Art and social media

I really like Amrita Chandra’s guest post at Chris Brogan’s blog – “What Artists Can Teach Everyone About Social Media.” The art world has always been social and has always had the “consumer is producer” aspect, acknowledged or not. Here’s the best advice:

Live an interesting life. What I love most about art is how it allows people to tell their own stories, whether it is through a painting or a photograph or a video installation.And the best stories come from people who live interesting lives. Look at your own life.Are you in a rut?Are you afraid to try new things?When was the last time you did something that took you outside your comfort zone?By being an interesting person, you will draw people to you through the stories you tell whether you are talking about software or changing the world.

Makes me think of Henry Miller, who made his life his art. He said “art is only a means to life, to the life more abundant. It is not in itself the life more abundant. It merely points the way, something which is overlooked not only by the public, but very often by the artist himself. In becoming an end it defeats itself.”

That’s also true of “social media.”

Author: Jon Lebkowsky

Co-wrangler of Plutopia News Network, cohost Radio Free Plutopia. Podcaster, writer, dharma observer, enzyme. Former editor/publisher, FringeWare Review; associate editor at bOING bOING and Factsheet Five; writer at Mondo 2000, 21C, Wired, Whole Earth Review, Austin Chronicle; sub-editor at Millennium Whole Earth Catalog; blogger at Worldchanging. Digital culture maven, podcaster, writer, dharma observer, enzyme. On The WELL, Cohost of VC (virtual communities), Media, and Civil War (.ind) conferences.

2 thoughts on “Art and social media”

  1. “Dye your hair pink” heh.
    This article was really good for me to read. A focus on tools is all fine and dandy, but at some point we need to shift our eyes toward what we build with them… what the “artists” build with them. Of course, I think we should ALL see ourselves as artists.

  2. Hey, I totally thought of you when I saw that line!

    This one hit me hard, too. I’ve been thinking about the connections – life, art, work, and energy…

Comments are closed.