I signed up for Cara but much like Threads I forget about it. It just feels like *one more place* to check/post to, adding another thing onto my already plenty full list of things to (outside of actual work). I’ve been seeing people posting to their stories about not using their content for AI training and wonder why, because if know meta like we know meta they won’t listen. I tried finding that opt-out option in my settings but couldn’t find it. (You are the first person to mention it’s not possible to opt out in North America!) Of all the places I’m present right now, I am really loving Substack! I find the community here to be really lovely and supportive, and I like the deeper/longer content being shared - like blogger way back when, but better! Anyway, thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Melissa, I'm so glad you brought up Threads! I signed up for that too then got tired of it sooo fast...I don't think I will be mindlessly jumping onto a trendy new social media platform anymore. We've all got so many things to do, and every addition has a tradeoff! Happy to already have been hanging out on Substack, and to have connected with you here 💛
Meta has a track record here in Europe about being taken to court because they (with full knowledge of what they are doing) don’t hold to the laws of the region and then just try to say sorry afterwards. So I don’t see a reason to trust them on any of these subjects.
I'm on Cara and it's pretty cool! Though I don't get many interactions. Personally I moved away from social media more for my personal art journey and less for AI for me I get why Ai is bad but I don't let it bother me. I honestly have found in the recent years that doing local events have become more popular which is great because I would rather connect with people in person than online!
Yay, I'm glad Cara has been fun for you! TBH I am not super bothered by AI either, but it is the icing on the cake that adds one more reason to divest from social media. And yes, I do think there is a general trend of humans craving more of the physical lately—more physical events, physical art goods and paper ephemera, etc!
I signed up for Cara earlier today to make sure that I get the handle I want. But when I afterward thought about posting anything I just got this heavy feeling, and I know I will probably end up not using it. I think instagram ruined that style of social media for me.
On the positive side, I make sure to meet up with a group of sketchers at least once a month and always enjoy that so much.
I definitely relate to that heavy feeling! Also after reading your comment I did sign up for Cara just to get my name as a handle... something about usernames really brings up the scarcity mentality 😹 And your sketch group sounds wonderful!
Loved the newsletter. Thank you for sharing with us.
I wrote about Meta's AI training in my newsletter this week as well. I took a different approach to fight back. In the US, we cannot opt out of Meta's training. but we can use tools like Nightshade and Glaze developed by Ben Zhao and his team at the University of Chicago.
Nightshade is designed to poison the data used to train AI models, and Glaze is designed to protect artists' styles from being mimicked by AI models.
Cara is using Glaze on images loaded onto their platform. That said, I find Cara to be a UX and UI mess at the moment, and like others have said, yet another place to start over.
I do wonder if Cara will simply be a place for artists to enjoy each other's work, which is great, but it will not help those of us trying to make a living from our art.
Thanks Andy, it's a very hot topic right now! Lovely post you put together as well, love the Groundhogs Day reference. I think Nightshade and Glaze are great and helpful for those who need to keep heavily sharing their art online and need avenues to protect their work. And your last point is a really good one! No clear-cut answers here, but we'll keep experimenting & trying ✊
Just an aside, Glaze and Nightshade will be built into Cara (already is but not yet available.) Also the brains behind that (well, one of the brains) is Ben Zhao who is on Cara. He's beyond great.
Using Glaze & Nightshade are probably my go to solution. That and creative camera angles (since I'm a textile artist.)
I don't want to use another platform. I'm limiting my use of Instagram but shifting my focus to Substack because I still like to share my art online. However, I'm all for more in-person meetups. I've been organizing the Berlin Substack Writer meetups since February. We've already had three of them, and it's been amazing.
So thrilling to hear about Substack meetups in Berlin, and very generous of you to organize them! 💛 In person is the way to go—allows for much more serendipity and genuine connection :)
I've a Cara account, and I quite like it. I'm also wondering how they'll continue in the future: at some point they must get their income from somewhere, unless the owners have unlimited funds somewhere (which is possible of course).
I've been in online communities since around 2002, been on IG since 2010 and I must say: I'm losing my interest in it. I'm very careful with Substack at the moment, because I don't want to despise it because it's 'yet another place I have to produce content for'.
