I started in early social media, figuring it out as it figured itself out. In the beginning, it was (fairly) straightforward... and it is not anymore. I am bad at modern social media, and after researching how other artists handle it and discussing the tasks with friends...
I think a lot of artists are.
And I don't think that is going to change.
To start with:
I love online communities. There is a reason I make art and distribute it primarily through online channels.
And now, some details:
Netherworld Post Office consists of myself (hi, this is Atticus typing) and my producer, Fang ("Say hi Fang" / "Don't put me in the post." / "Can I put that you don't want to be in the post?" / "...sure.")
When back office projects get big and weird or need special help, we loop in others. Or (far more often) we get looped in when others need our special brand of odd.
The one thing we do not do?
Social media campaigns.
"Oh, because they are bad?!"
No, because we are bad at them.
Early social media (early 2000s through maybe mid 2010s, possibly late 2010s) was extremely different.
There were fewer platforms and this network concentration made posting and reader organizing far easier.
To this day, we have a fairly large audience on Tumblr! Hi Tumblr readers!
Everywhere else... not so much. And that's okay!
This is not an anti-social media article.
I am an artist and storyteller, not an internet cultural researcher moralist technologist decider-of-systems.
- I do not know if the networks are good (and the Post is bad at them)
- Or if they are bad (and the Post is bad at them)
- Or if they are neutral (...you get the picture.)
- I do know that, to post effectively and keep up to date with the changes and replies, is not feasible for us long term.
I could hire a social media manager and/or agency. This route would cost several hundred (if not a few thousand) dollars a month, skyrocketing studio costs, and necessitating our "make neat things, make them very affordable" strategy to be tossed out the window.
Or I can focus on writing blogs and essays, painting and drawing, then distribute them as possible where possible, both for entertainment and advertisement for the shop. This is the absolutely logical choice for us.
- The reach will probably be smaller
- But I'll be making more things, and making everything faster.
- By focusing on making more art and stories and projects, instead of badly attempting to chase the meme-of-the-day, we will stumble into each other less often.
- But when you say "Oh hey, Netherworld Post is on my [network] dashboard, what are they up to?" there will be more (and more in-depth) things.
Repeating a few lines from the start: I love online communities. There is a reason I make art and distribute it primarily through online channels.
- I am not going to delete Netherworld Post's online accounts. That would be foolish and accomplish nothing.
- I am going to focus on blogging (and essays and articles et cetera) as a hub, distributing the links on networks, the reach will be whatever it is. I am going to use our mailing list more consistently -- not just for product updates, but for essays and writings, paintings and stories.
- I will post in the various places you can find us now. I seriously doubt I'll ever join a new network, and I will learn to not over metrics.
- I will be working on larger, more complex projects as part of this shifted focus.
- I cannot be timely in my responses. I am going to set strict office hours on when, and how long, I spend on each network per month, and it cannot be significant.
-
I might miss replies and comments entirely.
- Some networks auto-hide comments on professional dashboards after a certain amount of time. Or, they don't, and I'm simply using the tools poorly, though the end result is the same.
- Some people are offended if they are not responded to quickly. Unfortunately, I can no longer keep pace (and was never great at it to begin with).
- I can always be reached by email, given all emails come into a single space, can be ordered and sorted, and are automatically filed when I start or respond to a conversation. Also, tremendously easier to draft replies while traveling on a train or in the back of a taxi.
The as-of-writing modern internet has taken social media posts from the realm of "Hey! Here is an update!" to their own form of Art. Incredibly exciting! And! Outside of my scope at a regular pace.
I hope this makes sense.
If you have any ideas on how to handle this differently, my email inbox is open. That one is easy to monitor.
The email list remains open and will be my general focus going forward.
My goal is to send a message once or twice a month, with blogs and comics, project updates and polls, neat things. I want the ratio of "I wrote an article or comic" to "here is a new product" to skew at least 50% towards article/comic -- Netherworld Post is at least as much an art project as it is a shop.
The sign up is below.
I hope to see you there or elsewhere.
This is not a "good bye, social media, forever!"
It is a solid and exclusive:
I am bad at socials, they are all changing rapidly and I am getting worse at them, I am de-prioritizing, so I can focus more on making things.
If you send me something on any social network, if you @ me, if you DM me, and it takes me a few weeks to respond or I never do because I didn't see it, it is never personal.