I have been on social media for a while now, and I have had this blog for just the amount of time that I have had this business. I like them both in their own rights. The question for me to answer though is finding out which one makes sense for what exactly.

    I can’t lump all social media into one group very easily, but in a nutshell, it is about a public forum where people and businesses can share content, ideas, and opinions. Of course each platform has its own quirks and features. Instagram focuses on pictures. Twitter is short blurbs. Facebook has (or at least had) just about everyone on it. Vero… well it was trying to replace Instagram, but nobody remembers it anymore!

    The theme is fairly straightforward, though in that you are publishing some form of content on a site you don’t have control over. The tradeoff is easy access to lots of eyes and potential for more quick interactions. It is great for the feeling of doing something without much effort. I am not quite so sure it has the staying power or ability to create the impact a personalized website can.

    There is a lot of ‘fake-ness’ online anymore. Social media makes people want to make it a numbers game to get more likes and followers. It drives some people to great measures of paying for ads, follow-unfollow, paying directly for followers/likes, etc… It is all hollow and silly.

    I am still there, but it isn’t to attract large numbers of people. I don’t actively work hard for attention anymore because I never saw much value in doing so. I never got hired from a social media post. I might not be that good at it, but I did try! Instead, I post for the people that are there following me already and enjoy what I have to say/share.

    Most of my time as of late has been spent on my website. The reason why boils down mostly to control. I know that so long as I pay the bills it will continue to exist long into the future! I also can design how my content looks and the way it is laid out. No more worrying that my images will be destroyed by compression or that the layout will change every week wrecking my prior content and efforts! The only chasing game I am left to play is with the search algorithms which I have left mostly up to publishing quality content over time and making everything as straightforward as possible!

    This works well for me too because I am not all that social of a person. I don’t care to be active online all the time on social media working or trying to figure out the latest updates. It all distracts from the photography and work I can do creating more quality content. So, I will continue posting and building out my presence here for the foreseeable future and making this place my little online home. 

P.S.  Follow me on social media via the links below ;)