ARTISTS TALKING

Online editor of Artists talking Andrew Bryant answers your questions about blogging and the online environment for artists and people working in the visual arts. Email Andrew at andrew.bryant@a-n.co.uk with your queries.

Q Should I always talk about my own practice?

A Actually it can be a very good idea to discus other artists work in your blog. Firstly it can shed light on your own concerns, both for yourself and your readers and secondly it could get you picked up in blog searches.

Q How do I do a collective blog and what are the advantages?

A It's easy to do a collective or collaborative or group blog. You just set up a dedicated username and password that you all know and then each time you post an entry add your name to the post. Alternatively you can simply write the posts together. The advantages of blogging as a group or collective are that you can create a dynamic discussion within one blog, plus you generate more interest in the blog from your multiple contacts and other online activities and locations. They also enable aritsts living in different locations, sometimes even different countries, to create a current, ongoing profile or reflective account of a specific project. Collective blogs on Projects unedited include Swim Circle in which Richard Light and Paul Clark take us on a "...collaborative, conceptual and experientia..." journey, Atoi Arts whose blog "...contains a frequent response to daily experiences..." and Holly Rumble's other/other/other in which she and co-collaborator Dot Howard discuss their development of "...site-responsive or durational work...". There are many more group blogs to gain ideas and inspiration from.

Q Why blog any way? Isn't it enough just to have a website?

A 25% of google links are generated by blogs, not by websites, and search engines don't recognise images, they recognise words. So if you have a website shopwcasing your work people will never find you through a search engine. However if you blog regularly, once a week for example, and have online portfolio well signposted form your blog you are more likely to be found.

Q Should I compose my posts or be spontaneous?

A This is another one of those 'there's no right or wrong' questions. Having said this I do think it is possible to overthink your entries until they become stodgy or overcooked. Best to keep it relatively spontaneous so that your readers discover with you what you have discovered in the act of writing.

Q How can I be prepare to get 'Stumbled Upon?"

A Getting Stumbled Upon, or Dugg, can be unexpected. To make sure you are prepared for this have links to your website and other online presences clearly visible, have a clear and concise biog or 'About' section, write a strap-line that encourages people to subscribe and explains how to do this and possibly even prepare a pdf 'booklet' which you can mail out straight away.

Q How often should I update my blog?

A It is up to you how often you update your blog and it depends what you want to get from it. Regular updating automatically raises the profile of your blog as it will rise to the top of the pile each time you post, and search engines like google ‘reward’ activity. Beware posting for the sake of it though. If you do get into a routine of regular updates it can send a message to yourself that you are taking the blog, and yourself as a writer, seriously. You may find that during the week, or the day, you get little ideas coming into your head that you could blog about which you can then jot down in a notepad or Word doc, so that when you come to write your blog you have lots of ideas and starting points to draw from and develop. Devote a portion of your blogging time to reading others’ blogs, posting comments and contributing to discussions. This will generate interest in your blog and make you feel part of a community of bloggers.

Q How can I overcome the fear of exposure?

A If you haven’t kept a blog before the idea of your words being published for all to see can be daunting, especially if you’ve not done much writing - at all - or at least since university. But think of it this way: anxiety is just another form of excitement and seeing your own words instantly online for the first time can be exciting. Like the actual world the virtual world is full of uncertainties. It can seem overwhelming, confusing, persecutory even. In fact the truth is that the virtual world, much like the actual world, is relatively indifferent, so you may as well jump in and start swimming.

Q How can I make my blog 'sticky'?

A Search engines 'cache' headings and first sentences so try and start each post either with a well thought out title or opening line. For example, if your entry is about how your blog led to an opportunity you might start it with a sentence like this: 'An exhibition opportunity has arisen as a direct result of my artists' blog.' if somebody does a search using the phrase 'exhibition opportunity', and especially if they add the word 'artist' and/or 'blog', then you are quids in. Never start your blog entry with a rambling apology for not having writen in 17 years or, that dreaded phrase, 'I have been thinking about...'. (I know, we all do it!)

Q What about twitter and other social networking sites?

A All online activity leads to the same place: you. Twitter, unlike other social networking sites, has an average user age of about 40. There are lots of interesting people and organisations tweeting and it is easy to build networks quickly because you don't have all the usual nonsense such as 'poking' or sending virtual hugs. It is very simple and direct, and can be inspiring. Here at a-n we get a lot of traffic from twitter. As I said, all online activity broadens your network. It can be overwhelming but isn't that just like life? (Remember, the antithesis of virtuality is actuality, not reality; the virtual world has a reality all of its own.)

Q How do I get people to read my blog?

A If you want people to read your blog you have to be out there participating and contributing to your own blog regularly. This means getting into a routine of blogging and reading other people's blogs, making comments and starting conversations. And try not to restrict your scope to just the Artists talking blogs, search around, google artists' blogs, create your own network. In short, the more you put in the more you get out.

Q How do I clamber up the google ladder?

A A bit of a techie one this one. Believe it or not there are real persons behind google and other search engines and those people reward frequent activity. The more times you update your blog the more they like it and the more likely it is to appear at the top of the list.

First published: a-n.co.uk July 2009