Month: February 2023

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Political neutrality is for OnlyFans: Artists should lead with their values

Geisha Collection

Political neutrality is for OnlyFans and if you’re not on there, you need to lead with your values. The latest buzzword in marketing is “values-based marketing”. That is, showcasing your work in a way that appeals to your customers’ values. It’s everywhere – content creators on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, or Facebook infuse their titles with their opinions. And I want to share my thoughts on why doing this is good for you. 

The other day, I read a report about Donald J Trump being called a p***y a** b***h by Chrissy Teigen on Twitter and almost having her account shut down by the White House. Not a fan of hers and this post is not about her. But I thought it was really important for artists to not be wishy-washy about expressing our values in a public space. 

Back to the bones

Living and breathing our values builds trust and that in turn helps our audience to find us. We should take a position on certain matters. Our audience wants to know what we think because they want to know why they are supporting us. 

Political neutrality refers to the idea that an individual should not promote a particular political ideology or agenda. A position like this is certainly appropriate for public institutions such as the judiciary, law enforcement agencies, and civil service. These institutions must maintain fairness and objectivity in decision-making. They are expected to work without bias towards any particular political party or agenda.

Sold out geisha collection from artist Pinxx
Geisha

However, for artists in a commercial space, achieving complete political neutrality should feel unnatural, because our personal or ideological leanings directly influence our work. Naturally, the main disadvantage of being politically neutral is lack of advocacy. By remaining politically neutral, we may miss opportunities to gain support for causes or policies that we believe in.

As artists, we have the means to express ideas in ways that will appeal to a wide cross section of society. If a cause or policy is in the public interest or if there are vulnerable groups who are affected, we should speak up. Being an artist is a privilege and we must always remember the advantages that creative expression affords us. 

Sharp shooter - 3D portrait
Sharp Shooter

According to recent business research, being politically neutral may prevent us from making good business decisions. One negative consequence of fence-sitting is perceived lack of accountability. Political neutrality is often a way to avoid making tough decisions. An audience will notice that. This can be particularly problematic for a highly visible brand. Quite a number of popular artists have been criticised because of their decision to remain silent on matters that their audiences care about.

Remember the Balenciaga ad scandal? Celebrities were called out for not speaking against the inappropriate presentation of children in that infamous ad campaign. And Taylor Swift got pummelled by her fans for not speaking up when the United States was politically split down the middle.

Geisha 3D artwork
Geisha

This brings me to my concern that in the wider society, political neutrality is a type of privilege. For example, some people want to signal that they are comfortable within the status quo. They can use neutrality to look away from people who are being marginalised or exploited. Or, neutrality could be a mask they use to hide their true beliefs while lobbing rhetorical salvos at their ideological opponents.

Many artists will avoid sharing their values or taking a political stance. It is natural to be scared of being called names on social media. But if your values are beneficial to society, being opinionated is good for everyone. Here are some ideas you can think about:

Portrait in 3D format
Back to the bones
  1. Expressing values and beliefs: We often have deeply held values and beliefs about social, economic, and political issues. Taking a political stance allows us to support causes and policies that align with those values and beliefs. We gain support in return and build communities as a result. 
  2. Participating in democracy: Participating in the democratic process doesn’t only mean voting. It means having a say in how society is governed. By engaging in political discourse, voting, and advocating for causes, we can help shape public policies and decisions that affect our lives and the lives of others. That’s the power of influence and how it should be used. 
  3. Making a difference: By taking a political stance and advocating for causes and policies that align with their values, artists can make a positive difference in the world and contribute to social and political change. Isn’t “changing the world” why we are all here? 
  4. Holding leaders accountable: By taking a political stance, and publishing our beliefs in the public domain, we can hold elected officials and other leaders accountable for their actions. This can help ensure that leaders are responsive to the needs and interests of their constituents and are held accountable for any negative impacts of their policies.

Taking a political stance does not necessarily mean aligning yourself with a political party or ideology. Instead, it means advocating for specific causes that you believe will have a positive impact on society.

If there is a cause that you feel passionate about, gather your thoughts and do some research. Reach out to others who have similar ideas. If your present audience does not agree with your stance, then be grateful for the chance to attract new supporters. I hope that you are fortunate, because then you will find that yours is the voice everyone has been waiting for.

Notes: Artwork for this post was generously provided by my fabulous friend, UK based 3D artist Pinxx. You can follow her on Instagram and keep up with her latest posts. And collect her artwork on Makers Place (ETH) or Objkt (tez). You’ll be happy you did. Thank you and have a fabulous week ahead.

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art entrepreneurs fashion opinion technology women

Brain Zest: Contemporary Art on the Move

Cyborgs by Brain Zest via Twitt

Hello. I am Irina, also known as Brain Zest and Ambidextrous Nude. I am a multidisciplinary artist and photographer. I work in watercolour and acrylic. And with digital illustration techniques, I create ambidextrous continuous line art. I also capture street photography. On the 10th of March 2022, I left Ukraine with my two children, a backpack and a suitcase.

