If you are reading this, I have deleted my facebook, myspace, and twitter accounts. Social networking websites are a life sucking waste of time. The idea that runs these websites for the general public is meeting new people,old friends etc. for musicians, we are told it is a free place to promote your music or band.
what a pile of horse shit
Social networks do everything they can to promote their website, to increase traffic to sell ad space. I don’t know this, but I’m sure celebrities, and any DIY music online blog or website gets paid to use the site and tell all us saps how useful it is to promote your band. They love to give us tips on how to “maximize” our page. How many friends do you have? How many fans do you have? followers? douchebags? It’s like being in high school again. who’s the most popular?
These are’nt your friends. They aren’t your fans. they won’t come to your shows. I used to spent more than a day posting gigs to all my social websites, posting pics, posting comments, it was like having 4 websites at once and they all have to be constantly updated. I have my own website. Why don’t I update just that one and direct everyone to it? Seems simple but it toke me a long time to figure it out. Because everyone on tv and online was telling me what a great thing it was to twitter, or facebook or myspace. Musicians will fall for any free advertising they can find. Some people feel if you put something up on the internet on a site that has millions of hits everyday that all those people are looking at your page. After a awhile it becomes apparent they are not. So then you start promoting it. Hours on the computer trying to find friends. multiply that by 4 and there’s not much time left to make music. I find playing shows and getting people to sign your email list is the best way to promote your self. A real person that you get to meet that likes your band so much they give you an email because they want to know where your playing and what your doing. A true fan. nothing beats a live show and meeting real people. You should have a website. The internet is a great tool. I also remember before the internet trying to find music I liked and half the fun was hunting it down and finding it. If someone really digs what you do, they will find you! But they don’t need to know what I’m doing every minute of every day! Nor do I want to tell them. It’s non of your damn business!
whew…
Instead of posting a song for this blog, I want to post a link to my download page here. This is a new feature on my website that is another way to stick to the man. Itunes and cdbaby take a cut of any downloads from their site. Here that $00.99 is going straight to me. It has all the songs from my current albums listed individually so you can download your favorites and create your own Cliff Wagner mix tape to give to your girlfriend! check it out and let me know what your think!
cw
you lookin' at me?
Now, now Little Fellow,
Although I couldn’t agree more about this subject, it seems to me like you’ve got a fair bit of angst built up. Musicians and Artists have an outlet by way of their trade…other people don’t run as deep or open about what they might have to offer to their “friends”. This kind of Networking Website is basically a handout to the Less Articulate. It’s enough to monitor how much petrol I have in my car or what’s for dinner than to lend interest to commentary about how many shots of Tequila some dumb-ass had fifteen minutes ago. (Which happens to always be too many). Posting Hipster type songs to make one seem cool is another thing that eats me up. I have to admit, I’ve never had a FaceBook account but I spy on my brother sometimes via Jenny’s account. He’s never ending in a wry and humorous banter. What ever happened to some kind of masked anonymity? Does everyone really need an audience? Especially when the stage is a worthless “Look at me” addiction? Yes, I’m sick and tired of this stuff too. It mostly seems to be pedestrian, and the fodder of commoners, save for a few clever folks. Here is what I had as a rant months ago (not to steal your thunder, but more to add to it) http://guitarsafari.net/2009/11/30/press-your-myspace-facebook-next-to-mine-love/
Let’s go get some Chinese Food!
Comment by Guitar Safari — August 2, 2010 @ 9:54 pm |
Hmmmm….page 38 of ‘Being the Nazi’ I feel.
I must admit I’ve got sucked into Facebook but I’ve ‘hidden’ all the people I don’t want to hear invoking Jesus or musicians posting [last half-empty gig they played] was AWESOME! THANKS SO MUCH!
I think it IS great for catching up with old mates and posting photos that you don’t have to send round to everyone. I recently had a mail conversation with the first love of my life who I’ve not seen for 25 years. We mailed each other for 3 months, then I got a message from her sister who said she’d just died. Very strange and it’s excellent that we talked before she passed. It’s weird to see her now still, FB page just sitting there in cyberspace. I pondered leaving a goodbye note on it but thought better of it. Such is 21st century life.
We are dinosaurs Cliff. I mourn the quest – for obscure records, for the unknown parts of the world, for weird bands in weird dangerous places. Wondering what old friends are up to. It is no longer possible to escape into the woodwork. I realised recently that Facebook is a bit like one of those events you have where friends and family from several different areas of your life are present and you don’t know how to behave. I dread my mum getting an account and eavesdropping on my retarded piss taking with mates. My students find me and if they stalk hard enough can find links to accounts of me drug taking at 17 years old. Hang on…you’re right. There is no privacy. There is a huge shift in human consciousness happening because of all this. It’s bigger than the industrial revolution. But not bigger than Ronson’s Ziggy riff. Wear the eyepatch Cliff….wear the funky, funky eyepatch.
Comment by Banjo Sam — August 5, 2010 @ 4:54 am |
I used to live in culver city and come see you guys all the time. was a great time and thanks for being there. lucas would remember me , I was gonna take bass lessons from his unreliable butt. lol
anyway tell dan janisch when u see him I got his clipboard he he , stole it from the cinema !
Comment by Marc Cooper — March 18, 2011 @ 7:31 am |