Delete or Deactivate Instagram?
Teddy, back when sharing pictures of your real cat on Instagram was a genuinely lovely thing to do in 2016. We still miss you!
Dear friends,
Last Sunday, I deactivated the Insta account I’ve had since 2011. 15 years of reincarnation, name changes, life changes, all the knitting, dyeing, painting, sewing, jewellery making, even a toe dip into yoga. It was still all there in my Archives. The trying to keep one step ahead of the algorithm, one foot in the door. I still kept an eye on old Blogspot friends from 2009 back when we used to exchange handmade gifts with each other - for free! I remember the curiosity about that new platform Instagram. Are you moving over or staying with your Blog? Guess what? We all moved over. It seemed quicker and easier and the perfect spot for displaying your creative work - it looked like a shop window onto the world, we could still keep in touch with direct messaging and comments. That’s when your Home Feed posted updates chronologically and friends showed up every week. You didn’t miss an important update, because you didn’t get to see it until a week later - or never!
Freshwater pearls and Silver earrings - something I used to sell on Etsy, way back in 2009!
But now, I’m searching for something else. I kept hoping that someone somewhere would create an old fashioned, algo-free post’n-share-it site for artists and makers. Even Etsy has gone hardcore - that embarrassingly kitsch site where even your Nana could sell her handknitted dollies and people would actually see them, like them and buy them - is raking in commissions, percentages and fees like it was a brick and mortar gallery. It is not.
So, currently my account is deactivated - that 15 year old Insta site is for the chop and possibly will have, already been deleted by the time you read this post. I never could play the game well enough. I’m not a strategist. It was always too distracting and just when you got comfortable with it - it changed, removing the joy and the ease, making you sweat blood for your spot in the sun. I used to enjoy writing long thoughtful Blog posts, I wasn’t hesitant about sharing personal experiences and genuinely connected with the small group of friends that were staying around - you know that you don’t need 100,000 friends don’t you? I enjoyed taking carefully framed photographs on my Canon Rebel and choosing which ones to share, knowing that my handful of friends would appreciate the effort. They did and they left thoughtful comments back. No hearts, no smiley faces; full sentences of reciprocated appreciation and encouragement. I miss that kind of online interaction with my friends. I really do. I know this is a gamble. I know that this may not be a return to the good old days of Blogspot. But at the end of it all, this is my home. I invite you to stay and stop a while, but when you leave, it is still only me here, documenting my work, offering some of it for sale, sharing my thoughts about life as an artist, mother, grandmother, sister, daughter and friend; letting you into my life on equal terms. It’s my work that is for sale, not me. There will not be a paywall for your emails, there will not be a patrion member account with extra special secret stuff - like an awful clichy group of mates that get to see the good stuff and snigger about those that don’t. Everything is just as you see it here for free. And always will be.
I mentioned this monumental decision to deactivate my Insta account to a colleague at work this morning and she smiled and casually admitted that she had permanently deleted hers. I was stunned! What? ‘Yes’, she smiled. ‘I was sick of being sold to every 3 posts. And I didn’t enjoy it any more.’, she said. Plus, she has a young daughter and doesn’t want her to see her always on her phone.
This is becoming the norm then. Instagram has really had it’s day and followed in the footsteps of it’s big sister FB. Ofcourse it is. Because they are now Meta. And we mustn't forget the kind of people that are behind that. They are not artists and makers, writers and designers; not of actual hold in your hand stuff, (phones excluded of course!).
So - I am back on my own little blog page, over here on MY website where I am not censored or blacklisted or shadowbanned and YOU are not interrupted by adverts. I hope that my people find me again and keep my site bookmarked and check in every now and then. I'm hoping to be more productive in the studio and more selective about what I share - because there’s no one else competing for your attention here, it’s just me. Oh, and I’ve deleted Copilot from my laptop. No AI here either. Be selective about your browser, be proactive about your privacy and protection, and most of all, be free my friends. May your work, your words and your thoughts be your own. x
