Author: Seth Werkheiser

You Don’t Have to Start a TikTok

Oh, no. You’re missing out if you’re not on TikTok.

“TikTok’s average monthly time spent per user grew faster than nearly every other app analyzed, including 70% in the US and 80% in the UK – surpassing Facebook. TikTok is on track to hit 1.2 billion active users in 2021.”

Social Media Today

Every social media network has an audience, just like every television channel has an audience. And you don’t have to be on the History Channel to be relevant.

You don’t have to be everywhere.

Have you mastered Twitter and Facebook and Instagram? Probably not.

If you have 58 followers on Twitter, those are your 58 people. Cherish them.
Only got 100 followers on Instagram? Would you be okay with 100 people at a show on a Tuesday night?

Work with what’s in front of you.

If the thought of starting from zero followers and learning a new social media network fills you with dread, don’t do it. It’s your art, your music, your career. You make the rules.

Have focus, have a plan. Schedule some social media posts (use Buffer), start an email list (use Mailchimp), and work on your art.

Daily Loop #36

Got stuck in the snow close to my house. Had to shovel out my car, with no gloves. At one point I was laying flat on my back, staring up at the stars, and realizing the absurdity of everything.

I ate some cookies and shook my fist at the universe, but life is short, so I got working on this loop.

For this one I stacked three audio clips from my Instagram feed, and then sampled it. Enjoy.

LIKES

“I just don’t understand how kindness and gratitude is such a big ask of managers,” @brianne2k

Marie Enger via @so_engery

target from Norah Lorway on Vimeo.

Video above by Alex Green from Pexels

Daily Loop #35

This track started like three years ago. I’ve learned a bit about Abelton Live through the years, but what really stuck out is that bass line. Somehow, even back then, I was big on bass. It makes sense, having played bass for 30ish years, but something about a synth bass just gets my blood flowing. It’s in my DNA, maybe.

DAILY LIKES

“Social media managers don’t have to build their own personal brand to be good social media managers. SMMs do not need to be creating their own content every day to be good at their jobs. We are online EVERY DAY for our work. It is okay to take time away. Be kinder to yourself,” @nicoletabak

“Said fuck it and raised my photoshoot prices to $1k minimum,” @moodydarkroom

Via Ash Molesso on Instagram
B E C K Y D A V I E S via Instagram

Video by taro from Pexels

Social Media is a Job

You’re not overwhelmed with managing your social media, you’re over worked.

“Comedian in 1985: i made a joke about how women shop and now i am famous

Comedian in 2021: i do sketch, standup, improv, satire, i make dumb lil videos on tik tok, i have a podcast, a web series, 3 features, 5 pilots, i’m on twitter 22 hours per day & can’t afford rent,” @Brittymigs

And then this:

“As an ex-social manager, idk who needs to hear this but CREATING the social media content and MANAGING the social media content needs to be two separate jobs,” Health Magazine Associate Editor Taylyn Washington-Harmon.

People have full time jobs, with benefits and vacation time and an HR department to make content for companies. Like, for-real paychecks, and paid time of for when they’re sick.

So are you feeling lazy that you’re not writing, planning, designing, and scheduling content a week in advance? Do you feel like a failure for not growing your audience by 10% week after week?

You’re not bad at this, it’s just that you’re one person. One person can only do so much.

The common strategy these days is to create a few versions of each piece of content, and then post across several different social media platforms. Let me tell you, that’s work. That’s a job. That’s a paycheck.

On top of your creative endeavors, or small business? Yeah, that’s a LOT.

So do what you can, and be proud that you’re even doing what you’re doing – even if it’s not a lot. Because, dammit, social media is a job.

Daily Loop #34

These loops are a daily exploration of where sounds and samples and bass lines can transport my mind. Sitting down to make this I was in a sour mood, but bit by bit, literally – bits and bytes of computer processing and circuits – this came to life, and my heart is happy.

DAILY LIKES

“At what point do we say that we cant do this anymore? i feel like im basically reaching that point,” @_pem_pem

Via Thumbs from @thumbs1

Video by Oleg Magni from Pexels

Daily Loop #33

Ever have one of those nights where you’re just like, shit, there is so much music I haven’t listened to yet?

So how’d I get to watching an interview with DJ Muggs? Well, as I’ve been getting back into actually making some music again, I’ve been going back to some of the music in the mid 90s that formed my musical taste today. That includes Cypress Hill’s ‘Black Sunday,’ of course, so I had to dig a bit!

And if you watch the video above, he talks about Led Zeppelin, and Kraftwerk, like… fuck, I’m a “rock guy” and I still haven’t submersed myself into any of their records. Which is why I stay up too late on Monday nights, wondering if I could just make a pot of coffee and listen to music until the sun comes up. I mean, I won’t, but at least my frenzied brain will take 45 minutes to slow the fuck down to fall asleep.

LIKES

“Strictly only ever want to be having a good time from here on out,” and “don’t be in a toxic relationship with urself,” @chipzel

“I don’t want a future where only people good at the internet get to make music,” @kazzmlaidlaw

via @BreenySchlacter
Via Killer Acid

Video by Ruvim Miksanskiy from Pexels

Embrace Whimsical Links

This from a recent Twitter exchange, in response to the wonderful “Algorithm is Gonna’ Get You” article, written by Danielle Evans.

“Been thinking of dropping off IG for awhile. I gotta build up my own art sites and creator spaces. Just wish there was a positive online pool of people that congregate outside of algorithms and ads. That fosters connection and drives people to my art and projects. Maybe ello?”

@shootbydaylight

I just feel like leaving everything up to that “community pool” is a rough these days. It’s too centralized. Remember DIGG? StumbleUpon? Is the answer sites like Dribble, or Vimeo, or Flickr?

My dream is we get back to our websites, and letting the whimsy and awe of links do their thing. That happened for me recently with one of my daily loops. I noticed one video got a few more plays than the others, and discovered it was linked from another website – neato!

There was a time when we didn’t drink from the “content firehose” for hours everyday, bombarding our eyeballs with fear and dread mixed in with “oooh, a pretty picture of a sunset!” I think for our own health and sanity we need to back away from cramming everything into one site, one network, one silo.

Daily Loop #32

The first day of February, 2021. Hoping got a little less drama this month than last, but I won’t be holding my breath. It’s not the first time I write a number in the the title of these without it being the actual day of a month. Welcome to day #32 of 2021.

Below are some more of the things I like from Twitter and Instagram, about the only reason I stay on either site at this point. They’re not posted here as embeds, as I don’t trust either social network will be around in five years, and then five years from now you’d see nothing below.

Also doing my best to link to the actual persons website, when available. Websites are pretty great.

LIKES

Molly Mielke via @mollyfmielke
Via @shiifoncake
Tim Easley via @timeasley
Molly Sugar via @Molly.sugar