.co platform. There is no problem with the quality either.
I have been using the foto app as well and I like the way it looks. How do you feel about genuinely connecting with others there? I haven't used it enough to experience that yet. And have you been able to find places there to share your work physically? What do you like about the app?
Hey, Claire! Welcome to Substack. I've been writing here since 2022, and I think I know the ropes. What are you finding overwhelming? Let me know how I can help.
Hi Andy, I've followed flakphoto for a while! I've got a contact list in Zoho, the idea was to import that and send out newsletters that sync with general posting. The platform seems to glitch a lot, but I'm thinking that might be because my Mac is too old to be updated :( And a new one is not on the cards, sadly. It would be great to have a less wimsical platform to share for submissions etc too. My instagram is full of cats, skin care recommendations and fat loss pills! Linkdin is boring and dry, Facebook is just pure evil. This looks more professional and less full of haters (in the comments) C
Well, for what it's worth, I didn't have much difficulty importing my subscriber list when I started publishing in 2022. Maybe it's a computer issue? Overall, I think the tech stack is sound here. You might try alternatives like Ghost or Beehiiv to compare options. But there is a built-in community feature here with the social feed on Notes. More about how I rebooted FlakPhoto here: https://www.flakphoto.news/p/its-time-for-a-flakphoto-reboot
Argh! Algorithms! I read your email and then I opened The New Yorker and saw the piece "After The Algorithm" which I haven't finished yet because I wanted to write this, but Algorithm is apparently the word of the day! Or decade. And I feel like most of us know what the word is and what it means, but not completely. It's like when people ask me what my brother does for a living and I know he does something with computers, like programing, but what exactly, I can never remember. Anyway... I feel like the algorithm has never seen my instagram. The closest I've gotten to getting on the algorithm train is when I've shown half naked women, which you have to be very careful about because you could be shut down if you upset someone. Yet, this also seems like these are the images that people respond to. It's so confusing. But honestly, naked women get boring! I have so many mixed feeling about Instagram. It is a great way to get your art out there for people to see, (are the right people seeing it? Is it better than no one seeing it?) but it is also a bit of a drug that can really mess with you. When I put out an image I am constantly checking in to see who has liked it and how many. It gives me a little boost sometimes. But then there is the coming down from the high when the likes stop coming in and I don't have anything new to post for a while, I can go through withdrawal. Then I start the doom scrolling and honestly I get bored! Instagram has gotten boring! But I still go back to it everyday. Sometimes it's the first thing I look at when I wake up. I'm trying not to do this, but I am addicted! So, what will be the new thing? Do we even know how to have conversations with real in person people anymore without having our phones nearby to suckle on? I want to be doing more actual physical in person stuff, but I feel like I'm drowning in the social media hole along with everyone else. I don't normally comment on anything so hopefully this wasn't too much of a rant. I am just getting over a bout of Covid which has caused me to feel even more isolated and sucked into the grams. Thank you!
I think embracing blogging/web 1.0 is the way to go. There seems to be a real appetite for it.
My genuine thanks for endlessly searching for better options.
I loathe Instagram / Meta and unfortunately if the medium is the message then every photographer is a writer on substack and to be blunt this platform is full of great writing (most of which is not by photographers.)
Instagram is too shallow and gamified, substack is too content heavy.
Where is ArtStack!
I like the concept of “ArtStack.” Isn’t that what Foto aspires to be? The only plus I’d give for Instagram and the like is that there are so many images - and good ones - that you can’t see it all. Especially in a slower, more thoughtful way. And at the other end you have great newsletters like Blind that feature emerging photographers in a more comprehensive way. I suppose an ArtStack would need both a “more like this” and a “surprise me” function to let you both find artists you like and be exposed to different work.
Plus, META shuts down sites for no reason/no warning. I lost 20 years of photographs and Artwork not to mention my writing, Art, and photography groups. I think personal website blogs may be the way to go. Substack rocks, though. Just discovering it!
I had no idea about Meta shutting down sites? Could you tell me what happened in more detail?
Yes, Substack is great, especially that it can be used on a desktop and full screen. But the reality of sifting through 10s of thousands of blogs posts by photographers is unrealistic. I need to see pictures in some organized way before I care to read writing about them.
You can only take in so much here. There needs to be a way to make updates so that people can actually see progress but in a sustainable way not an Instagram post every day kind of way while also on a higher level somewhat work for the medium as a whole.
I truly don’t know what to do. Social media seems more about building community. Yes that is important, but it doesn’t do much to help connect me with galleries and art lovers or buyers.
I’m on IG for still photos, mostly B&W. The trend that annoys me is adding music to a posted photo. Distracting, it adds nothing to the experience.
I completely agree! I wouldn't say it adds nothing to the experience, but I have been bombarded with noisy music so many times, and it's very unsettling. I do prefer to look at pictures in silence.
Interesting. Good to know. I like the option to click to turn the music on but to have OFF be the default.
Emails that introduce new artists would always be welcome.
I've been blogging for nearly a quarter century. Never had much of an audience. As with capitalism in general, the upside applies largely to a small group of very influential people and the downside is far more widespread. We used to be able to at least communicate with our group of friends, but now that some people want follower counts with M's after them, we can't even have that. And of course "engagement" online is based on negative reactions. If we see something we like or agree with, most of us nod and move on. It's when we see something we disagree with that we are most likely to feel compelled to respond. The corporations have no idea how we feel when we agree with things; they only see responses.
1.) Part I (Please scroll down to see Part 2.)
I created a blog site in 1997 to teach myself HTML, Javascript, CSS, PHP, and Photoshop, coding directly in Notepad.
