Poetry Vs Social Media
Northern_Soul said:Hey Kou. Lovely to see you knocking about the place 
Yeah, of course there will always be a minority that will use the anonymity as an excuse to cause havoc. However, sometimes I have to thank that anonymity for allowing a greater freedom of expression. A lot of people need the anonymity to get off their chest whatever they need to get off their chest, and to that end I guess social media is quite good at that.
I’ve had this chat many times (with a twin) about being real, and what it means to be real in a digital world that is often not real, so I’m glad to see that you are entirely yourself in all places.
I think it’s fair to say that social media has given us a platform for expression that we perhaps wouldn’t have, and perhaps allows us to BE more real by expressing parts of ourselves that we might not have expressed.
It’s all rather intertwined 😂
It is good to be back on here once more... it really has been way too long since I've hung about this much on Deep Underground.
Yeah, you are totally correct! It is a complex matter, the whole social media thing and such... there are indeed people who NEED their anonymity firmly in place, such as with countries where it would be dangerous for them to speak their minds and hearts due to governments that might not agree with what they have to say. The same reason why a VPN can be necessary for some people to even be able to freely use the internet at all without "big brother" watching, so to speak. Or in the case of people who are living with family members whom they might be afraid would judge them for this or that! I can think of a great many scenarios and situations that apply, so it is totally good that people in such circumstances have the means to still be able to do as they wish without fear. In an ideal world, no one would need to be afraid at all, but sadly the world we live in is sometimes far from ideal! ;)
Yeah, of course there will always be a minority that will use the anonymity as an excuse to cause havoc. However, sometimes I have to thank that anonymity for allowing a greater freedom of expression. A lot of people need the anonymity to get off their chest whatever they need to get off their chest, and to that end I guess social media is quite good at that.
I’ve had this chat many times (with a twin) about being real, and what it means to be real in a digital world that is often not real, so I’m glad to see that you are entirely yourself in all places.
I think it’s fair to say that social media has given us a platform for expression that we perhaps wouldn’t have, and perhaps allows us to BE more real by expressing parts of ourselves that we might not have expressed.
It’s all rather intertwined 😂
It is good to be back on here once more... it really has been way too long since I've hung about this much on Deep Underground.
Yeah, you are totally correct! It is a complex matter, the whole social media thing and such... there are indeed people who NEED their anonymity firmly in place, such as with countries where it would be dangerous for them to speak their minds and hearts due to governments that might not agree with what they have to say. The same reason why a VPN can be necessary for some people to even be able to freely use the internet at all without "big brother" watching, so to speak. Or in the case of people who are living with family members whom they might be afraid would judge them for this or that! I can think of a great many scenarios and situations that apply, so it is totally good that people in such circumstances have the means to still be able to do as they wish without fear. In an ideal world, no one would need to be afraid at all, but sadly the world we live in is sometimes far from ideal! ;)
Anonymous
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Social media has bought art to the masses. Anyone can create content now. Some is good, some not so much, but we get to choose for ourselves what is good or bad or meh, rather than relying on industry standards, which are obviously there for a reason, but also lock people out, if they don't fit that mould. I think it's a lot harder to be a famous poet now unless you become a performance poet and win competitions and slams and really get yourself out there.
Indie said:Social media has bought art to the masses. Anyone can create content now. Some is good, some not so much, but we get to choose for ourselves what is good or bad or meh, rather than relying on industry standards, which are obviously there for a reason, but also lock people out, if they don't fit that mould. I think it's a lot harder to be a famous poet now unless you become a performance poet and win competitions and slams and really get yourself out there.
I absolutely agree with everything you've said above.
The previous generations worked differently to the current norm.
If anything is testament to that... This is..IMO (watch the end that's rather important to the conversation.
https://youtu.be/Q8tcoUE8_vA
I absolutely agree with everything you've said above.
The previous generations worked differently to the current norm.
If anything is testament to that... This is..IMO (watch the end that's rather important to the conversation.
https://youtu.be/Q8tcoUE8_vA
Anonymous said:<< post removed >>
I’m going to use the analogy of the Eurovision Song Contest here I think.
So, Eurovision just happened, and the running joke is that the U.K. gets zero points because we have got it into our heads that the rest of Europe doesn’t like us very much since we chose to remove ourselves from the European Union with Brexit.
