Since my last posting about my growing contempt for popular social media platforms, I can now confirm that I have finally closed down both my Facebook and Google+ accounts - for good! This follows a full year of successfully deactivating my Facebook account without any temptation to ever visit and reactivate it again. As a special treat on my recent 50th birthday, I thought it fitting to finally close it down … kinda like the end of the “old” and the beginning of the “new”.
Aleppo 2010 (Syria)
Google has also recently announced that it will be closing down G+ for good, so apart from not having much of a choice on this matter, thought I may as well close my page down earlier. To some degree I will miss G+, as I still sported at least 36,000 followers there with enough activity and appreciations to remain relevant to me personally, but all good things must come to an end. I believe this is thoroughly true for all social media … it’s just a matter of time.
Looking back at my previous pasting, I’ve also closed down my Ello account after trying it out for a fairly short period. Ello became too much of a frustration to give too much attention and effort, as user engagement seems to be extremely low. I find it virtually impossible to determine how my work is doing if there is so little engagement and feedback available.
Not wanting to be a complete philistine when it comes to photo platforms, I’m still active on Instagram (though much less than before), Flickr and VSCO, with ArtLimited and 500px quietly on the side for occasional involvement. I think that this is more than enough online activity for me at this point in time, but I’m still left feeling empty because of the absence of only one main, active, satisfying and rewarding online photo “home”.
I’d be glad to get some recommendations as to which are the best platforms for photographers. Please feel free to leave your recommendations in the comments below.
Regards
Michiel