How Artists Do The Web Differently

I know that most of us are on the web because this is where our work is, but for a lot of us there is an artistic element to our online aspirations that gets stifled when we follow the herd who tells us all the stuff we should be doing and worrying about technology-wise.

This is why Robert Bruce turned me upside down (in a good way) with his guest post on Problogger called 27 Thoughts On Blogging For The Artist.

He doesn't pull any punches, and his points just made me think and acknowledge--are my activities/ways of approaching the internet leading me closer to or away from what it means to be an artist?

My faves of Robert's thoughts on Art and the Web:

6. If you’re spending more time on Twitter than on your novel/painting/film/poem/play/sculpture, you’re dead.

7. The creation of great art has nothing to do with Community.

9. If you’re the real thing, you’ll be around in 30 years, still working. Most of these services and sites you now admire will not.

13. Aim for Greatness, not the front page of Digg.

15. Though tempting, you’ll never crush your own mediocrity working only four hours a week.

18. If you wouldn’t do it without an audience, don’t do it all.  

22. Remember that the mainstream culture has yet to catch on to the power of the individual artist online. Keep working.

23. Consider getting a second job instead of slapping another Adsense unit next to the .jpg of your latest painting. Contrary to popular belief, work won’t kill you.

25. Do not work for the good opinion of anyone. Work for joy, wonder and the Lord God Almighty.  

27. Blogging is easy. Art is not.

Touche :-) I love those (especially #15! Can I get an Amen?!)

Robert's own blog is called Knife Gun Pen, and if you haven't visited it before, please take a gander. He is one very talented poet, and he publishes a free poem every Monday morning. His site is one of my faves, and he's one of the jewels on the web, truly.

Photo: Letter - I gotta appologize... - HDR

P.S. Oooo, and here's a bonus. I never get to put this sort of stuff on eSoup, so here's my chance. I love Robert's "Talking Shows". They all make me think and laugh, but this one sort of fits in well with the productivity theme of eSoup (I could not have expressed this better myself--we all love 43 Folders.com). Enjoy where poetry meets productivity ;-):