After a break I've started teaching again, because the real human connection is worth so much to me. I love looking people in the eye, be seen and make others feel seen and help them where I can. No matter where you're at online, this feeling can not be recreated through a screen (Zoom-calls neither).
Exactly! I want to be optimistic about Cara, but we've been burned with techno-optimism in the past...
I appreciate your previous writings regarding Instagram; they've helped inform my thoughts. I really don't want Substack to ever feel laborious or performative, and I think part of that is not niching down or lasering in on growth. And I would love to be a part of your classes someday Marloes! Hope the day will come 💛
I think it's not unlikely that the end of social media is near. I see it with the younger generation: they're just not as interested in spending their days producing content in order to be seen or liked :) Although I really appreciate everything social media has brought me, I wouldn't mind if we go back to more analog times.
And you are so welcome to join any of my workshops. If you're ever in the Netherlands, let me know, so we can have a cuppa :)
I'm on Cara - i just joined and am really enjoying it. Lots of amazing art on display. I kept my IG but i really take issue with companies taking advantage of AI while the world tries to catch up with regulation so i think you're right, I'm going to slow down my posting. Ultimately, trying to turn more away from the screens and focus on the work!
Excellent post Carolyn! I don't plan on joining Cara at atm. Over the last few years, I've grown weary of all the hoops you have to jump through on social media. Love my artists friends there, but prefer a calmer marketing strategy. lol So I'm rebuilding my website and focusing on SEO and building my mailing list, along with Substack and Pinterest. I've also recently made a lovely connection with a print on demand/ framing company with a gallery. I'll still keep my IG for now, but have already expended less energy there. Hoping to use it as a place card and to possibly attract some viewers to my mailing list. It's a slower marketing strategy, but hopefully more enjoyable and less frenetic. Good luck to everyone! xx🤗
I joined a local Meetup art club! They meet twice a month: painters, sketchers, manga artists, political cartoonists, card makers, book binders, crocheters, woodworkers, you name it … they’re there.
With that said, though, I’d love to hang out with more artists on a more frequent schedule. :)
Thank you! I believe something is better than nothing so whatever gets you up and going quickly, at a budget you're comfortable with, is best to start—whether that's Squarespace, Cargo, carrd.co, Wix for portfolios. For blogging, micro.blog, Pika, or Ghost are some of my recs.
...cool rec though probably won't try one more place...a little bummed that here is starting to feel more and more like a social media platform also tbh...ran away from facebook 15 years ago and mental healthwise was one of the best decisions i ever made...hopefully i can hang here for much longer but curious to see what the VC needs turn this into longterm...
Substack.com/Notes is definitely social media (though if you have a newsletter, a large chunk of them are not on Substack at all! So there is that benefit)
This is such a relatable topic! Finding the right community can be challenging, especially for artists who thrive on inspiration and collaboration. It's wonderful to see a discussion about creating and discovering spaces where we can connect, share, and grow together. Thanks for addressing this important aspect of an artist's journey!
I don’t plan on signing up for Cara — I just don’t have the bandwidth for one more social media site. And anyway, who knows what will happen going forward? I mean, when Instagram started, it was just an iPhone only photo sharing app, and look at what it has turned into now!
Yup!! If I do have to spend time on another platform, I’d rather it be Substack Notes (which I’m not using much currently because I don’t have the bandwidth for it right now)
Very good point. I’m already regretting starting an IG for my travel doodles, because it’s yet ANOTHER platform. I can’t imagine adding Cara to the mix. I like it here in Substack-land. 😃
I signed up for Cara but much like Threads I forget about it. It just feels like *one more place* to check/post to, adding another thing onto my already plenty full list of things to (outside of actual work). I’ve been seeing people posting to their stories about not using their content for AI training and wonder why, because if know meta like we know meta they won’t listen. I tried finding that opt-out option in my settings but couldn’t find it. (You are the first person to mention it’s not possible to opt out in North America!) Of all the places I’m present right now, I am really loving Substack! I find the community here to be really lovely and supportive, and I like the deeper/longer content being shared - like blogger way back when, but better! Anyway, thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Melissa, I'm so glad you brought up Threads! I signed up for that too then got tired of it sooo fast...I don't think I will be mindlessly jumping onto a trendy new social media platform anymore. We've all got so many things to do, and every addition has a tradeoff! Happy to already have been hanging out on Substack, and to have connected with you here 💛
Meta has a track record here in Europe about being taken to court because they (with full knowledge of what they are doing) don’t hold to the laws of the region and then just try to say sorry afterwards. So I don’t see a reason to trust them on any of these subjects.
