🍓 {02/07/24} ✦ "What if my favorite website disappears tomorrow?" ⌛ 🌃 ✦ 🇪🇸 │ 🇺🇸
✦ Investing valuable time that you will never get back on a site that could disappear at any moment? I don't know doctor - Collage made with FotoJet, editing made with Snow, photos by @Tesmoforia ✦
🇪🇸 ~ Últimamente pienso que las personas que invierten tanto tiempo y esfuerzo en "sus redes" (perfiles y feeds de empresas propias, negocios, emprendimientos, marcas personales) son realmente valientes.
🇺🇸 ~ Lately I think that people who invest so much time and effort in "their networks" (profiles and feeds of their own companies, businesses, ventures, personal brands) are really brave.
✦ Today I do indeed feel the date on which I was born ✦
¿Por qué valientes?, bueno, estos días medito mucho sobre qué pasaría si decido invertir mis recursos -con seriedad- en "crecer" en alguna red social convencional (fb, x, instagram) y eso me transporta inmediatamente a la experiencia de metroflog, fotolog, grupos msn, y blogs de myspace.
Why brave? Well, these days I meditate a lot on what would happen if I decide to invest my resources -seriously- in "growing" in some conventional social network (fb, x, instagram) and that immediately transports me to the experience of metroflog, fotolog, msn groups, and myspace blogs.
✦ I don't even want to count the years that have passed since then hahaha ~ ✦
Básicamente aquellos sitios de internet eran muestras prematuras de lo que serían hoy las redes sociales. Unos eran bitácoras fotográficas con interacciones limitadas, otros eran espacios de blogueo personalizables, pero todos compartían la misma característica de mostrar una ficha personal sobre ti (quien eres, cuáles son tus gustos musicales, cuáles son tus cosas favoritas, cuál es tu estética) y hacerte sentir especial.
Basically those websites were early samples of what today's social networks would be. Some were photo logs with limited interactions, others were customizable blogging spaces, but they all shared the same characteristic of showing a personal profile of you (who you are, what your musical tastes are, what your favorite things are, what your aesthetics are) and making you feel special.
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Los que fuimos niños o adolescentes con acceso a internet en esa época seguro no creímos que la vida de estos sitios fuera finita,,, o digamos en una forma menos glamorosa, nunca pensamos que cerrarían. Seguro que sentimos que seria para siempre y por eso invertimos tanto tiempo en aprender a editar imágenes, en conceptos de HTML y largas tardes buscando la plantilla o "layout" perfecto. De hecho, en foros podías encargar algunos elementos a personas que ofrecían trabajos gráficos y de edición de manera gratuita (principalmente banners y firmas).
Those of us who were children or teenagers with access to the Internet at that time surely did not believe that the life of these sites was finite... or let's say in a less glamorous way, we never thought they would close down, we surely felt that it would be forever and that's why we invested so much time in learning to edit images, HTML concepts and long afternoons looking for the perfect template or layout, In fact, in forums you could order some elements from people who offered graphic and editing work for free (mainly banners and signatures).
Cuando pienso en invertir mi tiempo y recursos en "crecer en números" en redes sociales comunes, tengo muy presente que puede pasar exactamente lo mismo que pasó con esos amados sitios: Nada es seguro, no depende de ti su estabilidad, no es tuyo ese espacio y en cualquier momento puede ser bloqueado, modificado, alterado o desaparecido.
When I think about investing my time and resources in "growing in numbers" in common social networks, I keep in mind that exactly the same thing that happened with those beloved sites can happen: Nothing is safe, its stability does not depend on you, it is not yours that space and at any moment it can be blocked, modified, altered or disappear.
Es muy triste cuando piensas en todas las comunidades y grupos de amigos que se formaron en ese tiempo en foros no solo estéticamente sino logísticamente bien organizados, y que ya no existen (hay, los contactos perdidos); especialmente en los que eran de temática geek o otaku, donde había un dueño, moderadores, editores, artistas, escritores, traductores... todos colaborando para que sus páginas fueran verdaderos altares de la serie o personaje al que eran dedicados. Extraño mucho los grupos o páginas temáticos (por ejemplo, tenías grupos exclusivos de una sola serie de anime, o de un solo personaje, o de un solo mangaka o grupo musical, y todos estaban en constante actualización y mejora... vamos, imagina una wikipedia moderada por un grupo grande de "true fans" hace 20 años).
It is very sad when you think of all the communities and groups of friends that were formed at that time in forums not only aesthetically but logistically well organized, and that no longer exist (there are, the lost contacts); especially in those that were geek or otaku themed, where there was an owner, moderators, editors, artists, writers, translators... all collaborating so that their pages were true altars of the series or character to which they were dedicated. I really miss the thematic groups or pages (for example, you had exclusive groups of a single anime series, or of a single character, or of a single mangaka or musical group, and all of them were constantly updated and improved... come on, imagine a wikipedia moderated by a large group of "true fans" 20 years ago).
Incluso, tambien recuerdo cuando FB no tenía algoritmos. Cuando el contenido que publicabas se mostraba en el feed a tus seguidores en el orden cronológico con que publicabas. Y cuando eso cambió y solo un micro porcentaje de tu audiencia vería de forma orgánica tus actualizaciones, vaya, fue muy duro ver cuentas de miles o millones de seguidores (en el caso de los cosplayers más icónicos de ese momento) no llegar ni a los 100 comentarios en sus publicaciones, cuando antes llegaban fácilmente a 3.000 o muchos más.
I also remember when FB didn't have algorithms, when the content you posted was shown in the feed to your followers in the chronological order you posted, and when that changed and only a micro percentage of your audience would organically see your updates, wow, it was really hard to see accounts with thousands or millions of followers (in the case of the most iconic cosplayers at the time) not even reach 100 comments on their posts, when before they easily reached 3,000 or many more.