In my current painting work, I explore the concepts of self acceptance, body positivity, self validation and the beauty of women’s bodies through different stages of life. My artwork encourages women to feel more included and seen. From the feedback I get for my work, the results have been positive, and it makes me really happy to know that.

Pastel pets from Brain Zest via Twitter.

Leaving my family and friends behind wasn’t an easy decision, but I wanted safety for my children. We traveled for a while. Being a self employed artist made it possible for me to choose to stay in a new country for a longer period of time. Thus, I could work even in a totally new country. Currently, my children and I are settled in Portugal.

Galaxy Rainbowstorm from Catowls collection by Brain Zest
Galaxy Rainbowstorm from Catowls Collection by Brain Zest

It took us some time to adjust to the country. The climate is very different from what I’m used to, and Portuguese language is not really easy to learn or comprehend, although I speak English very well and know some Italian and German.

And it appeared tricky to find new friends. I have some people I know in different cities in Portugal, but happened to have no connections where I ended up living.

Cyborgs by Brain Zest on Twitter

2022 was a challenging year but I always felt the support from my husband, who had to stay in Ukraine, and from my friends in the NFT community. It really helped me to stay positive and be persistent in overcoming the many difficulties on my way.

I look forward to meeting my friends from all over the world, reuniting with my loved ones when the war is over, and discovering new possibilities in this new year. Thank you.

Longing for imagined from Brain Zest on Foundation
Longing for Imagined from Longing for the Wings collection on Foundation.

Notes: Thank you for reading this guest post from my friend Irina, a Ukrainian national now living in Portugal. Follow her on Twitter. Support her artwork by collecting on Objkt and from the collection Longing for the Wings which you can find on Foundation.

It has been just over a year since the invasion began. I remember randomly bursting into tears every day for about a month after it started. I know many people from Ukraine. Some of them are former colleagues and college classmates. The devastation caused to millions of people is incalculable. Let us remember that regardless of our opinions in political matters, ordinary people – friends, neighbours, colleagues and their children – are suffering the most.

Our elected leaders remain pampered, safe, secure, and well-fed. They have advisors and housekeepers, chefs, stylists, and speechwriters. They don’t need to be coddled. They need to be reminded to do their jobs and work hard to restore peace.

Irina’s Twitter account for ambidextrous line art
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Content moderation at Elon Musk’s Twitter


Forget the Twitter Files, citizen journalism, or profit-sharing for creators. Elon Musk’s Twitter has one priority, and that is Elon Musk. It appears that he bought the company so he could broadcast his message without interference from legacy media. And it is possible, and this is only a theory, that he bought it because he wants to own a recognised media brand. I’m thinking of his 15-year feud with Jeff Bezos, who owns the Washington Post. 

The majority of legacy media is against Elon Musk because they know that Twitter has given the power back to people with its no-biased censorship.

Twitter takeover has changed the media forever – for the good. @elonmusk

Originally tweeted by DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) on January 29, 2023.

People think Musk wasted $44 billion ‘on an app’. It is not an odd choice when you realise that he has paid about $119.56 per user so that he can freely promote his businesses to them. (That figure is based on 368 million unique monthly users). 

If you’re on Twitter, what does content moderation look like? The latest change is that the smart technology has been showing you more posts from accounts you don’t follow. If you’re Elon Musk, your tweets will be shown to potentially 368 million unique users. But in reality, they are being shown to lots of people who will simply scroll past. Because of these changes, your follower count doesn’t matter as much as it used to. Engagement is key to content moderation. 

And though this reality is clear, content management is still incredibly frustrating. The ideas I shared in my earlier posts are still useful. In fact, they are more relevant now that the platform is focused on ‘real people talking to each other’. In light of certain new developments, I want to share some ideas and strategies that will help you to optimise your presence on the platform. 

Let’s focus on content moderation. Content moderation on Twitter is still facilitated by smart technology, or machine learning systems. But after Elon Musk fired more than 50% of the tech staff, the remaining staff have needed to make adjustments. They need time to write millions of lines of code in order to trial Musk’s hare-brained ideas, or to write useless reports for one of his lackeys. Then, they need to work overtime to press the “undo” button 10,000 times after trials are met with backlash. 

Perhaps their efficient retasking of the smart technology (by making it ultra sensitive) has led to more intense sorting of tweets, keywords, and accounts into silos. Silos are groups of accounts or tweets, based on keywords and common areas of interest. Read more on how sentiment analysis software helps make those decisions.

The system was always sensitive to your scrolling actions. Even a momentary pause is noticed by the software. And it reads your direct messages. Quite a number of people believe that direct messages are “unseen”. And they would be wrong. Everything you type, either in a public tweet, or in a direct message, helps the system to make decisions about the standing of your account. 

One other priority for the smart tech is to eliminate spam. The system is trained to filter out spam aggressively. Musk wants more organic views from your account, and if the system is overwhelmed by spam, you will not see his tweets. 

Twitter owner Elon Musk tweeted out this dot which generated news headlines and over 52 million views.

