#you can't assume anything about yourself or others based on which button someone presses under your art

[cybotgalactica]

tumblr like vs reblog discourse is hell because people will write entire paragraphs about how "well actually likes don't really support artists because it doesn't feed anything into an algorithm" like that's all there is.

like one human being reaching out to another through the framework of a social media site to be like "hey, i saw this thing you made and it meant something to me" means nothing to anyone. like that's less important than feeding your opinion of someone's work into an algorithm designed with the primary function of keeping you on their site so you can make them more money.

i appreciate reblogs and retweets and new follows and comments just like anyone else. but i'm not going to sit here and resent the people that only like. and i'm especially not going to let myself get so poisoned by social media i convince myself the human behind them doesn't matter.

calling art and writing "content", viewing the concept of support through the lens of algorithms and exposure and statistics. there's nothing more human than Making Things but all we do is try to take all the human out of it.

#maybe i've spent too much time on AO3 #there's no need to share or rely on others for ~exposure~. my writing is just there forever whenever anyone wants to go looking for it #sure a comment is nice but kudos are the only real currency there so there is nothing to devalue them like there is on twitter and tumblr #the other thing is that at some point or another you have to realise that you cannot See the way everyone interacts with your work #it's nice to see reblogs and see what tags they leave etc. but some people will keep to themselves and adore your work in secret #do the artists whose work i've had as pc/mobile backgrounds know about that? know they have inspired me? know they have changed me? #you have to be content with not knowing the inner thoughts of everyone who sees your work #you can't assume anything about yourself or others based on which button someone presses under your art #txt