In the past couple of weeks, I’ve read two blog posts that have made me think quite a bit about social media. First, Ron Coscorrosa’s incredibly perceptive and well-written, “Avoiding the Internet Popularity Trap,” is a humorous poke at the current state of photography and social media. The other post is, “7 Ways to be Insufferable on Facebook.” from a blog I’ve recently discovered called Wait but Why.
As I read both of these posts, I laughed at their cleverness, but my laugh quickly devolved to that awkward chuckle you get when you’re in a room full of people and realize you’re the butt of a joke. For both posts, I need more than one hand to count the number of “offenses,” I’ve made.
I imagine to some extent it was true before social media came along, but there’s no doubt now: Facebook (and its offspring) has made us a funny bunch of people indeed. The internet has increased the speed of our cultural evolution rapidly–too fast I’m afraid for our poor little brains to keep up with. This leaves us doing all sorts of weird things for attention, as if we’re that awkward kid in braces at the middle school dance, trying to get the attention of that girl or boy. You know who I’m talking about. And you were that awkward kid; we all were.
In response to ribbing critiques of our odd cultural behavior, we have two choices: laugh at ourselves, or get mad. If you follow the landscape photography circles on Facebook at all, you know about the fallout surrounding Ron’s post–there were some people who took it personally, and for no good reason in my opinion. We’re all guilty of these things. That’s why they’re funny, and if it causes us to take a step back for some positive reflection, then so much the better. Things are so serious in this world…if you can’t laugh at yourself, what can you laugh at?
So with that in mind, here’s my offering of silly Facebook antics that I’m guilty of. Will I do it again? Probably. But, I’m always mindful that it’s the body of work that does the talking, not the lip service. That’s the important lesson here.
Thanks to Ron and Why but Why for the great posts.
This brings to mind a term I heard a year or two ago, when certain folks with very thin photographic resumes were getting hundreds of thousands or even millions of followers here and there on social media sites: “Internet Celebrity Photographer.”
😉
Dan
Thanks for the comment, Dan! Yeah, I have never figured out how people have ended up with that many followers or fans. I like the term.
Most of the people who responded to Ron’s post took the approach you did – self-reflection. Others – including one prominent person in particular – took it as an opportunity to be an adult cyber-bully and made it all very personal (to both me and Ron, guilt by association in a positive way for me). This reaction is only indicative of many of the things Ron’s post was highlighting in terms of the negative side of social media for photographers. The popularity aspect becomes so much more important than the photography aspect. When new photographers try to emulate that approach that they see as the definition of “success” without any other competing voices or examples, the cycle becomes self-perpetuating in a negative way.
We all do some of these things. I consider the balance between the positive and negative behaviors as the important part. I have always considered you one of the more thoughtful people in the online landscape photography world, by the way. If more people emulated your social media presence, the world would be a better place.
Hi, Sarah. Thanks for the kind words; I appreciate them. I respect you and Ron both a lot and was sad to see you being cyber-bullied like you were. It was completely unnecessary.
I think you said it very well…and your important lesson is just as good (if not better than) mine. Balance is key.
Also, good point about the positive feedback loop that won’t end with new photographers coming into social media all the time.
Hey Greg – thanks for the blog post (and for linking to my related blog post). Sarah stole most of my thunder!
I was just trying to bring attention to a topic that’s been on my mind. As I mention in the post, I’m not perfect, and suffer or have suffered many of the tendencies I mention (that’s how I knew to mention them!).
I feel that social media should be used as a supplement for photography, and not as a replacement. I didn’t anticipate that that was a controversial opinion, and it really wasn’t, most people agreed and the discussion on the post has been fantastic.
There are a few who got offended – probably because they identified too strongly with the negative behaviors, and instead of using it as a time to reflect (or even have an honest discussion if they disagree), they got defensive (or in one case, offensive).
Anyway – looks like you got some killer snowy conditions last year – hope the photos turned out 🙂
No problem, Ron. I think the same reasons you posted your article were probably many of the same reasons it resonated with me so strongly: I can identify, either as a participant or as an observer, with most of the behaviors.
I’ve been following the discussion on your blog, and agree that it’s been fantastic. I think it’s something that’s been on many of our minds, and verbalizing it in a humorous was has probably been a bit cathartic for a lot of us. I still can’t believe it was taken so offensively by some, but it is what it is I guess.