They do the same here, but our court system doesn't do anything about it! I hope the EU keeps holding them to task!
I'm on Cara and it's pretty cool! Though I don't get many interactions. Personally I moved away from social media more for my personal art journey and less for AI for me I get why Ai is bad but I don't let it bother me. I honestly have found in the recent years that doing local events have become more popular which is great because I would rather connect with people in person than online!
Yay, I'm glad Cara has been fun for you! TBH I am not super bothered by AI either, but it is the icing on the cake that adds one more reason to divest from social media. And yes, I do think there is a general trend of humans craving more of the physical lately—more physical events, physical art goods and paper ephemera, etc!
I signed up for Cara earlier today to make sure that I get the handle I want. But when I afterward thought about posting anything I just got this heavy feeling, and I know I will probably end up not using it. I think instagram ruined that style of social media for me.
On the positive side, I make sure to meet up with a group of sketchers at least once a month and always enjoy that so much.
I definitely relate to that heavy feeling! Also after reading your comment I did sign up for Cara just to get my name as a handle... something about usernames really brings up the scarcity mentality 😹 And your sketch group sounds wonderful!
Haha, yes. Coming late to the party will always mean that you end up with a weirdly spelt name with a string of numbers for a username 😂
Loved the newsletter. Thank you for sharing with us.
I wrote about Meta's AI training in my newsletter this week as well. I took a different approach to fight back. In the US, we cannot opt out of Meta's training. but we can use tools like Nightshade and Glaze developed by Ben Zhao and his team at the University of Chicago.
Nightshade is designed to poison the data used to train AI models, and Glaze is designed to protect artists' styles from being mimicked by AI models.
Cara is using Glaze on images loaded onto their platform. That said, I find Cara to be a UX and UI mess at the moment, and like others have said, yet another place to start over.
I do wonder if Cara will simply be a place for artists to enjoy each other's work, which is great, but it will not help those of us trying to make a living from our art.
Thanks Andy, it's a very hot topic right now! Lovely post you put together as well, love the Groundhogs Day reference. I think Nightshade and Glaze are great and helpful for those who need to keep heavily sharing their art online and need avenues to protect their work. And your last point is a really good one! No clear-cut answers here, but we'll keep experimenting & trying ✊
Thanks for taking a look at my post.😊 I'm a huge Groundhog Day movie fan.
We will keep experimenting and trying. Artists and creatives look out for each other.💛
Just an aside, Glaze and Nightshade will be built into Cara (already is but not yet available.) Also the brains behind that (well, one of the brains) is Ben Zhao who is on Cara. He's beyond great.
Using Glaze & Nightshade are probably my go to solution. That and creative camera angles (since I'm a textile artist.)
I don't want to use another platform. I'm limiting my use of Instagram but shifting my focus to Substack because I still like to share my art online. However, I'm all for more in-person meetups. I've been organizing the Berlin Substack Writer meetups since February. We've already had three of them, and it's been amazing.
So thrilling to hear about Substack meetups in Berlin, and very generous of you to organize them! 💛 In person is the way to go—allows for much more serendipity and genuine connection :)
I've a Cara account, and I quite like it. I'm also wondering how they'll continue in the future: at some point they must get their income from somewhere, unless the owners have unlimited funds somewhere (which is possible of course).
I've been in online communities since around 2002, been on IG since 2010 and I must say: I'm losing my interest in it. I'm very careful with Substack at the moment, because I don't want to despise it because it's 'yet another place I have to produce content for'.
After a break I've started teaching again, because the real human connection is worth so much to me. I love looking people in the eye, be seen and make others feel seen and help them where I can. No matter where you're at online, this feeling can not be recreated through a screen (Zoom-calls neither).
Exactly! I want to be optimistic about Cara, but we've been burned with techno-optimism in the past...
