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Social Media!!!


​​Image of David by John Barrett, Text & Design by David Clark Allen

I haven't posted from my artist site for a while - been using TheMasteringLab site instead. Finding the whole social media thing exhausting and with the mess FB is in I'm wondering whether all the work I've put into understanding how to use it and grow interested followers is about to implode!

For me the biggest difficulty is keeping high quality standards - I don't want to post meaningless quotes and hollow 'positive' statements to boost visibility, I want to write engaging, philosophical content. Like for instance, Q: What do our efforts and dreams really amount to? A: a reason for getting out of bed every morning.

Eventually, unless someone is making or investing mucho dinero in a particular artist, concept, industry, or whatever - things get outmoded, then forgotten with the passage of time. The next big thing grabs our attention/pocketbooks (even that's becoming an old-fashioned concept) and what was once relevant is consigned first to the 'museum of memory' and then 'oblivion'. How many of us think about fax machines, 8 track audio or writing a letter anymore? My youngest son doesn't know life before mobile phones and most of his communication happens through them rather than speaking or interacting in person . . . and that's the new normal.

So, in my opinion, much of what we do is essentially for ourselves - not in any selfish, unpleasant way but as a strategy for engaging with daily life (which can often seem quite mundane). When we're youthful, sex tends to be a predominant motivation. Given the right individual and circumstances it can provide stimulus for a lifetime, although in the current climate an individual might want to remain quiet about that.

Franko B, If I didn't love composing and creating stuff, I suspect I'd have quit long time ago. My friend, the well respected extreme performance artist recently told my sons the same thing - do your art because it gets you going everyday but don't think you're going to change the world. My personal thoughts are that mass murder and objects in museums are most often remembered (Ghengis Khan, Vlad the Impaler and statues/paintings that have big money/cultural kudos invested them, etc.) most things come and go eventually.

Social media has taken over a large part of my daily life in the meantime. Whether it gives as much as it takes is a question I haven't answered yet. I hope it does! D

ps: if you have the time, check out my new music.

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