Can you believe that snowy morning was in southern California!?? Amazing. Truth be told, it was a pretty awesome way to spend a Friday morning. 🙂
Totally true, Ron. Agreed. Something is wrong when we see more gear reviews, marketing messages or photos of yourself than of the actual work itself.
I read this last night, Greg along with the other 2 posts you linked to. The popularity of some photographers is a mystery to me and the lack of response to others equally bewildering. My problem is that most of the people I know are not in Ron’s category of actively courting popularity. Certainly some are using social media as a launch pad for their commercial aspirations but I see relatively little of the “Hey! Look at me” stuff. Perhaps I subconsciously stay away from it. I have found looking at the photography of others quite instructive. It helps me see my own shortcomings and I learn both technical and – for want of a better word – creative lessons. Of course I do little landscape work but with one or two notable exceptions, no names, no packdrill, few of the wildlife and insect photographers come across as having inflated egos. Quite the opposite, most seem warm and constructive participants. Now if you were to ask me about street photography then I would react differently. I regard most of with a skeptical and bewildered eye and see far too many ‘look at my fantastic work’ types. The worst are often the moderators who set themselves up as arbiters of good and bad, when much is just bizarre. Is this any different though from any other kind of community? The principal differences lie in the scale and speed of engagement but the nature of the participants is surely much the same. Social media may magnify it and they may lead people to write things they would shy away from face to face, I am not sure. The posts are good food for thought but nobody forces us to engage with these people or to feed their egos. More fool us if we do. Selectivity is the answer and if you don’t like, unfriend, unfollow or ignore. BTW, I rather like your Friday morning shot 😉
Thanks for your thoughtful comments as always, Andrew. I appreciate your observations, because the “group” you seem to run with on Facebook is definitely low key and low pressure. I can appreciate that a lot.
Interesting observations about the level of ego in different aspects of photography. Landscape photography definitely has its egos, and I am delighted to hear the opposite is largely true of wildlife and macro work. I didn’t know about street photography, but I can imagine it would be largely the same.
Good observations about the nature of social media too; I do believe that it changes the way we interact with one another, and things would be different if we were solely relegated to face-to-face interactions. Perhaps we should have more of those types…
Just read both posts and got a good kick out of them! Being able to laugh at yourself is an important part of growth. The whole social media thing crept out of nowhere and took off faster than any of us could imagine. I think for a lot of us, figuring out how to use it properly is half the battle. I remember sitting in front of my computer after first starting a Facebook page thinking… what do I say or do now?That being said, for myself the most important part of social media has been the ability to connect and become friends with a wide range of people who I may never have otherwise. The amount of inspiration it has provided me with has been huge.
Thanks for the comment Kyle. I can definitely relate to your first social media experiences! I had no clue how to use Facebook at first, but am (slowly) getting the hang of it.
I agree that camaraderie is an important aspect of social media, and it has largely taken the place of critique forums in my every day life. Of course many of the people who I interact with (like you) are people I met on critique forums. I’ve been fortunate for my trail to cross with a few photographers I wouldn’t have met otherwise.
You’re right too about the speed with which social media came on the scene–it was too much for us to cope with, I think, and has left us to adapt in all sorts of different ways…
I’m enough of a social media recluse that I can’t claim a very informed opinion, but still…. attention, loneliness, bragging, narcissism…. yup, I can recognize all those in my online activity. I suppose the key is to do one’s best to fall in that overlapping Region B of the Venn diagram in the Wait But Why post. To purge oneself of pride and its associated emotions is the work of monks, but at least we can be mindful of offering our readers some moments of pleasure in return for making us feel momentarily significant in the universe.
Nice Kolob shot: is that new?
Yes, it seems as though anything we do online has some degree of the things you listed. I guess we just think the world cares about what we have to say. 🙂 The key is to find balance and keep it in perspective.
I made this back in June when we visited. I love that tall grass area on the way up to the Kolob Reservoir area. Even if it isn’t completely natural, I really think it’s attractive. On summer afternoons you can climb the rocks around Lambs Knoll (across the road and south a bit) and watch the tall grass dance in the wind. It’s about as close as you’ll get to watching the waves in southern Utah!
I’m glad you made this post, Greg. Because currently I seem to have limited time for social media or even reading blogs, I often don’t find out about some of the quality photoblogs until I hear about them from you. It’s great the way you seem to find and get involved in good spots around the web. In my observation, often many people start out in photography as a mere lark. Some get more serious, some don’t. There is such a diverse array of motivations and methods out there. With some noted exceptions, we are generally accustomed to having those rise to the top who have something important to say artistically, whose work is real, solid, committed and not pure fluff or smoke and mirrors, though I’m sure there are some doing very good fluff too. Now, here comes the social media–photography experience, which has turned some of the older thresholds and sorting out processes on end. People are rocketing to “fame” with little substance or dedication and often without ever having soul searched for a significant reason why they are doing photography in the first place. Some of these issues remind me of conversations we’ve had and our two exchange posts where we talked in different ways about the importance of the artist knowing “why” he or she is an artist, once they move past the beginning stages: http://www.alpenglowimagesphotography.com/blog/2011/12/make-your-own-tripod-tracks/ and http://landscapephotographyblogger.com/moving-past-the-repertoire-by-greg-russell/ Hey wait a minute, your permalink doesn’t identify me as the author. I want more recognition darn it! Thanks for the excellent post.
Well said, David. Thanks for the thoughtful response to this post–I’m glad you enjoyed it, and got me to re-read our old cross posts. So many of the ideas in there still ring true–truer–today.
Greg, great post. I follow you on FB and you’re participation there is far from offensive!
I have written a lot about photographers and social media on my photography marketing blog, NaturalApertures.com. I’d like to add a handful of ideas here, all of which are captured in various posts I’ve written…
First, Kyle nails a core issue by identifying the need to understand the role social media plays (or can play) in our photography (which presumably ties to business goals).
Second, most photographers use social media solely as a vehicle for self-promotion when the pundits will tell you that social media is about a “conversation” and “engagement” with customers. As cliched as these ideas are, they have the virtue of being true, and constant self-promotion is not a great conversation-starter.
Third, before social media, photographers promoted their work through personal relationships, networking, things like direct mail, and other forms of paid advertising. At the risk of generalization, back then, the hard sell was a tried and true tactic.
This sentiment is echoed in plenty of contemporary business literature about photography. One source that comes immediately to mind is Alain Briot’s ‘Marketing Fine Art Photography’, in which he states something to the effect that a poor photograph marketing well will always outsell a great photograph that is poorly marketed (I’m probably butchering this, but you get the picture).
The problem today is that many photographers, some very prominent, never altered their tactics for social media, where the notion of creating “engagement” actually is important. What we get, then, is the hard sell in a medium where this kind of communication should have a very limited presence.
I also think (and this is conjecture, but one supported by some of the points that Ron makes in the post you reference here) that a herd mentality exists among photographers where social media is concerned. Emerging photographers see what a few very popular photographers in social media do and emulate this, the net result being self-perpetuating self-promotion that ultimately defeats the promotional motives we go online with in the first place.
Finally, I’ll conclude by saying that the difference between social media and traditional advertising is very simple. Advertising is a push media in which limited space or time exists to sell a service or product. Social media–and online marketing in general–is a pull medium. People go online based on their own needs, not yours (as a photographer seeking to promote a business). When our social media participation reflects this reality, people will “engage” with us because they’ve found something truly interesting, inspirations, useful, etc. When we behave online in a way that maintains this attention, trust results, and the potential for a customer is created.
OK…got a little didactic here, but it felt like the right place for these ideas. I’ll shut up now.
As for you, Greg, please keep doing what you do–I really enjoy everything that you share online.
I’m glad you didn’t shut up, Wesley! This is valuable information and I’m grateful to you for sharing it. Social media is a bit of a strange beast to most of us, I think, and learning to use it is definitely the key.
In the meantime, we do our best, faltering occasionally. 🙂
Thanks so much, I appreciate it!
Greg,
Thanks for this blog post. It was interesting.
(This has my corrected e-mail address) I liked your sand dunes from Death Valley. I traveled to Mesquite Dunes on 6 occasions, for 6 days of exploration of Mesquite Dunes in Death Valley (see photos on https://www.facebook.com/tombrodylandscapes).
Also, I liked your star trails photo, apparently taken at Coyote Buttes (Vermilion Cliffs). Also, I liked your photo from Bisti Badlands.