Why I still do not have an official profile on Facebook or Instagram?
There are three answers to this question. But, first of all, I would like to write that I am continually analyzing if I want to create such a profile. I am continually asking myself this question since October 2015. It was the date when I started to take photographs on the streets of Warsaw. To this day, I still think about whether it is worth to develop such kind of profiles on social media or not.
Now, I will write why I still think it is not worth to create any official pages on social media web pages. The first reason is that when you possess your page, you have full control over it. I am the owner of my site. Thus, I have full power to manage this site, and I plan to possess it until my death. I hope that my website will remain and last much longer than me.
Running my blog is my lifelong project.
Thanks to that, I received unbelievable power and tool to express myself. That is why I feel that I do not need any official social media profiles. The aim of my passion is not to become the most famous photographer/artist on Facebook or Instagram. What is most interesting is the fact that when you have your profile on Facebook or Instagram, you are not the owner of your content. It is the Facebook and Instagram which own your profile (including your pictures!). Thus, you do not have 100% power to control it. When the management board of these websites decides to shut down their business, they will do it. What is worse, they will do it without asking for your permission.
That was the first reason why I do not have a profile on social media: a lack of actual control over your fan page. If you have your blog – it is only up to you what you decide to do with it (even when you choose to shut it down, it still will be your decision). When you have your webpage – you are the king of your small kingdom. Moreover, it is only up to you if this little website becomes the most potent and influential website all over the world. You are independent, and you can do a lot of things to reach the sky.
The second answer to the question asked at the beginning of this post is strictly connected with one of my previously written posts.
I mentioned that for me, the real value of art is related to time. I can imagine albums printed within the next 100 years titled, e.g., “The Best of Facebook.” Nevertheless, I can not believe that in 100 years, the curator of MoMA in NYC will announce that they will show some works of this and this photographer just because he/she had thousands of likes on Facebook or Instagram.
Why? Because, in general, the more something is likable for people, the higher the possibility that this stuff is only beautiful but dull. It is impossible to create such kind of images to please all your viewers. Thus, I want to focus on the sublime audience.
The third reason why I do not plan to launch a profile on social media is a lack of time.
Running this website, making photographs, and writing the content consume me enough time. I cannot add to my daily routine other responsibilities regarding connected with social media and, for example, conducting correspondence with the audience on Instagram. I prefer to focus only on my blog.
In conclusion, I want to state that there is nothing wrong with running profiles on social media pages. If you want it, do it. Nevertheless, I find many more advantages of running a personal website rather than managing social media profiles.