Sam Ryder (our Eurovision entry) said that this is a false narrative we have allowed ourselves to believe and that if we had the right song, we could achieve a win.
With that in mind, he came out with this mind blowing song and performance that took the U.K. to second place in the contest for the first time in 25 years.
The whole of the U.K. lost its collective shit. We couldn’t believe it.
My point is this — if like Sam, we have the ‘right’ song, one good poem can change the world. We can tell ourselves that our poetry isn’t selling because of a saturated market, or we can go in there with the attitude that if we’re good enough, the words will be enough to carry us out into the world.
Sure, anybody can be a poet. It takes art and heart to be a writer. And that will sell itself. The internet just gives us a platform to do that I think.
Thanks for your thoughts.
I’m going to use the analogy of the Eurovision Song Contest here I think.
So, Eurovision just happened, and the running joke is that the U.K. gets zero points because we have got it into our heads that the rest of Europe doesn’t like us very much since we chose to remove ourselves from the European Union with Brexit.
Sam Ryder (our Eurovision entry) said that this is a false narrative we have allowed ourselves to believe and that if we had the right song, we could achieve a win.
With that in mind, he came out with this mind blowing song and performance that took the U.K. to second place in the contest for the first time in 25 years.
The whole of the U.K. lost its collective shit. We couldn’t believe it.
My point is this — if like Sam, we have the ‘right’ song, one good poem can change the world. We can tell ourselves that our poetry isn’t selling because of a saturated market, or we can go in there with the attitude that if we’re good enough, the words will be enough to carry us out into the world.
Sure, anybody can be a poet. It takes art and heart to be a writer. And that will sell itself. The internet just gives us a platform to do that I think.
Thanks for your thoughts.
RevolutionAL said:
The previous generations worked differently to the current norm.
A long time buddy of mine is 57 and a poet, and has just joined Instagram, knowing very little about social media. I’ll be the first to say he’s terrible at it as he’s a walking whirlwind, and asks 30 questions a week about what stuff does. But he’s doing it. And getting stuff out there. And I can only commend him for that.
When I asked why the sudden interest, he said “because we have to move with the flow”. And I just find that one of the most beautiful answers I’ve ever had to a question.
Growth is powerful. Resistance is futile. It’s working out how to make that work for us as artists.
Move with the flow.
The previous generations worked differently to the current norm.
A long time buddy of mine is 57 and a poet, and has just joined Instagram, knowing very little about social media. I’ll be the first to say he’s terrible at it as he’s a walking whirlwind, and asks 30 questions a week about what stuff does. But he’s doing it. And getting stuff out there. And I can only commend him for that.
When I asked why the sudden interest, he said “because we have to move with the flow”. And I just find that one of the most beautiful answers I’ve ever had to a question.
Growth is powerful. Resistance is futile. It’s working out how to make that work for us as artists.
Move with the flow.
Indie said:Social media has bought art to the masses. Anyone can create content now. Some is good, some not so much, but we get to choose for ourselves what is good or bad or meh, rather than relying on industry standards, which are obviously there for a reason, but also lock people out, if they don't fit that mould. I think it's a lot harder to be a famous poet now unless you become a performance poet and win competitions and slams and really get yourself out there.
I found this point interesting, especially in regards to that kind of rebellion against industry standards. I certainly don’t fit the mould, so it’s quite daunting to put yourself out there like that. However when you start putting yourself out there like that, you realise you’ve kinda overthought the whole situation.
Personally, the internet has given me access to all of those competitions and poetry slams. I’d be kinda lost without it.
Thank you for this view, it’s most valid. x
I found this point interesting, especially in regards to that kind of rebellion against industry standards. I certainly don’t fit the mould, so it’s quite daunting to put yourself out there like that. However when you start putting yourself out there like that, you realise you’ve kinda overthought the whole situation.
Personally, the internet has given me access to all of those competitions and poetry slams. I’d be kinda lost without it.
Thank you for this view, it’s most valid. x
Anonymous
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Indie said:Social media has bought art to the masses. Anyone can create content now. Some is good, some not so much, but we get to choose for ourselves what is good or bad or meh, rather than relying on industry standards, which are obviously there for a reason, but also lock people out, if they don't fit that mould. I think it's a lot harder to be a famous poet now unless you become a performance poet and win competitions and slams and really get yourself out there.
