Part 2 of Moving to Substack

On Sharing Online

There’s more to the why and the how:

It seems very easy to set out thinking “hey, I’ll just share my work on XYZ online platform” as a quick and/or easy option, and then suddenly find yourself falling down a rabbit hole exploring that platform’s functionality, its helpful marketing explaining how to capitalise on its features, grow your audience and maybe even monetise… Suddenly you’ve transitioned from the artist happily beavering away inside the four walls of their studio to an aspiring online content creator??

The medium does affect the work, so it’s important to make a conscious choice.

I’ve been thinking a lot about what I like about the online creators and writers that I follow. I’m not sure how the average person consumes their online content and I don’t follow trends (or really understand TikTok) but I’d wager I’m not alone in saying that it's often not just the core content or subject matter that keeps me engaged with a creator. It's the invitation into their mind and process and to witness their creative lifestyle. Perhaps this is one of the key differences between many online creators and conventional artists (where the art is more easily separated from the artist)?

Lately I’ve become a paying supporter of a writer/YouTuber who publishes video essays about culture and the climate crisis. Her videos are often set against the English countryside as she takes us, her audience, on one of her regular local walks to share her thoughts. I could go down a very deep rabbit hole on the pros and cons of parasocial relationships here, but personally, I don’t feel ‘influenced’ to move to the UK or even to the Aussie bush, but the context from her earlier video about her decision to move from London to the Midlands makes me feel more connected to her and what she has to say. And isn’t connection and discussion what we are all looking for? 

Maybe this is all very obvious, but it was clarifying thought for me while I’ve been pondering the questions of how and why and IF I should return to this project. If I’m documenting my practice for any reason other than for my own portfolio then it is to connect to other people, to invite them into my thought process as well as my dancing and to start conversations about dance and creativity. This did not start out as a social venture and I have little interest in switching into the content creator lane, but my practice is preoccupied with attempting to weave regular artistic activity into my day-to-day life, so I do feel a certain affinity with this way of opening up the sharing beyond the dance itself.

As is often the case, I do feel a little uncomfortable sharing my work at all, and I definitely feel uncomfortable writing publicly like this, but all of this is part of the practice. The sharing, the writing and the discomfort. Bear with me as I practice and please join me as we figure it all out.