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    "title": "Daniel Sokolovskiy’s Blog: posts tagged Social media",
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            "name": "Daniel Sokolovskiy",
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            "id": "913",
            "url": "https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/all\/social-media-are-unhealthy-by-design\/",
            "title": "Social media are unhealthy by design",
            "content_html": "<div class=\"e2-text-video\">\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7H2R5wsUh9U?enablejsapi=1\" allow=\"autoplay\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<p>As an early adopter who has been active on social media since 2011 (and created my first accounts around 2007), I’ve developed a long-standing love-hate relationship with social media, though the latter sentiment has increasingly grown in me in recent years. I am talking about Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook, and more. While Twitter and LinkedIn are slightly different beasts, my concerns apply to them as well.<\/p>\n<p>Let’s start with the business model of these companies, as once you understand it, the rest makes sense. It revolves around three steps: attract as many users as possible, keep them locked in at all costs, and show them as many ads as possible, which creates a vicious cycle of user entrapment.<\/p>\n<p>My biggest issue with social media companies is that they intentionally create harmful products. If you find yourself stuck scrolling through social feeds for hours every day, it’s an intentional trap set by the smart people who design these sophisticated mechanics.<\/p>\n<p>Take Stories, for example, a format that has been adopted by all platforms. This feature exploits people’s Fear-Of-Missing-Out (FOMO) at its worst. The same goes for the Feeds, which don’t even show updates from the people you are subscribed to, instead displaying random content meant to engage you. The fact that Instagram and others don’t have clickable links goes against the core fundamentals of the World Wide Web as a place where you can freely surf around with hyperlinks.<\/p>\n<p>These platforms use manipulation techniques similar to those used in slot machines that offer intermittent rewards to keep users hooked. This unpredictability makes it difficult for users to disengage, always hoping for the next <a href=\"\/blog\/all\/dopamine\/\">dopamine hit<\/a>. Privacy exploitation is another major concern that <a href=\"\/blog\/all\/googleless\/\">grows larger in me<\/a>. And again, it’s not a ‘bug’, but a feature of these platforms.<\/p>\n<p>It’s bad, unhealthy, and I even dare to say harmful by design.<\/p>\n<p>Now, you may wonder, how come I am criticising social media while posting on those very platforms?<\/p>\n<p>That’s where the ‘love-hate’ part comes into play. I don’t want to demonise social media completely. Whether we like it or not, these platforms are powerful tools for spreading the word. They allow us to discover interesting content and connect with people across the globe that might not have been possible otherwise. However, it’s crucial to recognise that these benefits come despite the design of these platforms, not because of it. While they offer avenues for meaningful interaction, their primary design is focused on engagement and profit, at the expense of our well-being.<\/p>\n<p>I think of social media as alcohol consumption. For those who choose to drink, it might be fun to have a pint with friends, but I think we can all agree that drinking for four, six, or even eight hours a day is considered damaging. Social media consumption should probably be treated the same way, at least for kids and adolescents until they reach the appropriate age. As a dad, I definitely don’t want my kid to be exploited by those products.<\/p>\n<p>For me, I find being intentional about my social media usage is the key. I don’t have any social media apps on my phone. I use them only on the desktop, which alone I find eliminates a lot of obsessive-compulsive behaviour with checking the phone all the time. When I want to share something, I go to these platforms with that specific intention in mind. On average, my social media usage is about one hour a week, which is likely the least I can get given some of my obligations.<\/p>\n<p>I must be a terrible ‘friend’ because I rarely ‘like’ or comment on other friends’ content, though I’m trying. That makes me feel disconnected at a time, and even selfish, I admit. But that’s the sacrifice I am willing to take for the sake of my mental peace.<\/p>\n<p>Social media are likely here to stay, so I need to learn how to live with them.<\/p>\n",
            "date_published": "2024-06-26T12:51:32+01:00",
            "date_modified": "2024-09-10T16:56:53+01:00",
            "tags": [
                "Health",
                "Productivity",
                "Social media"
            ],
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            "id": "856",
            "url": "https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/all\/email\/",
            "title": "Why I love email",
            "content_html": "<p>In today’s world of quick messages and social media, emails often get overlooked and might seem old-fashioned. But for me, email is special.<\/p>\n<p>Email is not just another app or specific platform. It’s a universal method of communication across the Internet and it can work in any mailing app, like <a href=\"\/blog\/all\/rss\/\">RSS<\/a> works in any reader app or like websites work in any browser. For that reason alone, email is still around several decades later since its invention, and likely will be around for as long as the Internet exists.<\/p>\n<p>What sets emails apart is the sanctuary they provide – no ‘seen’ status looming over your shoulder, no pressure to reply immediately. Instead, you have the power to read and respond thoughtfully, at your own pace. The ability to flag, mark, and categorise emails grants extra control and organisation, which I appreciate too. And you can revisit email threads even years later, something that is barely possible with group chat conversations.<\/p>\n<p>Sure, sometimes it’s handier to chat via a messenger app or share voice memos, a practice I do a lot with my family and close friends. The only messenger app I quite like is Telegram. It has no intrusive ads, it doesn’t sell user data, and it’s all-around convenient, making WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and even iCloud Messages look pretty shoddy in comparison. Yet, even with its perks, Telegram locks users within its own system, unlike email, which is a universal protocol compatible with Gmail, Yahoo, Hey, Superhuman, or any other email services and platforms.<\/p>\n<p>I’ve noticed that when I write an email, I strive for clear, structured writing. Such asynchronous communication naturally helps me to convey my thoughts while paying attention to formatting, grammar, and other details, it’s as if the ‘send’ button almost creates friction, prompting a second thought before clicking it. And clear, structured writing leads to clear, structured thinking – a valuable skill worth developing.<\/p>\n",
