I'm on Pinterest. Finally.

This is the year of change and possibility for me and social media is one of the targets. I dropped my Twitter account in January and have not had a second thought. And while I have resisted for many a year for fear of completely disappearing into the computer, I am now the proud owner of a Pinterest account. Yup. I did it. It's been done.

I have just started to create my boards - not to mention to learn all the lingo from yet another platform. So far, my boards fall into four categories...

MY ARTWORK

MY PRODUCTS

MY PRODUCTS, YOUR ART

MY INSPIRATION

I will be building more soon, as well as adding new pins daily. Cause that's what you do, right? Would love for you to check out my site and follow me. And you know I will be following you.

Apter's Chapters: Social Media

Social media has become such an integral part of my daily life, I can barely remember not having it. Or what I actually did to fill up the hours in each day that I now spend online. And I do admit, I am online hours every single day. I truly believe that without the Internet, first in the form of this blog & email and now via all my social media platforms, I would never have gotten to where I am today in terms of my art. I am certain I would be creating. But none of you would know me.

For many, social media is a love-hate relationship. Not so for me. I embrace it and think of it as part of my creative process. Yes, I would prefer to be making art. But I never try not to grumble when I have to answer (most) emails and am always usually excited when I look for just the right image to post.

I embrace social media for many reasons but there are two that are primary for me. First, making art can be a lonely venture. When it is shared with all of you though, it becomes a social event. That might not be great for everybody but it works well for me. Second, I feel that my creative process is complete when the art that I make is viewed by others. It is the last step after the signature. Without the Internet, only a bit of my art would ever be seen. And certainly not instantly. I am a patient person but sometimes there is nothing wrong with some immediate gratification and validation. Thumbs up anybody?

2018 is the year of possibility and change for me. So a review and revision in regards to social media is in order. In the middle of last year, I dropped my Periscope account. What was once so hot...is now not. Do any of you still use it?

And after many months of deliberation, I deleted my Twitter account on New Year's Eve. Publicly announcing it here will help to ensure that I do not reactivate it in a weak moment. I have come to see Twitter as more of a news feed rather than a social or visual platform. Even with their recent increased word-count allowance, I do not feel that Twitter is a good fit for me. Also, Twitter as a platform has historically been very tolerant of abuse, harassment, and general nastiness. Even if that hasn't been directed toward me, it is not something that I want to support or see popping up in my feed.

So I continue with this blog, Facebook, and Instagram (which is now kind of like Facebook's little brother). I don't think my target audience is on Snapchat, so that is out. While I have avoided Pinterest for fear of never leaving the computer, I think the time may be right to set up my first Board.  And maybe there is the next big thing out there already, waiting to be discovered by me as soon as the kids think it is passé.

Thoughts about this my peeps? Favorite platforms? Hated platforms? What will be the next big thing?

The Sound of Authenticity

There is a noise in the distance. It started out as a faint hum but is getting louder and louder. People are taking off the earplugs and setting the noise free. And my hunch is that people are going to continue to turn up the volume. What am I referring to? The sound of authenticity.

I have been a blogger for 7+ years. Much has changed on the scene since then. Facebook took over the world. Twitter shortened our voices to 140 characters. Tumblr and Instagram came along and turned our words into images. Pinterest happened and now we are all boarded up. Don't get me wrong...I love and use many of these platforms. But they are very different from traditional blogs.

People frequently note that the world presented on these sites is skewed to perfect and beautified. Perhaps too much so. As if the sun is always shining, the house is always clean, and life is always good. Instead of spreading the joy, this message can actually spread envy and distress. Now truthfully, I also often see entries on these platforms that suggest life is far from perfect. But the sense that "the grass is always greener" can seem pervasive.

As often happens in life, I think the pendulum is swinging. There is a frustration with this sense of "implied awesomeness" and a movement toward authenticity. And I believe this move is being spearheaded by the blogging community. Just one recent example is the Studio Table, where 120+ chose to share pictures of what their studio spaces really look like -- in all their messy glory.

Initially with the flood of microblogging platforms, there seemed to be a shift away from what I term "long-form" blogging. The ease of the newer sites made them very attractive. Many bloggers noted a decline in viewers and, most prominently, comments. When clicking on an upturned thumb is so easy...who has time to actually comment in words? And fill in those annoying Captcha Codes? At the same time, the crew that began blogging in the "early years" were burning out. It takes a lot of time and effort to consistently maintain a blog. A lot!

However, I have noticed a shift in the last year or so. Many new people are discovering blogging and again infusing energy into the blog community. And, happily, many older bloggers have shaken off the dust and have started to blog again. Their newest posts often start with an apology and apparent shock that so much time has past since their last entry.

Most importantly, there seems to be more authenticity than ever before in the content (see perfect example here). And for me, authenticity is very attractive and compelling. Real words from real people about real life. As a blogger, I strive to present an authentic voice in the hopes of continuing to build a community of people who connect to what I am saying and find true value in my blog. As a blog reader, I seek out the blogs where the voice and personality of the blogger comes through loud and clear -- in an authentic and genuine way.

The beauty of blogs is that they can be anything the blogger wants them to be. Every viewer can choose to read through or click past. And when I find authenticity -- I want in!

CHA Mega Show

This week I leave the frigid temperatures of NYC and head to the sunny skies of California. I will be attending the CHA Mega Show in Anaheim. For my mixed media art peeps who may not be as familiar, this is the annual trade show sponsored by the Craft & Hobby Association. CHA, according to their website, is an "international, not-for-profit trade association consisting of thousands of member companies engaged in the design, manufacture, distribution and retail sales of products in the nearly &30 billion U.S. craft and hobby industry."

This will be my first CHA trade show since becoming a Designer Member last year. I couldn't be more excited and I will be busy every minute. I will be teaching two workshops that I designed specifically for this event. The first, Mixed Media Magic Canvas, is sponsored by Spellbinders and I will co-teach this class with Stacey Caron, the company president. The second workshop is called Art Journaling: The Basics.

I will also be holding a book signing for my newest book The Mixed-Media Artist at the F+W Media booth as well as joining Quinn McDonald as a guest contributor at a signing for her new book Inner Hero Creative Art Journal.

I will be attending a variety of art and business workshops, spending a lot of time at the Spellbinders booth, and meeting many of my online friends for the first time. In between, I plan to "walk the floor" and see the hundreds of companies who will be there, revealing their newest product lines for the first time.

I plan to be a roving reporter and share my experience in real time with all of you via my sites: Twitter, Facebook, and (having just joined) Instagram. Be sure to follow me to see the updates. And of course I will share all this with my blog readers in a series of posts when I return. Looking forward....