Social Media in Humanity

Musicians, actors, and artists of all spectrums, inclusive of superstars and upcoming individuals, have embraced social media as a tool to improve how they create, promote, and promote their creativities. They use social media to gain inspiration, build businesses with their fans, and pursue various commercial activities. The initiation of social media has extensively transformed communication between artists and interactions with all establishments that govern their careers. Social networks, such as Instagram and Facebook, have become essential structures for newbies in the industry to share their works. This paper intends to display how social media have become a center for artwork discussion and distribution.

The issue of artists not making a living out of their art is slowly becoming outdated given that various artists use social media platforms, such as YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook, to market their works and connect with customers across the globe (Hochman &Manovich 13). Due to the reason that these websites are free, they have become vital as traditional tools, such as a paintbrush and a palette. Many artists confess that without the power of social media, they could probably give up their creative endeavors and careers. Platforms, such as MySpace, inspire various artists through making it possible to display what they are capable of and connect directly with their audiences. Facebook is steadily ousting MySpace, enabling artists to set up groups that allow them to promote and sell their artwork. Twitter is also an essential tool for artists around the world (Hochman & Manovich 13). It is because whenever artists twit about their completed project, their message will drive traffic to their work. Most times, after twitting their plans, they will get new requests from potential customers. A good example of such an artist is Mike Kus who once featured in Mashable as one of the most followed Instagram users. The following in the Instagram platform earned Kus some extra cash as he was hired by the top fashion brands in Britain, such as Ted Baker and Burberry, to shoot their fashion week shows via Instagram.

The debate on whether social media is killing the art or bringing it to the people has been in the limelight for quite a long time. From the perspective of various artists, such as Kus, who use the social media platform to propel his talent and career, it is clear that social media are democratizing the art (Wilcox & Bryan 24). It is because the art has undergone transition, making it easy for the public to access the works of various artists. More and more people are getting access to the archives, which are very rich in many works of different artists; hence, the idea of art democratization by social media is a good sign (Wilcox and Bryan 41). Many talented people feel intimidated by the art and the world, as they perceive that one needs to be a millionaire to start. However, many people are now beginning to join the art as the fear is slowly fading away thanks to the exposure of actual art life in various social media platforms. Social media also allows artists to create content for a particular community. Today, people are living in diversified society where things need to be documented to make them appear real. It is important for people who do not have the time to go to galleries as they can watch works of various artists online. However, it is important to note that most people who visit art galleries do not always go there to enter into the spirit of artworks but rather to take photos and post them on social media platforms for identity purposes. They do this to impress their friends, and this is a way to promote the work of various outstanding artists in the digital era (Ratto Boler 56).

Some artistic works also lend themselves more readily to being distributed through social media, especially the ones with strong colors, geometric composition, and the square format that is preferred by the Instagram. Therefore, the media promote artists to create works in formats that are suitable for the social media. Because work is shared in a given format in the social media, it affects what the artists produce. Conversely, this also raises a concern that if it is social media that leads the art, then most artworks will be created to fit this algorithm. It is dangerous because artists will be confined and will not expose their full potential in the world of art (Ratto & Boler 68).

Moreover, social media may or may not be transforming what artists produce, but they are changing the model of the industry. In high-rent cities, some galleries are not capable of affording expensive shops and they opt for smaller offices with viewings by appointment. Additionally, it is important to note that social media is used differently by different people. While art lovers use it as a tool of marketing to post pictures of their favorite works and galleries, the artists use it as an opportunity to share their creativity. Galleries and museums are slow to move to social media because these institutions do not want to flood their followers with posts. However, they have recently responded to social media through advertisements and online exhibitions. Nevertheless, one can wonder if the experience in museums and art galleries is really about the art through thinking about a particular piece and emotionally responding to something beautiful like it used to be. This is not the case, as art has become a tool of narcissism, making people appear more attractive and flattering. Practically, people who take photos on galleries are annoying because most of them do not have the intension of exploring and comprehending the arts but rather taking snaps for the identity purposes in social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook (Hinton & Hjorth 29).

