August News

Digging through the numbers behind my recent reels has revealed a few surprises, and not all of them good.

My view count is growing, which is encouraging, but people are still watching for a very short time. Probably not much longer than it takes to scroll past. So clearly, the challenge is getting people interested enough to stick around for more than two seconds.

I created the I'm Not AI reel series to try to tackle that, and it worked. The first reel reached around 3.5k views, roughly three times my usual number.

The downside of reaching a wider audience is that you also attract the keyboard warriors, who apparently have some very interesting opinions they feel duty-bound to share.

Sadly, I think this is evidence of the direction social media is heading. There seems to be an increasing appetite for controversy and confrontation.

It reminds me of my experience working with 'naughty' children when I was a social worker. Some children were labelled disruptive when, in reality, the only time they received much attention was when they were being 'bad'. When they were behaving well, they were largely ignored. Acting up was their way of getting noticed.

Sometimes I think social media works in much the same way. Provocative comments get attention, replies and arguments, which simply encourages more of the same.

I'm still looking for a digital naughty step to banish them to.

Blog

Following on from the I'm Not AI series of reels, I wrote a blog looking at some of the issues behind it: Is Artificial Intelligence the End of Human Creativity?, and a companion piece Statistics, Strategy, and Controversy.
If the above has tweaked your interest, you can read more here.

I've also published another article in my Stories in Stone series, this time looking at the Taj Mahal. You can read it here.

New Work

I've completed two new pieces recently.

Beachy Head Lighthouse took a mere 13.5 hours, while The Trevi Fountain, Rome took an impressive 50 hours. Easily the longest I've ever spent on a single piece.
Both are now available to buy from the website.

Reels

If you're at all nerdy like me, these numbers might interest you.

Top 3 Illustrations
Titanic Pub 3,218 views
Taj Mahal 2,189 views
Eiffel Tower 2,074 views

Top 3 Reel Series
I'm Not AI 10,033 views
20 Hours in 20 Seconds 7,105 views
Take A Closer Look 2,134 views

These figures are cumulative. The Titanic Pub figure, for example, is the combined total of views from all reels directly related to that illustration. That could include the Teaser, 20 Hours in 20 Seconds and Take A Closer Look reels etc.

The Reel Series figures work differently. They are the combined views for every reel within that particular series, so they will include views for several different illustrations.

Thank You

As always, thank you for reading and for supporting independent artists.
Whether you've bought a print, shared a reel, entered a competition, or simply taken the time to read this newsletter, it genuinely means a great deal.

Thank you for being part of the journey.