If you’re a frequent reader, you’ve noticed my preoccupation with the decline of social media. I’m old enough to have witnessed the birth of the internet. The moment I saw a friend log onto a computer across town with his dad’s computer, coupled to a land line hand set, watching him type out commands on a clacky keyboard, on a tiny six inch, black and white CRT, and seeing the computer on the other end of the line respond, I knew something was up. I felt that way over and over again throughout my life. Seeing the potential, feeling the connection. The squeak squall sound of an analog modem trying to connect still makes my ears perk up. Some modern technical synesthesia. The early days of social media was full of that promise. As an image maker, being able to share photography and have people all over the world like it and follow you was intoxicating. The hardest thing about being a photographer was and is, getting people to see your work. And then, maybe hire you. If you wanted to make a living, this was critical.
Photographers would spend tens of thousands of dollars on their marketing budget. Buying placement in sourcebooks like Workbook, Alt Pic and the Black Book. Purchasing mailing lists of known employees at advertising agencies, catalog houses and magazines, then sending out physical, printed pieces, from postcards to elaborate multi page mailers, throughout the year. Casting as wide of a net as they could afford. If a potential client was interested you’d follow up by sending them a portfolio. A large, beautifully printed, bound book via FedEx. Frequently in a protective hard case. And it had to be current. These books were usually insured for thousands of dollars because they were so costly to make and maintain. A busy photographer would have maybe eight or ten books being shipped across the country at all times. I myself still have three very nice books bound in celery green goat skin with my logo embossed on it. They’re collecting dust around here somewhere. Right around the time I was gearing up to pursue a similar tact of self promotion, social media took the reigns. Flickr was popping off. Then Instagram. Suddenly you could maintain an ever evolving gallery of imagery online that potential clients and fans could discover. Talented photographers built large audiences. Tens or hundreds of thousands of eyeballs could access your work. The business of self promotion became far more democratized. Custom PDFs replaced the printed portfolios. Art buyers were scouring the net and discovering photographers organically. Careers were made. It was quite beautiful and exciting. Then, slowly, and then not so slowly, something happened. Cory Doctorow has coined it as Enshittification. “Here is how platforms die: first, they are good to their users; then they abuse their users to make things better for their business customers; finally, they abuse those business customers to claw back all the value for themselves. Then, they die.” I recommend you read the whole piece: https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/21/potemkin-ai/#hey-guys
Money ruins everything apparently. The promise of a more connected, democratic, open society was nice while it lasted. And I write like this from my point of view, as a photographer, but you can extrapolate it to just about everyone, every interest, every niche. What once brought us together is now pulling us apart. Strange times.
Back to the title of this piece. I’ve been spending a bit more time on Threads, Meta’s new platform. An answer to the shithouse fire that Twitter, er, X? Has become. I do like it. I like the interface, its simple and clean. Images look good with no or minimal cropping. You can post links to other things. There is an algorithm, but it’s currently tuned to actually work. Showing you others with similar interests and content. There’s no advertising yet. They’re undoubtedly gathering user data behind the scenes to sell to the bidders. But that can be done in secret. It feels familiar in it’s early promise. And yet. . . And yet. I feel a little like Charly Brown and the football. Knowing that Meta is not an altruistic organization, that they exist to make money. To make money off the backs of people who make things. As the old saying goes, if something is free, you are the product. So I’m watching Threads. Watching people share of themselves and make connections. Seeds sprouting, thrusting tender roots into the soil. Taking hold, waiting to blossom. To grow, to flourish. And I know, when enough time has passed and the crop is ripe, the reaper with his scythe, will harvest what we have sown. All they had to do was provide the dirt.
This month’s photo set is of the stunning and sweet Verronica. Its one of a series we shot a ways back. She was in town recently, I’m sorry to have missed the opportunity of shooting with her again. Busy is as busy does. Click through and subscribe to see it all. Its worth it.