Based on observations of user accounts, the best way to get added to a spam list is to send lots of private messages to tweeters who don’t reply back. Other actions? Overtweeting, tweeting the same media (image, GIF, video) multiple times in a day, or replying to tweets and not getting a reply back. These are some actions which are read by the system as either “not engaging with other accounts” or “tweeters don’t like this account”. 

Remember what I said about accounts getting siloed? If your account (A) does any of the above actions and engages with another account (B), this account (B) will be flagged as, “account B is attracting spam accounts like A.” Then, people engaging with B’s tweets will be added to a list marked “accounts interacting with this account B which is in the group with account A”. This is a weird chain reaction that has affected a lot of perfectly legitimate accounts. And it’s unfair.

The phenomenon of people locking their Twitter account with the hope that it will improve engagement is a strange phenomenon. They’re performing a digital ritual to make themselves seen. Doing a little rain dance, but they’re trying to summon views instead of precipitation.

Deprived of any meaningful power, people have become convinced their only influence lies in the visibility of their content. So of course they’re willing to try these little tricks and quasi-spells to spread their content and maximize their power.

Originally tweeted by Travis View (@travis_view) on February 1, 2023.

Recently, quite a few tweeters (including me) have tried locking our accounts to test the idea that our tweets would be further boosted among our subscribers. This worked very well, but it is a glitch and only a temporary fix. Fortunately, I have tested more reliable ways for you to fix your engagement. They’re presented here in no particular order.

  • Block spam accounts as soon as they follow you. Or, remove their follow from your settings on the desktop device/web browser. Do not unfollow many accounts at once, as this will look spammy. Go slowly.  
  • If you already get lots of engagement on your tweets, start restricting replies to people you follow. This will prevent bots from leaving comments on your tweets. Again, bot replies will make your account look spammy if you don’t hide them. 
  • Reply to everyone who comments on your tweets. 
  • Ask subscribers to turn on notifications for your tweets. Only ask for this if you don’t tweet every 10 minutes. Imagine hundreds of people rage blocking you for constantly interrupting them. You will feel bad, so think twice about this. 
  • Use the “following” tab to find active users. Reply to their tweets and invite a response. After 4 – 6 hours, go to your profile and delete replies (and tweets) that received no views or likes. Some people you follow are too busy to reply because they are busy tweeting. You can tell by the cascade of consecutive tweets (not part of a thread) that show up in your feed.
     
  • Ask more of your followers to subscribe to your blog (because you have one). And remind them to keep up with you that way. Remember that owning your own domain is the best engagement hack ever. 

Twitter is in utter chaos at the moment, but remember that it is a private company devoted to serving its owner’s emotional needs. He needs a breathtaking amount of attention. When I was writing notes for this post, he had posted a dot to his timeline, and it has already generated 52 million views. We are all enablers at this point. And until Elon Musk decides to let someone new play with his joystick, he will remain our fiercest competitor. 

Postscript: February 10, 2023. Another day, another dot tweet. If it is not yet obvious that Mr Musk seeks validation in Twitter engagement (views, likes, retweets, comments), here you go. When the personality decides what the algorithms will prioritise, it is helpful to focus on what is driving the person’s behaviour.

Update: February 11, 2023. Article on Elon Musk throwing a tantrum over low view counts for his tweets. Underscores the purpose of the “point” tweets. And I reiterate the point I made in the beginning of this post – Musk’s motivation is to get attention. Quite a lot of system errors, glitches and outages are caused by the lack of staff to monitor servers that run the platform. But a qualified engineer was fired for not saying what the boss wanted to hear. People are right to focus on the man himself if these are his priorities.

Update: February 15, 2023. Daily Beast is reporting (from a report on Platformer) that Elon did actually mess with Twitter algorithm to juice his own numbers. Adding this here because I was told that Mr Musk’s personality had NOTHING to do with navigating the algorithm. In other words, my initial analysis, which is that Mr Musk’s plan was to use Twitter to poke the eyeballs of all active users on the platform, was correct. And this would be obvious to anyone paying attention to his tweets (like this one his tech staff jacked up to 55 million impressions). At this point being part of this billionaire’s glorification milk tea party is really a choice to remain uninformed. And in response to allegations, here is the tweet from Mr Musk’s account acknowledging that he ordered his staff to mess with the algo so everyone would see his tweets in their feed. I find this quite disgusting.

Update: February 28, 2023. This drama keeps devolving and I’m here for it. I thought mansplaining had died out with the #metoo era but apparently dinosaurs/throwbacks still roam the earth. This is why I’m adding more evidence that Elon Musk, owner of Twitter, is a giant asshole and this directly affects how Twitter operates. And here we are, look at how he unceremoniously fired the staff who pledged their allegiance. One executive slept on the office floor to deliver the impossible and help him save face after he bought Twitter and made it weird. He fired her, too. But not before doing an informal peer review and destroying the Slack channels which helped the engineers to troubleshoot problems. There are now fewer than 1800 people working at the company and that means, like I said, the machine learning software (smart technology) is mostly running the platform. Therefore, tweeters must be careful about triggering the protocols that will get their accounts shadowbanned or siloed.