no more flickr dick sucking.

Okay first, let me admit to a few things before I type the rest of this entry. I'm not a hot shit artist who wakes up late, draws and paints all day and then actually gets paid for it. I don't always put the time in to developing my craft or connecting with other creative people in the world to share ideas. I wish it were all so. And I realise that all of it comes with time spent and drive. But it's just not happening. I admit my laziness along with a pinch of "woe is me"...but just a pinch. I get it. Work more and get better. So, now that my admission of guilt is out of the way, I'll explain the title of this post.

I joined flickr for two reasons. To get inspired and network with illustrators. I'm sure thousands of people use the site for those very reasons already. But for some reason I fell into some sort of bizarre ego stroking cycle that neither encourages creativity nor connects people on any meaningful level.

The cycle goes something like this:

• I post a picture.

• I hope to get comments. Hundreds of comments! Then surely my insecurities about my abilities are supressed!

• So I visit some of my contacts and type really nice, positive and supportive things in the hope they will visit my flickr and do the same.

• Yay! I get a few positive and supportive comments on MY picture. Whether they are meant or not, who cares? Comments are currency baby...rack em up!

The cycle repeats and the more comments you get, the better you feel about your work. Suck dick to get yours sucked. That's the premise. "Awesome", "cool!" and "great work" get thrown around so much that comments lose their value. Some people get comments about their work and make no attempt to even say thank you. Which is weird for me. Probably because I've been blogging for a long time...and bloggers are pretty respectful that way. They also don't just spew positive comments to get even more positive comments. When they reply to each other they actually MEAN WHAT THEY TYPE. There's SUBSTANCE.

Remember, I admitted I'm lazy in the first paragraph. There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that I'm not using flickr effectively. It is up to me to make meaningful connections. But I thought I would highlight this phenomenon. I can't be the only one who has noticed it?

So I'm done with all of that. If I comment, I'll do so with substance. If I recieve comments I will say thank you and try connect further.