I totally agree with all of what you are saying here very, very much! As many things as there might occasionally be that are not so great about social media, I am very highly pleased and quite happy with being able to get all my work out there for people to enjoy, and so very quickly too! Much better than back when I thought that I would have to publish some massive tome (which was the plan at the time) to accomplish the same thing. And I agree with you too, about the sometimes unreachable standards! There can be times when your works just do not fit into one specific mode, or genre, or type... and most publishing companies do tend to cater to one specific type of thing. Plus there is the editing phase, when sometimes if they feel a work is too long or that is doesn't quite flow the way they want it to, they will cut it and then you run the risk of having certain intended meanings becoming lost or altered due to the editing. Prior to discovering online poetry sites, I was actually getting fed up with my prospective publishers and was thinking seriously of self-publishing. In a way, thanks to the advent of social media and online poetry, I was able to self-publish after all but without any costs or restrictions involved. Also, as a visual artist and sometimes model (which I do just for fun, not for pay), I love sites like DeviantArt and the like, which cater to that side of things much like how DUP caters to the part of me that loves writing and poetry. When you just want to get your works out there, and don't care about the money angle of things, this is the perfect way to do it. Plus, you get to meet new people, make new friends, and see what other artists and authors have to read. So for me, this has been a win all the way!
I totally agree with all of what you are saying here very, very much! As many things as there might occasionally be that are not so great about social media, I am very highly pleased and quite happy with being able to get all my work out there for people to enjoy, and so very quickly too! Much better than back when I thought that I would have to publish some massive tome (which was the plan at the time) to accomplish the same thing. And I agree with you too, about the sometimes unreachable standards! There can be times when your works just do not fit into one specific mode, or genre, or type... and most publishing companies do tend to cater to one specific type of thing. Plus there is the editing phase, when sometimes if they feel a work is too long or that is doesn't quite flow the way they want it to, they will cut it and then you run the risk of having certain intended meanings becoming lost or altered due to the editing. Prior to discovering online poetry sites, I was actually getting fed up with my prospective publishers and was thinking seriously of self-publishing. In a way, thanks to the advent of social media and online poetry, I was able to self-publish after all but without any costs or restrictions involved. Also, as a visual artist and sometimes model (which I do just for fun, not for pay), I love sites like DeviantArt and the like, which cater to that side of things much like how DUP caters to the part of me that loves writing and poetry. When you just want to get your works out there, and don't care about the money angle of things, this is the perfect way to do it. Plus, you get to meet new people, make new friends, and see what other artists and authors have to read. So for me, this has been a win all the way!
Agreed. People keep telling me I should publish a book and when I was younger I definitely wanted to. Unfortunately for me, I think poetry should be free, and since I post publicly it seems strange to me to remove that work for private production. I am happy for people to read me without having to pay for it, yet I will absolutely pay for others work.
If I were to try and monetise anything I would prefer to have a crack at making money from my art or possibly a book with both my art and poetry, but I'm not anywhere close to making either of things a reality.
If I were to try and monetise anything I would prefer to have a crack at making money from my art or possibly a book with both my art and poetry, but I'm not anywhere close to making either of things a reality.
I remember having this exact chat with a lady called Willow who used to grace these halls and is sorely missed by myself.
I was having doubts about publishing and she said “if you’ve got something to say, and you want to do it for you, then you absolutely should”.
I’ve never forgotten that. Money is a nice bonus, but it just got to the stage where yes. I needed to do it for me. And that somehow was more important.
Sorry Indie, your comment there just reminded me of that :)
I was having doubts about publishing and she said “if you’ve got something to say, and you want to do it for you, then you absolutely should”.
I’ve never forgotten that. Money is a nice bonus, but it just got to the stage where yes. I needed to do it for me. And that somehow was more important.
Sorry Indie, your comment there just reminded me of that :)
I sometimes wonder at the reasons for my resistance. Like is it because I am really happy with free art or is it because I fear no one will be interested in what I have to say? Which doesn't make sense because I have so many people telling me my voice resonates with them and I should absolutely put myself out there.
My love, I have been there. Honestly.
It’s not the fear that the art is good enough. It’s the fear of being seen.
That is fucking terrifying.
Sometimes you just have to strap on your big girl panties and walk into that arena.
It’s not the fear that the art is good enough. It’s the fear of being seen.
That is fucking terrifying.
Sometimes you just have to strap on your big girl panties and walk into that arena.