✦ I express it with humor but I have the certainty that Blackrock wants us sick to keep making $$$ ✦
Estoy convencida y no por opinion conspiranóica o hater, que las redes sociales convencionales hoy día no estan diseñadas para ayudarnos, ni para hacernos felices ni para traernos bienestar. Los algoritmos no satisfacen las necesidades más básicas que se supone debería cubrir "una red social", y su manera de comportarse es para generar sensaciones y sentimientos de inquietud, y ni qué decir de la retención de la atención (ya bien dice el dicho que cuando llegas a un sitios y te ofrecen algo gratis, es porque tú eres el producto).
I am convinced, and not by conspiracy or hater opinion, that conventional social networks today are not designed to help us, nor to make us happy nor to bring us well-being. The algorithms do not satisfy the most basic needs that "a social network" is supposed to cover, and their way of behaving is to generate sensations and feelings of uneasiness, not to mention the retention of attention (as the saying goes that when you get to a site and they offer you something for free, it is because you are the product).
Pero volviendo al tópico de construir: Es muy posible que todo lo que trabajaste o estes trabajando por ejemplo, en tu Instagram, pueda desaparecer el día de mañana, es una posibilidad, no una suposición. Y esa experiencia que ya viví en los foros, perfiles y webs perdidos me hace colocar las cosas sobre la mesa y sopesar mis ideas (de planes para "crecer") con estoica lupa.
But back to the topic of building: It is very possible that everything you worked or are working on, for example, in your Instagram, may disappear tomorrow, it is a possibility, not an assumption. And that experience I already lived in forums, profiles and lost websites makes me place things on the table and weigh my ideas (of plans to "grow") with stoic magnifying glass.
Veo con admiración (pero también cautela) este salto de fe que dan muchos, en invertir en cursos de marketing, en fotografía profesional, en las largas horas de edición y en esos bonitos programas de publicación cazando el pico de la curva de esta o aquella audiencia, sabiendo que no hay ninguna garantía de que ese castillo tan amorosamente construido (seguramente con muchas lágrimas y noches de desvelo a cuesta) siga existiendo mañana como lo conoces.
I view with admiration (but also caution) this leap of faith that many take, investing in marketing courses, in professional photography, in the long hours of editing and in those beautiful publishing programs hunting the peak of the curve of this or that audience, knowing that there is no guarantee that this castle so lovingly built (surely with many tears and sleepless nights at the cost) will continue to exist tomorrow as you know it.
Cada vez que pienso que debería tomarme una temporada para "profesionalizar mi perfil de instagram o x" regreso sin quererlo a este "hoyo de mel" mental, y veo al vacío con temor de que todo el esfuerzo que invierta se pierda por el capricho de la economía o algún tercero al otro lado del planeta; o quizá la respuesta sea eso, ¿dar un salto de fé y disfrutar del viaje lo que sea que vaya a durar?, hoy mientras descanso mis manos y mi espalda me he puesto nostálgica a tachar cosas de la agenda, y reconsiderar pequeños task que siempre termino posponiendo.
Every time I think I should take a season to "professionalize my instagram profile or x" I unwittingly return to this mental "mel hole", and look into the void with fear that all the effort I invest will be lost at the whim of the economy or some third party on the other side of the planet; or maybe the answer is that, take a leap of faith and enjoy the journey however long it's going to last? Today while resting my hands and my back I have been nostalgic to cross things off the agenda, and reconsider small tasks that I always end up postponing.
De la reflexión de hoy concluyo que aunque queramos seguridad es imposible tener certeza sobre algo, sobre todo de lo centralizado, de lo prestado, de los sitios donde somos visita. La presencia digital es menester pues "si no estás en internet, no existes" dicen ahora, pero yo me pregunto cómo lidiar con la incertidumbre de no perder aquello en lo que hayas trabajo, y no quedarte estancada en el camino, sobre todo cuando eres artista, tienes un proyecto de vida por compartir o una audiencia a la que llegar.
From today's reflection I conclude that even if we want security, it is impossible to be certain about anything, especially about what is centralized, what is borrowed, about the sites where we are visited. The digital presence is necessary because "if you are not on the internet, you don't exist" they say now, but I wonder how to deal with the uncertainty of not losing what you have worked on, and not getting stuck on the way, especially when you are an artist, you have a life project to share or an audience to reach.
✨ 🍓 All texts and images by @Tesmoforia 🍓 ✨
📸 Tools: Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 📲 Snow 🎬 Remini 🌓 FotoJet 📐
🚨 ¡Please do not take, edit or republish my material without my permission! 🚨
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🌙 Banner, signature and separators by Keili Lares
Such an interesting outlook. Reading this I was reminded of the RPG sites I spent a lot of time writing stories for, and of course the hours spent curating my FB page 😹. Ultimately I see it all as a practice in creativity and nothing was truly wasted.
This also motivates me to make physical copies of my online art & writing by transforming them into fanzines.
Btw, I like the mel's hole reference! Such an odd phenomenon!!
I am pleasantly surprised to read all this! You were or are a roleplayer? I'm very nostalgic about the topic of the roleplay rooms in those years, although I always preferred to roleplay in private chats on MSN and Skype (before the wonder of Discord).
I think you are absolutely right in your approach to the physical copies, I regret the loss of so many stories and lores, hours and hours of shared writing to which I no longer have access ; u ;
This sentence here comforts my heart a lot: "Ultimately I see it all as a practice in creativity and nothing was truly wasted" I love how your perspective on things and situations is always so different and sensitive 🦋 💕