Image via Wikipedia
Many of us love to create in varying amounts and in varying mediums but the place to be at the moment for artists and art lovers seems to be the internet. While there is a lot of rubbish permeating around the ever expanding net there are refuges of creativity where you can find some wonderful hidden talent. So what is the best way for your own works to get noticed online?
All Websites Big and Small
The internet is its own little ecosystem, delicately balanced and under increasing pressure from people 'littering' content anywhere they can. Despite this you can get noticed online with the simplest of websites: a blog! While other sites require a lot of content to look good a blog is designed for those of us who just want to concentrate on one or two things so it is perfectly suited for artists and writers alike.
If you check out places like blogger.com (run by google) or the sister site to the amazing Wordpress open source software wordpress.com you can even start off spending no money at all. I can understand how important this is for starting out online especially as an artist. You will still have many of the same options that a regular website will have but a slightly less direct domain name.
Another option for exploring your creative side is to check out all of the websites dedicated to sharing creative works whether they be paintings, photos or writing. I would, however, stress the importance of checking out the quality of the members of these sites as your work will be published together with some not so good works. Do your research and remember that forums are a great place to hear any positives and negatives about site experiences.
Who Owns Your Work?
If you are wary about sharing your creative works online then CONGRATULATIONS you will go far. Digitising your paintings, photography and writing make it an easy target for for people to copy. While there is no need to be paranoid always check the terms and conditions of a website before publishing anything to them as they may have a clause that means they retain copyright without payments. This is a sure sign of a shoddy operator looking for free content on their sites without rewarding contributors.
This is why I would suggest spending a little bit of money on your own web hosting which can be bought for around $4-$5 per month as well as a domain name which sells for about $10. This little bit of extra investment will save you in the long run and you have complete control over your content and retain all copyright. It is also the best way to learn how to publish yourself online as you will have access to more powerful tools and options.
If you have taken the step of buying some hosting and a domain name then you re entering a whole new world online. This is a steep learning process (not going to beat around the bush) but something that will add to your skills in the long term. For some articles on what running a website may involved you can visit my other site Double Foot Productions. I hope this first article on getting yourself online as an artist has been helpful and if you need a hand please contact me.
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