Alanna SmithDec 19, 2022

Y'all are chasing working artists away from this place by harping on how "sad" and "pathetic" it is for them to hope for a large follower count here.

It's not about attention. It's about their bottom line. More followers means more commissions, more customers in their online shops, more direct exposure to people with hiring power. It's honestly really cruel to keep acting like they want adulation when really they just want to pay rent.

They have ample reason to mourn what they built.

Show threadAlanna SmithDec 19, 2022
You have to understand that, at least right now, losing their audience probably feels like going from having a well-established, high-traffic store in a luxury mall to having a stall at the flea market. They can climb back up from there, of course, but it's going to take time and work. It's silly and mean to shame them for not wanting to start over when they already worked so hard to get where they are.
Show threadAlanna SmithDec 19, 2022
And I'm not blowing hot air when I say you're chasing away working artists. I follow a ton of artists elsewhere, and that's what I see them saying. They feel demeaned and dismissed by this attitude that wanting a lot of followers is vapid, or selfish, or something they need to unlearn. They know what's best for them and their business. Cut it out.
Show threadAlanna SmithDec 19, 2022
And one last thing--I'm saying all this as someone who actually really likes Mastodon and would love to see more creators from my industry show up here! I've done my fair share of evangelizing, but I can't blame them for staying away when so much of this rhetoric is flying around.
Show threadBrian J. CrowleyDec 19, 2022
@alannawrites Same, however a lot of them seem to be addicted to the follower counts.
Show threadploumDec 19, 2022

@hamsterrage @alannawrites : most are missing the fact that the follower count is fake. It includes bots, it includes not-active person, it includes accounts following but not reading.

It is just fake and sending the wrong signal to artists that work to increase a fake number provided by a company which earn more money by increasing it.

You don’t earn a living as an artist because you have lot of followers. You have lot of followers because you are a famous artist.

Show threadMirre Dec 20, 2022
@ploum @alannawrites @[email protected] this take was so fkn funny and ass backwards that i legit thought i was on twitter for a moment
Show threadAlanna SmithDec 20, 2022
@foervraengd lol did you see the person who said mastodon folks complaining about working artists are "literally like jesus flipping tables in the temple" because that took me out 🤣
Show threadMirre Dec 20, 2022
@alannawrites that was so fucking funny like imagine comparing mastodon to a space meant for religion. Your thread attracted some gold content.
Show threadAlanna SmithDec 20, 2022
@foervraengd the folks who say they don't want to replicate the twitter experience here sure seem to be very good at doing that exact thing 😂
Show threadMirre Dec 20, 2022
@alannawrites be careful or we might get bean dad 2.0 😂
Show threadAlanna Smith
@foervraengd lol a girl can dream
Dec 20, 2022 at 5:01pmWeb