Sad but true. I used to book all my work from IG. Although I still get some inquiries, I can't spend as much time on a platform that instantly devalues everything it touches. Can I get an Amen for The Foto App and Substack.
Is instagram becoming an irrelevant platform, that is unsafe and totally pointless to use - of course, yes. Has instagram ever been a platform, conceived or designed for professional photographers - absolutely not.
Good idea kicking Instagram to the curb Marcel. Meta apps on your phone is spyware. Full stop. That goes for Whats App too.
If you have to use FB for work or anything else, use it in a browser and not a native app, and log out after use. Even better is block it out with an application firewall like Little Snitch so it can’t gather data from other sites.
For what its worth, aminus3.com, the website behind this Substack has been an independent photography community by photographers for photographers for 20 years.
No ads. No algorithms. No tracking. No bullshit.
And we are not the only one out there.
Supporting independent photo communities and not greedy corporations is something we should all be rallying for, now more than ever.
I didn’t know about the purposeful spying, although I often think back to an interview Zuck did years ago were he had a laptop in the background and he had covered the camera with tape - says it all to me.
I quite all social media about three years ago and started Substack this year, it’s definitely better because you control an email list and I like the website space it provides as well.
Although I can definitely see Substack going down the same routes as other socials in years to come. It’s pretty easy to see start of it already, adding video tabs to the app and forcing people to install the Substack app before they can read your newsletter etc
I don’t think there business model works. They only make money from subscribers and how realistically how many paid subscribers is the average person going to have per month at $7 - one, two or three max.
This post by Anil Dash (EFF board member amongst other roles) from late last year asks some interesting questions regarding Substack's funding, how it will ever repay its investors and the ultimate endgame - https://www.anildash.com/2024/11/19/dont-call-it-a-substack/ - well worth a read.
As for Instagram, it is unfortunately still the one place that people participating or attending the events I photograph (like my local parkrun) are most likely to see the photos, even with all the algorithmic interference, so for now it is a necessary evil. But I do try to direct people to my website every chance I get. Probably time to update my hi-viz to add the URL 😀
I'm with you (although I have never had an IG account). Substack is going the same route, we'll see how it looks in a year or two.
I have been thinking about this too. Why is it that we people can't seem to step away from it? Or refuse to step away? Ignore Substack Notes feature for example: should be simple to not use it or look at it, right? Right??
I mean, I came here because of the whole "write a post/article, distribute through e-mail / newsletters"-thing. I didn't search for a typical social media feed-type experience. Sure, how would people find your writing/newsletter was the big question, but I was not looking for a million followers :) To that extend I agree that the community part is so difficult to do without something like a "social feed". Everybody their own website is great but these are all isolated islands impossible to find and keep track of.
That said, setup an RSS feed so that visitors ("followers"?) can keep track on what's going on without having to visit your website every 5 minutes, might be a good step forward. I still use RSS daily to keep track of news, websites etc. It's a pretty distraction-free experience really and allows me to 'follow' a lot of online stuff. Hm, maybe we should start a community of rss-enabled photography-websites to get the word out. Oh wait ...
Nah, word of mouth promotion is still a good way to go: when you write a post/article/blog whatever, just mention one or two other publications/posts/whatever. Spread the word that way. Be your own algorithm :)
Thanks Ronald. I still do use a RSS feed too. It is the easiest way to stay updated on those channels/websites you like to follow. Distraction-free and scanning headlines before reading the full news article. Cheers
Great read. Funny how, without knowing it, my newsletter from today spoke about the same struggle with Substack current trend. And it led exactly to the same point, which is move to the personal website. However, without socials and relying only on SEO, the risk is to completely disappear
I left Instagram couple of months ago. No looking back. I was there for little over a year. Gained an audience of 600+ followers, so hardly viral. All you write about Instagram is true. I hated the experience, and the way it forcefully feeds you content you don't want to see.
Still, I met a couple of great photographers there, that I can now call my friends.