An attempt to sell an artwork through social media can be a challenge. However, the presentation of art online has become a very lucrative business as many sites offer platforms for artists to sell their artworks in the form of novelty or prints items. Traditional methods of selling artworks on the internet have proved difficult for most artists; hence, there is a need to evolve a social media strategy (Hochman & Manovich 15). Marketing of artists in the social media platform is a game of numbers, and the objective is to find and develop a reliable relationship with people who are willing to help the industry of arts. Social media has changed collaboration solely during the time of production to cooperation between the storytellers, audiences, and filmmakers. The transformation will have compelling effects on the film industry especially on the traditions that are already established; hence creating new order whereby the film customs will no longer apply (Hochman & Manovich 13). For instance, a traditional barrier between marketing people and the audiences will cease to be present. Filmmakers are now able to distribute their production directly to the fans in the new digital age especially using the YouTube (Hinton & Hjorth 13). The possibility of the filmmakers of having direct engagement with the audience indicates that the public will become a more important part of the story and script development. Therefore, filmmakers will come up with multilayered stories with real life experiences from the audience perspective. Thus, new filmmakers are going to fully embrace and utilize the merits of social media, as they will possess a host of storytelling techniques.

Social media benefits should not only apply to individual artists but organizations dealing with arts, as well (Hochman & Manovich 38). That indicates that having a strategy is very vital for any art organization that is striving to use social media as a platform to boost and market its works. Core principles and values should be the baseline through which social media activities are undertaken by the organizations. A decision to post, share and interact with any other type of content should be calculated in advance. It, therefore, means that coming up with a social media strategy as a guiding tool for any activity in the social media is necessary (Hochman & Manovich 56). Similarly, social media strategy should be part of overall communications as well as the marketing strategy of an art organization.

The organizations should also brainstorm where the message can be effectively spread on social media and what materials need to be put into consideration such as posters, videos, email marketing among other things. Organizations dealing with art should also acknowledge that with a host of social media platforms to choose from, each medium has strengths and weaknesses hence quality content would only shine through an appropriately selected medium (Hinton & Hjorth 15). Similarly, there is no shortcut regarding having a dominant presence in the platform. Despite having numerous resources and apps that can enhance and guide social activities, social media activities require attention, resources, as well as time. Return on investment in social media is also not immediate but it pays in the long term, and part of this includes coming up with a content strategy and a plan social media activities with the programs of the organization.

Despite the many benefits connected with the social media, some drawbacks can be occasionally associated with this important entity (Davidson et al. 293). Space, where artistic pieces are hosted, is full of notifications, pop ups and destructions hence making it unhealthy for most artists to use social media. It is because social media platforms focus on profit making and not distribution and discussion of the art. Social media platforms are created to promote consumption. The significant threat of social media to art is products that challenge the value of social media and knowhow. Moreover, a digital platform is not genuine in that most social media platforms use to appeal to consumers, making it difficult to get a meaningful message when the media focuses only on the value. It is because the artists will not enjoy the value of their art if people come but instead merely pass through the gallery. Literature and art have traditionally used pathos as a way to assist the audience in retaining the vital message of a given piece. However, social media is slowly eroding the idea of pathos in art and literature by utilizing it as currency. Artistic work requires emotional appeal, contemplation, and patience but social media has somehow failed to uphold these essential attributes of art and literature (Davidson et al. 297).

In conclusion, it is important to admit the fact that social media has a profound impact on the distribution of art. It has been made possible by a range of social media platforms that are easily accessible, self-explanatory, and affordable to most artists (Wilcox and Bryan 21). Having a strategy as an artist and spending the most time in the media is sometimes the only way out to ensure that intended goals are achieved on the art. Despite the reason that social media has some drawbacks, it has changed the game to the advantage of many artists, hence making it the next big thing as far as distribution of artistic work is concerned.

Works Cited

Davidson, Roei, and Nathaniel Poor. “The Barriers Facing Artists’ Use of Crowd Funding Platforms: Personality, Emotional Labor, and Going to the Well One Too Many Times.”New Media & Society, vol. 17, no. 2, 2015, pp. 289-307.

Hochman, Nadav, and Lev Manovich. “Zooming into an Instagram City: Reading the Local through Social Media.”First Monday,vol. 18, no. 7, 2013.

Hinton, Sam, and Larissa Hjorth. Understanding Social Media. Sage, 2013.

Ratto, Matt, and Megan Boler. DIY Citizenship: Critical Making and Social Media. MIT Press, 2014.

Wilcox, L. Denis, and Bryan H. Reber. Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques. Pearson, 2016.