Good to have but important to maintain!

Blog three

"Social media is changing the way we communicate and the way we are perceived, both positively and negatively. Every time you post a photo, or update your status, you are contributing to your own digital footprint and personal brand. (Amy Jo Martin Quotes, 2018) An individual approaching social media among a vast ocean of other internet users in the world trying to do the same thing; Be seen and heard. It can be a difficult process, but has a worthwhile reward.

Or you could just turn out like XQC who has made a strong social media presence but is always harshly criticised by the general public because he doesn't meet society s normal standards of famous gamers'. His career is as a gaming professional, as he plays in a League team that is streamed by Twitch on Blizzards official league channel. XQC also has his own personal channel which streams Overwatch content, but whats interesting to note; is when XQC does not play by Blizzards standard of what they want the game environment to be. They cannot immediately remove XQC because of his strong social media influence. often he is given treatment that we would deem a slap on the wrist.

The game Overwatch, which is created by Blizzard is a first person shooter game that plays around two different styles of objectives; control points and payload escorts. With two teams per game. On each team is six individuals which must work together in order to complete their objective against the enemy team. As an animation student this game really interests me due to its diverse animation styles that each character has, their is not generic walk cycle but instead each animation is tailored to the character.

Why i chose XQC and Overwatch as my introduction to social media, is because i'm interested in both the effects that social media has on animation in a gaming environment. Whilst also noting the importance of a social media presence that is oriented at potential employers.

To begin, I wished to discuss why we as creative students should be taking a more considerate effort in creating our media presence. ("Week 3: Social Media and Your Career – Self-Directed Practitioners – Medium", 2018)

The image above is of data collected to represent how much time Australians spend on different media. With over five hours spent using the internet on any device. its usually good to start on the reasons behind why you as an individual wants to have a social media presence. Its no longer enough just to be known by verbal connections by people you meet at work. The evolution of the internet has increased the chances of people from other countries to be seeing your work as an artist and connect with you. So why not take advantage of that and set yourself up on social media.

So your social media will depend on how do you wish to promote yourself? As an artists, Is there a demographic or type of company that you wish to aim at? for example; game animation or film? Next is the ways in which you promote yourself has increased.

With options such as; You tube, Instagram, Amino, Twitch, sketch-fab and Art station. The difference in some of these sites is that they can be divided into socialising and promotional.

Where Instagram and amino are applications that offer consumers a place to interact with you as an artist and get in touch with you on a more casual approach. Sketch fab and Art station are more refined into an fancy and polished applications that allows you to be self promoting. Both forms of 'promotional' media have their pros and cons, with Instagram its a site that allows you to share other peoples work and gain new coverage because your seen as someone who has more interest than just in their own work but also when you share other peoples work, they'll most likely appreciate it and return the gesture by sharing your work. ("Week 3: Social Media and Your Career – Self-Directed Practitioners – Medium", 2018)

What is always something to remember with with other people on social media, it is best not to see them as competition but as your peers. You can use social media to join other communities and overtime build your own. And increase the connections you have with your consumers and other artists. Which becomes helpful when you want to ask questions, go for advise or simply inspire and be inspired by others work.

Thank you for reading!

Bibliography

Twitch.tv - Google Search. (2018). Retrieved from https://g.co/kgs/2E7ULD

Week 3: Social Media and Your Career – Self-Directed Practitioners – Medium. (2018). Retrieved from https://medium.com/self-directed-practitioners/week-6-social-media-and-your-career-21ec52b2b003

iAnimate | Interview with animator - David Gibson. (2018). Retrieved from http://www.ianimate.net/podcasts/item/interview-with-animator-david-gibson.html

Amy Jo Martin Quotes - BrainyQuote. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/amy_jo_martin