TO BE A WRITER...
PREFACE
If you want to be a writer, you must write. To be an artist, you must work at producing art. So how do you begin? How do you sustain the momentum? Do you do it for yourself, or for profit? I have decided to write for myself.
STORY
Back in 2004, 10 years ago, I decided to write in a blog all the things that I had been writing by hand in notebooks, sketchbooks, and other hard copy media. I didn't care if anyone ever read what I wrote. I just needed to get things down in "black and white."
My writing has been sporadic at best, non-existent at worse. There have been great gaps of time in between (as seen in the year between entries in this blog). I have three blogs. One for writing about everything, one for myself as an artist (this one), and one that is private (like a diary and unaccessible by anyone but me).
In this world of open expression, employers can troll the Internet and access your "private" outlets like Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc..., and use your thoughts/opinions against you. So everybody is a little more guarded, self-censoring, and down right paranoid when it comes to what you post on social media. This poses the question, "Should we be so paranoid that what we say in passing be so guarded?" If your boss was passing you in a bar socializing with your friends and happen to overhear you say something, should it be held against you? Should we be allowed an opinion outside of our "work" environment that might be controversial or contrary to the policy of our employer? Do we have any privacy left? Has the first Amendment been thrown out completely??
I have seen this first hand in that I am surrounded by teachers in my family and friends. I have been a teacher (high school) and adjunct instructor (college). They are all guarded about what they post on social media, what they do in their private lives, and how/when/to whom they express their personal opinions. What students/parents/administration see of the teacher is a front dictated by policy/procedures/rules. Teachers tow the line so as not to be fired. And this is in addition to all the bureaucratic BS decided by politicians requiring endless/needless testing to prove students are receiving education, when they are clueless as to what goes into educating each individual student.
CONCLUSION
Social media has revolutionized communication on a global scale. Anyone and everyone can publish whatever they want, to be seen by the world. Websites, weblogs, YouTube videos, Tweets, Instagrams, Tumblr, and the list goes on and on...exponentially expanding at a mind-boggling pace and producing an unimaginable amount of information. How can an employer consider Social Media as a viable judgment of a person or their ability to be an asset or a liability to their company/institution? A small slip of human frailty or honest feelings could get you fired or not hired and there is no way for you to prove that was the cause! It is an injustice produced by the open, honest availability of the Internet and platforms of expression. How this will impact self expression and creativity in the future will remain to be seen. I am confident that the artists among us will continue to push the envelope and weather the storm of repercussion.
If you want to be a writer, you must write. To be an artist, you must work at producing art. So how do you begin? How do you sustain the momentum? Do you do it for yourself, or for profit? I have decided to write for myself.
STORY
Back in 2004, 10 years ago, I decided to write in a blog all the things that I had been writing by hand in notebooks, sketchbooks, and other hard copy media. I didn't care if anyone ever read what I wrote. I just needed to get things down in "black and white."
My writing has been sporadic at best, non-existent at worse. There have been great gaps of time in between (as seen in the year between entries in this blog). I have three blogs. One for writing about everything, one for myself as an artist (this one), and one that is private (like a diary and unaccessible by anyone but me).
In this world of open expression, employers can troll the Internet and access your "private" outlets like Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc..., and use your thoughts/opinions against you. So everybody is a little more guarded, self-censoring, and down right paranoid when it comes to what you post on social media. This poses the question, "Should we be so paranoid that what we say in passing be so guarded?" If your boss was passing you in a bar socializing with your friends and happen to overhear you say something, should it be held against you? Should we be allowed an opinion outside of our "work" environment that might be controversial or contrary to the policy of our employer? Do we have any privacy left? Has the first Amendment been thrown out completely??
I have seen this first hand in that I am surrounded by teachers in my family and friends. I have been a teacher (high school) and adjunct instructor (college). They are all guarded about what they post on social media, what they do in their private lives, and how/when/to whom they express their personal opinions. What students/parents/administration see of the teacher is a front dictated by policy/procedures/rules. Teachers tow the line so as not to be fired. And this is in addition to all the bureaucratic BS decided by politicians requiring endless/needless testing to prove students are receiving education, when they are clueless as to what goes into educating each individual student.
CONCLUSION
Social media has revolutionized communication on a global scale. Anyone and everyone can publish whatever they want, to be seen by the world. Websites, weblogs, YouTube videos, Tweets, Instagrams, Tumblr, and the list goes on and on...exponentially expanding at a mind-boggling pace and producing an unimaginable amount of information. How can an employer consider Social Media as a viable judgment of a person or their ability to be an asset or a liability to their company/institution? A small slip of human frailty or honest feelings could get you fired or not hired and there is no way for you to prove that was the cause! It is an injustice produced by the open, honest availability of the Internet and platforms of expression. How this will impact self expression and creativity in the future will remain to be seen. I am confident that the artists among us will continue to push the envelope and weather the storm of repercussion.
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