Saturday, December 12, 2009
Guest Blogger: Donna Carrick
This post is from Guest Blogger Donna Carrick! Thanks Donna!
Donna is the author of The First Excellence, Gold and Fishes, and The Noon God. She is also an active member of Crime Writers of Canada.
Social Media and the Arts ~ by Donna Carrick, December 12, 2009
I’m a huge fan of Twitter, FaceBook and LinkedIn. In my opinion, these on-line tools and others like them are invaluable to the modern artist.
It’s true, not everyone shares my affection for Social Media. We’ve all heard the arguments: It takes too much time away from writing… Book sales do not correlate to number of ‘Tweets’ … Everyone on the Internet is trying to sell something… etc…etc.
Valid arguments, all. And yet… there is another factor to consider when weighing the value of today’s Internet connectivity.
As artists, (writers, painters, musicians …you get it) we have a responsibility to the future. That responsibility, in a nutshell, is to pass down our art to those who follow – to tell them what we can about our place and time.
What I am currently witnessing within the heart of the Social Media jungle is a powerful movement of new, vibrant, unfettered and independent artists. In my own tiny corner of the great forest, I’ve ‘met’ a virtual army of talented writers. Many are forming groups even as I prepare this blog. At least three are planning a 2010 Independent Artists Festival in Europe based on contacts formed through Twitter.
It’s ‘renaissance’ time, folks! The new guard is forging ahead and will not be quelled. Its passion is fuelled by the sense of artistic camaraderie that is emerging from Twitter, FaceBook, LinkedIn and the others. These are indeed exciting times!
If our only goal as writers is to sell more books, then Social Media may not be the answer. But if we want to shake the world, well, that’s another story! Take a moment to be still and feel it. The earth has already begun to move.
Lofty ideas? Perhaps. But majesty and grandeur have always been the objectives of the artist. Expressing those ideals is the writer’s mandate.
I firmly believe tomorrow’s ‘greats’ will emerge from within this Social Media groundswell. With that in mind, regardless of whether I “sell more books”, I want to be a part of the wave!
Yours in moving together towards the future,
Donna Carrick
www.donnacarrick.com
Donna's links for Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are:
Twitter: @donna_carrick
http://twitter.com/Donna_Carrick
FaceBook: Donna Carrick
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?filter=lf#/donna.carrick?ref=profile
LinkedIn: Donna Carrick
http://www.linkedin.com/myprofile?trk=hb_side_pro
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I felt the earthquake in the pit of my stomach. I am riding the wave, baby!:-)
ReplyDeleteThank you both for a very exciting post.
Thanks, Donna, for your words of wisdom. You are so right: for better or worse, this is the future. As writers we are well advised not to ignore it.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Donna! You're right, these things aren't going to go away, so we may as well use them. I think they also help the lofty, established authors to be more accessible to fans and those who are trying to get where they are. How can you not sell more books if you've communicated with your fans directly? That's why I bought yours. :)
ReplyDeleteCecilia