I think it's time for another one of these.
The internet is an ever changing space after all, and as I spend time thinking over how I use it my thoughts on it has changed as well.
In an older version of this manifesto, I talked about personal websites as the main solution to the 'social media problems' artists face. I still strongly believe people should upkeep smaller, personal pages but I think this is where my thoughts start to change.
The main thing I want to amend with this version is the elitism. It was due to being at an extreme low point at that time. Basically, dealing with social media & the art world collapsing in on itself on top of the weight of finishing up college mixed up, and I think that lead to being a lot more standoffish about social media & personal websites... which is ironic when I still use them now and Neocities is more social media-like than your average host.
The sentiment was there, but now that I've gotten time to think things over, the gatekeep-y parts were unnecessary.
I moved to it's own dedicated page, easier to find & link back to yunno?
Last updated: 11/22/23
I, and my website aim to:
As more websites start to crumble and become more user-hostile, it's important to keep our own spaces to make sure they don't get swallowed by ones that put profits & advertisers before it's userbase. Especially with how unstable many of them seem to be (see: Twitter post-Elon buyout) having your own space to fall back to is becoming more & more important especially as an artist, where online is the main way the community networks.
Similar to above, but for creatives specifically you should curate your own art archive in a more controlled place like a personal and/or portfolio website. This also includes maintaining your offline art archives. You never know when the server you host on might shut down or delete your posts without warning. Even so, with many sites going the route of log-in only, no way of organizing, or having unpredictable takedown systems it's always good to have somewhere you can bounce back to.
I can't instate an algorithm here anyways, but in a time where more websites are pushing for fast content it's important for both audiences & artists alike to slow down & take in art at their own pace. This includes self-reflecting on your own art, revisiting older pieces you like, or leaving a comment if you're able to (as someone with anxiety I understand why people may be shy). And yes, this also applies to non-illustration mediums like music, literature, web design, and beyond.
While difficult with how much of our lives are online (& how mainstream sites expect us to interact with them), I think we could all do better with how we use the internet. We should take more breaks, try not to judge ourselves based on how well our posts perform, avoid rage-bait & destructive discourse when possible. This is admittedly hard to break from (hell, even I slip into old habits of engaging w/rage bait). But I think it's important to make an effort to catch yourself, and to opt to block, mute, or ignore people who are just trying to tick people off.
Whether it's original or fanart, personal or monetized, art should not be treated as fast content regardless of what other websites or companies may try to push. Artwork shouldn't be judged on how valuable it is just because of statistics. Artists shouldn't be judged based on unfair standards that favor overwork & envying other creatives to an unhealthy degree. We are not 'content creators', we are creatives!
With the way we're expected to use modern platforms, the art community has been driven to be more hostile to an unnecessary degree with things like harassment and gatekeeping. If we truly want to see the art community thrive and gain more members, we should be nicer to newer members, younger members, and audiences alike. As well as make an effort to not gatekeep knowledge (we're small creators, not large corporations afterall). We should also not let petty differences be the main reasons for avoiding support (using reaction memes as an excuse to vaugepost and write off people as not worth supporting is just petty. Again, we're humans not corporations)
While I won't deny the negative impact it's had, asking people to completely abandon social media is also asking people to abandon friends, communities, and in some cases employment opportunities. Instead it's worth changing how we approach it, like curating our spaces, setting limits, and encouraging healthy interaction. Alongside this, I discourage gatekeeping & elitism in with how we build our websites. There's helping & giving feedback, and there's shaming people for not being up to personal standards (we have bigger fish to fry than portfolio sites vs personal sites)
A few relevant manifestos I share the sentiment of, and I feel are good companion pieces to this: