“I won’t follow, i’m taking the long way…”
Hi. I finally started posting on Instagram again... i’m making moves! I happened to see a prompt on April 1st from an account I follow (@inspiredtowrite), challenging other creatives to share one piece of art every day in April. I missed the first two days while I was ruminating over it, but I finally decided that I’m gonna participate. I’m also trying to stay in a casual headspace about it though. It feels better when I don’t put so much pressure on myself. & I really just want to use this as an excuse to push myself back out there and update my portfolio ahead of market season.
I am finally feeling ready to take ANACHRONIC out in public this year. I haven’t put much effort into online sales since I opened my shop, because I convinced myself that I was “building up and saving” my stock to sell in person… but really, I think I was just feeling too insecure to promote myself and to push what I was selling. I don’t want to hold myself back anymore though. I am really proud of the products and the brand that i’ve created, and I am definitely ready to move it all out of my storage now.
I was listening to a podcast episode by ‘Inkwell’ yesterday called “Social Media is Burning”. In the episode he and his guest were discussing the current social media landscape and how it has been affecting them as artists. They also gave advice to get back out in person, and to stop putting so much effort into online marketing. These days, you essentially have to decide if you are trying to be an artist who makes content or an artist who gets paid for their art. It’s nearly impossible to do both, but the algorithm will demand both. I felt that.
I miss MySpace…
I’ve also been noticing a lot of artists I follow beginning to speak about building personal websites… It’s actually quite validating, as I’m already several steps ahead over here. but seeing other people talk about it has been making me think that I should probably start talking about it too… & I’ve already had a couple friends reach out and ask me “how?”… so maybe I can figure out a way to help others. Maybe I can make a tutorial or something.
I’ve been blogging off and on for 20 years, now. This year is actually officially my 20th year. I started on LiveJournal when I was 14. I don’t know what it is about online journaling that keeps me coming back, but I do really enjoy this form of expression. I have always hesitated to call myself a “writer”, because the way that I write doesn’t feel like anything special to me. I just write the way I think… but I really do love writing. I have always loved writing. I have always loved words. I have always kept a diary. I have always had a tendency to overshare. & I am starting to see a bit of significance in the way others seem to relate to what I say.
I also really miss reading other people’s blogs too… it used to be so much more popular to keep a blog. It’s really interesting to see what people get up to when they are given their own little empty corner of the internet. AI blogs ain’t it, though… I hate that shit. & Its becoming really obvious. I mostly see businesses doing it; Using AI to write their posts. The vocabulary and the sentence structure… all those “voices” read exactly the same. & it’s because AI is writing all those articles for them. It just seems so weird and pointless to me. No one needs to waste their time reading regurgitated nonsense from a machine. We do need to share our real voices and our real opinions more, though… More than ever. More human and more honest.
I just want to make stuff, and make friends, and make myself happy. I want to make my own way. And I think you should too.
XO, Haley ᵉMᵖTʸ
P.S. If you’ve been looking for a sign to get your own domain — THIS is it. I am currently paying to use squarespace, but I built my first website on blogger for free when I was 17. You can do it. I believe in you. <3