Twitter
 

Does anyone have an account with twitter? I was thinking of doing one for myself for upcoming shows etc., but wasn't sure whether it was a good thing or not (i.e a bit tacky, or whether, if used tastefully, may give good exposure).

What do you think?

I have an account but not the right kind of phone. I think if you are high tech, it is a good way to keep them looking, but as a purely computer based communicator, my Facebook page seems to spark plenty of the right kind of networking. I am amazed at who I "friended" and can keep up more at my own convenience.

Twitter (to me) is pretty immediate and used extensively by people who are very into impulse, not deliberation. If you want everyone to know what you are doing WHEN you are doing it, it is perfect. But.... that means a lot of wading through a lot of stuff that should still be in their head.

Facebook is like your own forum that you can boot people out of and invite people in. A great place to see and be seen, with a bit more interaction, over mere pronouncement.

Join Twitter and lurk for a while. See what you think of it, it costs nothing.
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Thanks Debra. It is that problem of wanting to promote yourself and not look like you are doing it. Most of my sales and commissions these days have come from people seeing my work on my websites - astonishingly! But I feel that blatant self-promotion undervalues the artwork (making it seem a little like selling fridge magnets etc.). I have seen a number of professional twitter accounts where it is just posting news. I think I will give it a try doing that - just, for starters, with a pseudonym.

Well, I started a twitter account. Looks like it might be fun:

http://twitter.com/tdpaint

There was a prior thread on this started by Bianca Berends under "Techniques, Tips and Tools" but I think there were only a couple of responses.

I try to use it infrequently, when I have something more interesting to say than what I had for breakfast. I do find it annoying when people post a lot of trivial nonsense that I have to scroll through.

I think Twitter is good to use when you have an announcement to make, a link to a post to promote your blog, or something you have discovered that may be helpful to others. I think that is professional. I am not sure how effective it is in advancing a portrait career.

I think it is easier to connect with people and share what you are doing on Facebook - once you meet a few artists, things tend to go viral and all of a sudden you have 300 friends.

Oh, by the way, my account is:

http://www.twitter.com/FoodArtLife

Thanks Lauren - I found you and am following you.