As for Substack, I started my newsletter/blog here after leaving Instagram, and I like the experience a lot. What I don't like is that when I decide to publish my posts online only, they get like 5% views compared to being sent as email newsletter and they don't reach my subscribers. This sucks. Also, I have a strong feeling that either the photography bubble on Substack is really tiny, or the algorhitm makes me think so.
As for private websites, I have one, but it has zero traffic. Which was the reason to go Instagram in the first place.
Grear read! Use Brave browser on all devices for privacy.
I've long been jaded by IG, honestly I probably started that way when it was still for photos. All photographers, writers, and other creatives should have their own website, as a rule. You don't build on rented land.
I am new to substack but it seems like a pretty good platform, where the reader can get notifications of new publications.
The Foto app seems pretty good, though at the moment I really only capitalized on the user name @tjw, because TJ Weisenberger is just too long and funky. I also browse a bit, but I have found it hard to find people I want to follow so far, not that I have put much effort in to it.
I will start using it but I have a big backlog of projects and haven't had time. I'm currently working on coding my new website and updating my portfolio😉. Kind of stuck on selecting the photos, 10s of thousands to ~50 per 4 pages.
Creating my own substack is also in my backlog.🤔 But you know time is a thing.
Great article Marcel. It's unbelievable how far Meta feel they can go. I haven't posted on Insta for a year or more and don't intend to return, but then I'm not earning my main income from photography. Personal websites (and I have one that needs updating) are probably the most likely way forward but the community feel of Substack would be difficult to match.
True, you cannot build a community via your own website (or at last, that would be really hard). That is why I hope Substack will remain as is and do not change like other social media networks have done... This community is truly great!
Sad but true. I used to book all my work from IG. Although I still get some inquiries, I can't spend as much time on a platform that instantly devalues everything it touches. Can I get an Amen for The Foto App and Substack.
Thank you for this update! Good info.
Is instagram becoming an irrelevant platform, that is unsafe and totally pointless to use - of course, yes. Has instagram ever been a platform, conceived or designed for professional photographers - absolutely not.
Good idea kicking Instagram to the curb Marcel. Meta apps on your phone is spyware. Full stop. That goes for Whats App too.
If you have to use FB for work or anything else, use it in a browser and not a native app, and log out after use. Even better is block it out with an application firewall like Little Snitch so it can’t gather data from other sites.
For what its worth, aminus3.com, the website behind this Substack has been an independent photography community by photographers for photographers for 20 years.
No ads. No algorithms. No tracking. No bullshit.
And we are not the only one out there.
Supporting independent photo communities and not greedy corporations is something we should all be rallying for, now more than ever.
I didn’t know about the purposeful spying, although I often think back to an interview Zuck did years ago were he had a laptop in the background and he had covered the camera with tape - says it all to me.
I quite all social media about three years ago and started Substack this year, it’s definitely better because you control an email list and I like the website space it provides as well.
Although I can definitely see Substack going down the same routes as other socials in years to come. It’s pretty easy to see start of it already, adding video tabs to the app and forcing people to install the Substack app before they can read your newsletter etc
I don’t think there business model works. They only make money from subscribers and how realistically how many paid subscribers is the average person going to have per month at $7 - one, two or three max.
No doubt they’ll still scrape our websites for AI tidbits but I agree with your point
Centralized kingdoms of power are never the answer! WHEW.
Pay your web hosting bill, keep your domain name current, and keep filling your website with your latest work!
Hear hear
Yes. And consider paying for your email. Gmail and its cousins are anything but private.
YEP. Been paying for Fastmail since 2014 or so! No problems with the “promotions tab” for me!
Proton for me. Swiss based, but distributed servers worldwide, so as immune to “legally mandated” intrusion as can be.
This post by Anil Dash (EFF board member amongst other roles) from late last year asks some interesting questions regarding Substack's funding, how it will ever repay its investors and the ultimate endgame - https://www.anildash.com/2024/11/19/dont-call-it-a-substack/ - well worth a read.
As for Instagram, it is unfortunately still the one place that people participating or attending the events I photograph (like my local parkrun) are most likely to see the photos, even with all the algorithmic interference, so for now it is a necessary evil. But I do try to direct people to my website every chance I get. Probably time to update my hi-viz to add the URL 😀
I'm with you (although I have never had an IG account). Substack is going the same route, we'll see how it looks in a year or two.