I appreciate your previous writings regarding Instagram; they've helped inform my thoughts. I really don't want Substack to ever feel laborious or performative, and I think part of that is not niching down or lasering in on growth. And I would love to be a part of your classes someday Marloes! Hope the day will come 💛
I think it's not unlikely that the end of social media is near. I see it with the younger generation: they're just not as interested in spending their days producing content in order to be seen or liked :) Although I really appreciate everything social media has brought me, I wouldn't mind if we go back to more analog times.
And you are so welcome to join any of my workshops. If you're ever in the Netherlands, let me know, so we can have a cuppa :)
I'm on Cara - i just joined and am really enjoying it. Lots of amazing art on display. I kept my IG but i really take issue with companies taking advantage of AI while the world tries to catch up with regulation so i think you're right, I'm going to slow down my posting. Ultimately, trying to turn more away from the screens and focus on the work!
Glad to hear Cara's been an enjoyable experience! And absolutely—the work is everything, the work is the point 💛
Excellent post Carolyn! I don't plan on joining Cara at atm. Over the last few years, I've grown weary of all the hoops you have to jump through on social media. Love my artists friends there, but prefer a calmer marketing strategy. lol So I'm rebuilding my website and focusing on SEO and building my mailing list, along with Substack and Pinterest. I've also recently made a lovely connection with a print on demand/ framing company with a gallery. I'll still keep my IG for now, but have already expended less energy there. Hoping to use it as a place card and to possibly attract some viewers to my mailing list. It's a slower marketing strategy, but hopefully more enjoyable and less frenetic. Good luck to everyone! xx🤗
That sounds like a lovely intentional approach Debbie! You're doing great :D
I joined a local Meetup art club! They meet twice a month: painters, sketchers, manga artists, political cartoonists, card makers, book binders, crocheters, woodworkers, you name it … they’re there.
With that said, though, I’d love to hang out with more artists on a more frequent schedule. :)
Ooh, how fun! Love the wide range.
Yesterday one of the group members was painting pictures of beautiful ladies on … plastic pumpkins!! It was really cool
Seems like the time is now, more so than ever, to prioritize your personal site. It's so much easier now than before.
Indeed! (as I procrastinate updating my own website..heh)
"choose the real world whenever possible" is so great! and I love your comics gathering!
Thank you Nancy! 🥰
Interesting article, and some great ideas. Any thoughts on website providers, good, bad, indifferent?
Thank you! I believe something is better than nothing so whatever gets you up and going quickly, at a budget you're comfortable with, is best to start—whether that's Squarespace, Cargo, carrd.co, Wix for portfolios. For blogging, micro.blog, Pika, or Ghost are some of my recs.
...cool rec though probably won't try one more place...a little bummed that here is starting to feel more and more like a social media platform also tbh...ran away from facebook 15 years ago and mental healthwise was one of the best decisions i ever made...hopefully i can hang here for much longer but curious to see what the VC needs turn this into longterm...
Substack.com/Notes is definitely social media (though if you have a newsletter, a large chunk of them are not on Substack at all! So there is that benefit)
This is such a relatable topic! Finding the right community can be challenging, especially for artists who thrive on inspiration and collaboration. It's wonderful to see a discussion about creating and discovering spaces where we can connect, share, and grow together. Thanks for addressing this important aspect of an artist's journey!
Thanks for reading Yasin! It is so hard to find good community, and one never fully "arrives"—but such is the artist life :)
I don’t plan on signing up for Cara — I just don’t have the bandwidth for one more social media site. And anyway, who knows what will happen going forward? I mean, when Instagram started, it was just an iPhone only photo sharing app, and look at what it has turned into now!
Truly! Tech moves at breakneck speeds, we'll see where Cara is a year from now :P
Yup!! If I do have to spend time on another platform, I’d rather it be Substack Notes (which I’m not using much currently because I don’t have the bandwidth for it right now)
Very good point. I’m already regretting starting an IG for my travel doodles, because it’s yet ANOTHER platform. I can’t imagine adding Cara to the mix. I like it here in Substack-land. 😃
I know, right? And I’m enjoying Substack too, for sharing my art journals & notes on creativity.
I see me in the photo - haha great meeting you there Carolyn!