It's a useful tool for whatever you want to share. Social media isn't really about content but marketing lead gen now.
I appreciate your approach so far, providing me with a curated discovery experience. Over time I imagine that experience will include editorial and similar content. Thanks!
Well said, Tomb — I think you're right about social as a marketing tool. I use it for this newsletter! Though I wish I didn't need to. FlakPhoto has always been a curated discovery experience and some of these posts will do that (like today's). I'm planning some interviews and audio features too. Maybe even video at some point. Thanks for reading and for sharing your insights. I appreciate it.
I think I'm in agreement with Bill Purvis. All platforms are curated, whether by a person, a committee or an algorithm. No platform promises universal acceptance or equal weight to each submission. You can say that the guidelines are illusory or a moving target, subjective, but they exist and as artists, we have to be aware of the boundaries that the curation establishes, without being insulted when our work falls outside the castle walls. I don't think that means we have to restrict our work to the lowest common denominator, only producing work that we know will be widely accepted. It means we have to chose places where our work fits, and if that place doesn't exist, or in the case of IG, has evolved for better or worse, create that place ourselves. Instagram didn't start out with 150 million followers.
It's not ideal Substack, it reads too much like a big standard blog post, literally and aesthetically but presumably there's much less likelyhood of being censored?
I hear you, Mike, and I think about this still. When it comes to looking at pictures, a carousel is a nice format, right? It would be nice if Substack implemented more sophisticated photo layouts. We'll see what happens. Thanks for looking!
Flak Photo and its subsidiaries had a following. The postings from followers created the content. The administrators vetted postings. Too often now there are lots of posts calling for content but the postings are at the subjective whim of the administrator/s. The artists should create the postings and not be vetted and selected by administrator/s exerting their curatorial? judgements. Doesn't stack up to me.
Thank you for linking to David Remnick's eulogy of Peter Schjeldahl, who dreamed up an "adamantine conundrum."
Thank you for reading, George! That was a nice piece by Remnick. Now I need to read "The Art of Dying." https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/12/23/the-art-of-dying
The Lynsey Addario book (It’s What I Do) is a great read. Some great compelling stories.
Yeah, it's on my list — which gets longer by the day. Thanks, Brandon.
Substack = blog + automatic rss
It's a useful tool for whatever you want to share. Social media isn't really about content but marketing lead gen now.
I appreciate your approach so far, providing me with a curated discovery experience. Over time I imagine that experience will include editorial and similar content. Thanks!
Well said, Tomb — I think you're right about social as a marketing tool. I use it for this newsletter! Though I wish I didn't need to. FlakPhoto has always been a curated discovery experience and some of these posts will do that (like today's). I'm planning some interviews and audio features too. Maybe even video at some point. Thanks for reading and for sharing your insights. I appreciate it.
I think I'm in agreement with Bill Purvis. All platforms are curated, whether by a person, a committee or an algorithm. No platform promises universal acceptance or equal weight to each submission. You can say that the guidelines are illusory or a moving target, subjective, but they exist and as artists, we have to be aware of the boundaries that the curation establishes, without being insulted when our work falls outside the castle walls. I don't think that means we have to restrict our work to the lowest common denominator, only producing work that we know will be widely accepted. It means we have to chose places where our work fits, and if that place doesn't exist, or in the case of IG, has evolved for better or worse, create that place ourselves. Instagram didn't start out with 150 million followers.
Your blog posts are so wholesome.
I'll take that as a compliment. Thank you!
Great Issue, Andy! Thanks for reminding me how powerful Amy Woodwards Images are. Life personified through woman and child. Simply beautiful.
Cheers, Benjamin! Thanks so much for reading. I appreciate it.
Thanks for the Tender Photo substack link, looks great
Right? You'll dig it. Thanks for reading, Victoria!
It's not ideal Substack, it reads too much like a big standard blog post, literally and aesthetically but presumably there's much less likelyhood of being censored?
I hear you, Mike, and I think about this still. When it comes to looking at pictures, a carousel is a nice format, right? It would be nice if Substack implemented more sophisticated photo layouts. We'll see what happens. Thanks for looking!
So much this. I've asked them multiple times to look into upgrading this aspect.
Flak Photo and its subsidiaries had a following. The postings from followers created the content. The administrators vetted postings. Too often now there are lots of posts calling for content but the postings are at the subjective whim of the administrator/s. The artists should create the postings and not be vetted and selected by administrator/s exerting their curatorial? judgements. Doesn't stack up to me.
Cheers, Marian!