I have been thinking about this too. Why is it that we people can't seem to step away from it? Or refuse to step away? Ignore Substack Notes feature for example: should be simple to not use it or look at it, right? Right??
I mean, I came here because of the whole "write a post/article, distribute through e-mail / newsletters"-thing. I didn't search for a typical social media feed-type experience. Sure, how would people find your writing/newsletter was the big question, but I was not looking for a million followers :) To that extend I agree that the community part is so difficult to do without something like a "social feed". Everybody their own website is great but these are all isolated islands impossible to find and keep track of.
That said, setup an RSS feed so that visitors ("followers"?) can keep track on what's going on without having to visit your website every 5 minutes, might be a good step forward. I still use RSS daily to keep track of news, websites etc. It's a pretty distraction-free experience really and allows me to 'follow' a lot of online stuff. Hm, maybe we should start a community of rss-enabled photography-websites to get the word out. Oh wait ...
Nah, word of mouth promotion is still a good way to go: when you write a post/article/blog whatever, just mention one or two other publications/posts/whatever. Spread the word that way. Be your own algorithm :)
Cheers, good article Marcel!
Thanks Ronald. I still do use a RSS feed too. It is the easiest way to stay updated on those channels/websites you like to follow. Distraction-free and scanning headlines before reading the full news article. Cheers
Good to see I'm not the only one ;-)
I’m trying Substack and if it doesn’t work out I will try self-publishing books…
Great read. Funny how, without knowing it, my newsletter from today spoke about the same struggle with Substack current trend. And it led exactly to the same point, which is move to the personal website. However, without socials and relying only on SEO, the risk is to completely disappear
I left Instagram couple of months ago. No looking back. I was there for little over a year. Gained an audience of 600+ followers, so hardly viral. All you write about Instagram is true. I hated the experience, and the way it forcefully feeds you content you don't want to see.
Still, I met a couple of great photographers there, that I can now call my friends.
As for Substack, I started my newsletter/blog here after leaving Instagram, and I like the experience a lot. What I don't like is that when I decide to publish my posts online only, they get like 5% views compared to being sent as email newsletter and they don't reach my subscribers. This sucks. Also, I have a strong feeling that either the photography bubble on Substack is really tiny, or the algorhitm makes me think so.
As for private websites, I have one, but it has zero traffic. Which was the reason to go Instagram in the first place.
I'm with you.
Grear read! Use Brave browser on all devices for privacy.
I've long been jaded by IG, honestly I probably started that way when it was still for photos. All photographers, writers, and other creatives should have their own website, as a rule. You don't build on rented land.
I am new to substack but it seems like a pretty good platform, where the reader can get notifications of new publications.
The Foto app seems pretty good, though at the moment I really only capitalized on the user name @tjw, because TJ Weisenberger is just too long and funky. I also browse a bit, but I have found it hard to find people I want to follow so far, not that I have put much effort in to it.
I will start using it but I have a big backlog of projects and haven't had time. I'm currently working on coding my new website and updating my portfolio😉. Kind of stuck on selecting the photos, 10s of thousands to ~50 per 4 pages.
Creating my own substack is also in my backlog.🤔 But you know time is a thing.
A few of my own thoughts on this … https://open.substack.com/pub/bimbleswithacamera/p/the-inevitability-of-change?r=f67mb&utm_medium=ios
And https://open.substack.com/pub/bimbleswithacamera/p/escaping-the-algorithm-missing-the?r=f67mb&utm_medium=ios
Great article Marcel. It's unbelievable how far Meta feel they can go. I haven't posted on Insta for a year or more and don't intend to return, but then I'm not earning my main income from photography. Personal websites (and I have one that needs updating) are probably the most likely way forward but the community feel of Substack would be difficult to match.
True, you cannot build a community via your own website (or at last, that would be really hard). That is why I hope Substack will remain as is and do not change like other social media networks have done... This community is truly great!