It was a goofy, personal blog about my life as a divorced single mother and Technical Writer in Corporate America. It was when the World Wide Web was becoming popular, but before website templates, laptops, tablets, cell phones, or ubiquitous social media sites, and way before A.I. It didn’t take off for a decade, but when it did, it blew up in the most surprising way!
It became an accidental startup! And it’s an understatement when I say it happened when I needed it most — during the Great Recession of 2008, which was more like a Great Depression in Orlando, with rampant foreclosures and evictions. Families with small children and babies, and professionals with multiple degrees were living in their cars and in tent cities behind the East Orlando Walmart on HWY US 1.
With the continuous layoffs at every job, I felt as if I were jinxing employers, but mostly feared my kids and dogs and I would be joining the hapless , jobless at Walmart.
Then the unthinkable MAGIC happened. I truly believed Heaven heard my prayers.
Unemployed software engineers hired me to write their end-user software manuals and website content for their startups, brick and mortar small business owners contracted me to write newsletters, product descriptions, articles, and employee manuals.
(Scroll down for Part 2 on how my goofy, sometimes venting, personal blog became an accidental startup)
As far as Instagram, putting my serious work up there is akin to trying to sell it at the state fair. A newsletter shuts the noise off.
That would be awesome and welcome.
I wrote this coming up to a year ago. https://softwarearchitecturezen.blog/2024/10/15/why-the-blogosphere-still-matters/ I have two blogs, the one this article is on and my photography one.
The only SM I actively use is Bluesky and Medium. I loathe all the algorithm driven platforms (including this one to be honest) and the damage they are doing to our minds. For me it’s the process of writing and photographing that keeps me sane in an increasingly insane world. I don’t care about likes, only what interests me.
Keep up the good work Andy.
Cheers, Peter.🙏📸
Gave up on Instagram two months ago, as an alternative, I asked if anyone would be interested in a monthly photoletter/newsletter. Amazingly I had 18 people who did, so I produced one for July in PDF form. I had more interaction with my 18 people, than I ever did on Instagram. I'm now using substack for my August photoletter and I have just loaded my July issue onto substack.
I'm really enjoying building my visual diary each month, they will be great to look back on in years to come.
Hi Andy! I avoid Instagram for similar reasons, I don't want to see ads either. I recommend the fotoapp.co platform. There is no problem with the quality either.
Hi
I have been using the foto app as well and I like the way it looks. How do you feel about genuinely connecting with others there? I haven't used it enough to experience that yet. And have you been able to find places there to share your work physically? What do you like about the app?
thank you,
Tiffany
I'm moving from instagram (or moving my focus away) and trying to set up here. BUT why does it look so complicated? Any advice welcomed!!
Hey, Claire! Welcome to Substack. I've been writing here since 2022, and I think I know the ropes. What are you finding overwhelming? Let me know how I can help.
Hi Andy, I've followed flakphoto for a while! I've got a contact list in Zoho, the idea was to import that and send out newsletters that sync with general posting. The platform seems to glitch a lot, but I'm thinking that might be because my Mac is too old to be updated :( And a new one is not on the cards, sadly. It would be great to have a less wimsical platform to share for submissions etc too. My instagram is full of cats, skin care recommendations and fat loss pills! Linkdin is boring and dry, Facebook is just pure evil. This looks more professional and less full of haters (in the comments) C
Well, for what it's worth, I didn't have much difficulty importing my subscriber list when I started publishing in 2022. Maybe it's a computer issue? Overall, I think the tech stack is sound here. You might try alternatives like Ghost or Beehiiv to compare options. But there is a built-in community feature here with the social feed on Notes. More about how I rebooted FlakPhoto here: https://www.flakphoto.news/p/its-time-for-a-flakphoto-reboot
Thanks - I appreciate your help and time. C
Agree entirely!
Great idea, excited to discover the photographers you’ll be showcasing! :)
2.) Anyway, to make a long story short, don’t give up on blogging. Magic can happen when you need it the most.
I still get contracting and consulting jobs from that blog, even with my silly comic strip about the layoffs, so I never took it down.
I get writing jobs, graphic design jobs, and even gigs photographing weddings (!?) I know! It makes no sense.
You just never know what can happen! Think positive, never lose your sense of hope and your sense of humor, and never stop praying!
https://www.writewaydesigns.com
Argh! Algorithms! I read your email and then I opened The New Yorker and saw the piece "After The Algorithm" which I haven't finished yet because I wanted to write this, but Algorithm is apparently the word of the day! Or decade. And I feel like most of us know what the word is and what it means, but not completely. It's like when people ask me what my brother does for a living and I know he does something with computers, like programing, but what exactly, I can never remember. Anyway... I feel like the algorithm has never seen my instagram. The closest I've gotten to getting on the algorithm train is when I've shown half naked women, which you have to be very careful about because you could be shut down if you upset someone. Yet, this also seems like these are the images that people respond to. It's so confusing. But honestly, naked women get boring! I have so many mixed feeling about Instagram. It is a great way to get your art out there for people to see, (are the right people seeing it? Is it better than no one seeing it?) but it is also a bit of a drug that can really mess with you. When I put out an image I am constantly checking in to see who has liked it and how many. It gives me a little boost sometimes. But then there is the coming down from the high when the likes stop coming in and I don't have anything new to post for a while, I can go through withdrawal. Then I start the doom scrolling and honestly I get bored! Instagram has gotten boring! But I still go back to it everyday. Sometimes it's the first thing I look at when I wake up. I'm trying not to do this, but I am addicted! So, what will be the new thing? Do we even know how to have conversations with real in person people anymore without having our phones nearby to suckle on? I want to be doing more actual physical in person stuff, but I feel like I'm drowning in the social media hole along with everyone else. I don't normally comment on anything so hopefully this wasn't too much of a rant. I am just getting over a bout of Covid which has caused me to feel even more isolated and sucked into the grams. Thank you!