The intersection of the digital world with culture is one of my big passions. So, it was only a matter of time until I started writing about it. The use of technology in the arts is not new, and it’s something we see more and more today. Yet, that make for another post, series of posts, or even a book. Today I want to write about how artists can use digital technologies to promote their work.
There are many ways to be present in the digital sphere: Having a website, having a presence on social media, and email are the main ones. All, or most of us, use one or several in our personal life. But do we make good use of them do give visibility to our artistic activity? In future posts I will highlight each one. For now, here’s a brief approach.
Have a website
A site is out “virtual home”. It is our own place, and not a “rented” space, like Facebook is. If Mark Zuckerberg decides to end his company, or change the platform, there is nothing we can do, and we will lose all our content. On the contrary, on a site you control what you publish, when you publish, and how you publish it. There are many solutions to have a site, some free, some cheap, and some expensive. I’ll write about them soon.
Social media
The previous paragraph doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have a presence on social media. We should definitely be present and active in them. What we shouldn’t do is be exclusively dependant on them. From what I observe, the most attractive social media networks for artists are Facebook and Instagram, both interestingly owned by the same company. On Facebook, you should have a page dedicated to your artistic work, where you share interesting information (backstage, agenda, work in progress, photos). On Instagram, a photo sharing platform, you should share images relating to your work, remembering to include a personal mark, so that there is a stronger connection to the audience. I will write articles on each of these platforms soon.
E-mail is still a fundamental work tool for artists and non artists. It’s the way to maintain national and international contacts, to exchange information, documents, and to answer questions.
E-mail still confers a personal (and official) mark to communication.
Conclusion
It is fundamental to have a digital presence. When was the last time you sent a fax or snail mailed a letter? Probably a long time ago or, in some cases, never. Digital channels will continue to grow and, more and more, it is important to be fluent using them.
In future posts, I will approach these questions related to the the digital world in more detail, and apply them to the artistic reality. I will write about the main social networks, about how to build an attractive site, of mailing lists, and much more.
(Photo by Jakob Owen)
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