Happy Saturday, everyone!
It's certainly starting to feel more like fall here, and all I want to do is craft and cook and clean.
I have a robust weaving post coming out in just a few days, but for now I'd like to share some thoughts I've been compiling in this draft throughout the week.
Social media and content platforms skew heavily toward single-facet content.
We see pattern designers modeling knitwear in picturesque locations, sometimes cautiously alluding to other parts of their lives, but keeping a fair distance from anything not knitting-related. We see makers post nothing but makes, artists post nothing but art, writers post nothing but aesthetically pleasing text blocks.
This is what it means to make a brand, to be a brand, and there's nothing inherently wrong with it. There's a lot of benefit to it, in reality. People know what to expect from your posts, and they're almost always met with something along the lines of what they expect.
It's familiar, it's comfortable, and if you're lucky it's profitable.
But it's not whole.
I have a feeling there are plenty of folks out there who want to share other facets of their hobbies and lives, but are afraid to do so due to the algorithm—especially if they're running a business.
Frankly, I want to see your garden, your baking experiments, your houseplants, and all your new crafts and hobbies outside your main shtick, but I understand why you might not want to post them to your grid.
So, when you're someone who wants to create for the community but also retain your sense of self—without maintaining two Instagram accounts—what do you do?
I've landed firmly in the realm of using Instagram posts and stories as a sort of split stream: posts largely pertain to makes and shop updates, while stories are where I share posts from makers and artists I admire, create short videos to share bits of my life, and promote blog posts.
For a short second, I contemplated adding grid posts for new blog content, but I'll tell you why I'm not going to do that. My blog content is more personal than what you see on Instagram, and I think it demands a slightly different audience. At the same time, grid posts are highly visual, and get far more click engagement than written engagement.
With grid posts, people like, share, comment, etc., and it's largely a short interaction. People want to scroll through pretties and click hearts.
With stories, people like and maybe share, but when they "comment," it's a direct message. It's more personal. It's direct-to-inbox. Could that get overwhelming at some point? Absolutely. But right now, it's the closest thing I see to commenting on the blog itself, and it invites connection and discussion.
I'm here for that.
At least for me, I know that I pause for a moment before commenting on someone's story. Is what I have to say positive? Is it important enough to send directly to the person's inbox? Maybe more importantly, If I were on the receiving end, would I want to see this message?
Many of us have lost our local communities, or moved, or drifted away from connecting with others in general. I've lived here for over year and have had local folks to meet up with since I put feet on the sand, and I still haven't done that. I've made it to exactly one knitting group, one singular Saturday morning.
I have my little Twitch broadcast when I'm feeling it, and I do enjoy that outlet and community—most of it, anyway. My Twitch community is responsible for me feeling even remotely qualified to write this very blog, and they've been with me since 2018. That's big!
But I can't help feeling like I should try to shape the community a bit better, by tying together my video content (whether it be Twitch, YouTube, or a brand new platform), social media, and blogging.
I guess some of that is to say that I'm not going anywhere, even though I've taken a few weeks off from streaming to get my mojo back and do some troubleshooting—both technology and craft-related. I continue to iterate on what I want this overall space to look like, and how to get there, and I'm happy you're here with me.
Next post will be very happy and exciting weaving updates! I'd like to get a little further along and take some daylight photos before I share the trials and tribulations of the point twill project I started at least a month ago.
But what a story it will be. You have no idea. 😂
Full transparency: I don't have any stream updates right now. I've been enjoying having my crafting mojo back, but I'm not feeling good about the Twitch space right this second, and I've been very sleepy this week.
I'll see you when I see you. Post some passion projects to your IG stories this weekend if that's your thing, and take care. 💛
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