There was a time when I spent all my free time on AOL Instant Messenger. (Check out the perfectly on point Pen15 if you need a refresher on the sounds and sights of those days). Then it got old.
There was a time I spent all my free time on Myspace. But I never really understood what was going on there and something better came along.
There was a time (a long time) when I spent all my free time on Facebook. Then it got old, manipulative, and impersonal.
There was a time I spent some time on Snapchat. But I was 5 years too old and Instagram was more fun.
Then there was a time when I spent too much free time enjoying Instagram. That time is still now. And, to a certain extent, it’s a great and easy way to share and get some feedback on creative work. But lately it is feeling more and more manipulative and out of control. I haven’t abandoned it yet, but its demise feels on the horizon.
After a few years into each form of social media, the luster goes away, the thing that made it special gets replaced by ads and manipulative algorithms, and it’s just not fun anymore. Well, these are my observations, at least.
So, I’m going to try to share more on this space that I own and and manipulate myself and that won’t be affected by the constant adoption and abandonment of social media. (Austin Kleon has some great thoughts about the value of owning the space where you share your work.) We’ll see how it goes….