            "date_published": "2023-12-14T18:32:40+01:00",
            "date_modified": "2024-06-24T21:50:31+01:00",
            "tags": [
                "Productivity",
                "Social media"
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            "id": "852",
            "url": "https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/all\/personal-social-media\/",
            "title": "New social accounts: let’s connect",
            "content_html": "<p>After <a href=\"\/blog\/all\/websites-split-update\/\">splitting my website<\/a> to create more room for my personal space online, I’ve set up a couple of new social accounts using my real name. I’d appreciate a follow to expand our networking opportunities!<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/t.me\/dsokolovskiy_channel\">Telegram channel<\/a> (hands down the best place to follow my updates and discuss things in the comments)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/https:\/\/linkedin.com\/in\/dsokolovskiy\/\">LinkedIn<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/dsokolovskiy_\">Twitter<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/dsokolovskiy\/\">Facebook<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/daniel__sokolovskiy\/\">Instagram<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n",
            "date_published": "2023-12-03T12:22:23+01:00",
            "date_modified": "2024-07-13T15:30:35+01:00",
            "tags": [
                "Social media"
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            "_date_published_rfc2822": "Sun, 03 Dec 2023 12:22:23 +0100",
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        {
            "id": "737",
            "url": "https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/all\/digital-monk\/",
            "title": "Digital monk",
            "content_html": "<div style=\"max-width: 720px;\"><div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/digital-monk.jpg\" width=\"1200\" height=\"1500\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><p>Hey guys, how’s it going?<\/p>\n<p>For the past months, I have started to pay more attention to my health (both physical and mental), as well as my digital life and how I use my time. Frankly, it was terrible. When you spend days surrounded by several computers and other gadgets, it’s very easy to get constantly distracted and stressed out, so I started taking this seriously and almost stopped browsing on social media, among other things. I had to re-engineer many of my habits, routine, and workspace.<\/p>\n<p>The funny thing is, the other day, I didn’t even notice that Facebook and Instagram were down for 6 hours until someone told me. I’ve unplugged myself to the point that sometimes I feel almost like a ‘digital monk’, but honestly, it’s starting to pay off.<\/p>\n<p>Countless overnight work and back pain have changed for early morning wake up and a yoga routine, shallow work and procrastination during the day have changed for deep and meaningful work. Took me years to realise the importance of it, but hey, better late than never.<\/p>\n<p>Anyway, I just wanted to let you know I’m doing well (more than ever), so I hope you are too! And please bear with me, we’ll see the fruits of my inner transformation in the future, including the courses I’m working on and more projects. Also, next time Facebook is down, don’t forget that <a href=\"\/hey\/\">I have a website with up-to-date info with all the contact details<\/a> and more :-)<\/p>\n<p>Keep in touch!<\/p>\n",
            "date_published": "2021-10-06T10:33:43+01:00",
            "date_modified": "2023-11-11T22:09:59+01:00",
            "tags": [
                "Health",
                "Social media"
            ],
            "image": "https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/digital-monk.jpg",
            "_date_published_rfc2822": "Wed, 06 Oct 2021 10:33:43 +0100",
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        {
            "id": "733",
            "url": "https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/all\/rss\/",
            "title": "What is RSS and how to use it",
            "content_html": "<div class=\"e2-text-video\">\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Q_ZvlvQof34?enablejsapi=1\" allow=\"autoplay\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<p>To read interesting blogs and pages on the Internet, I use a thing called RSS. Turns out, not many people know about RSS, so I will tell you what it is and how to use it.<\/p>\n<h2>The problem with following on social media<\/h2>\n<p>It usually goes like this. When you discover an interesting person or brand, you want to follow them. For example, you find and follow a musician on Instagram or another social network. You’re interested in the person or their work, so you subscribe to their page to get new content from them. Seems logical.<\/p>\n<p>The problem is that the algorithmic social media feeds don’t do a very good job of showing you the content of the authors you subscribe to. To be clear, they don’t have that task at all.<\/p>\n<p>Let’s suppose you are subscribed to the Facebook page of someone you are interested in, but that person rarely posts anything there, once a month or even once every three months. And if the page has few posts and its posts get not many ”likes,” the algorithm of the social networks considers this page “uninteresting” and may not show its new post in your feed. This is known to everyone trying to run their social media pages. In my experience, on average, posts on social networks are only shown to 10-15% of the page followers.<\/p>\n<p>On top of that, as soon as you go to any social network, you are attacked from all sides by notifications, banners, reposts from some unknown friends, advertising, and cats. That is, even if you try to open Instagram or Facebook for something useful, you are inevitably confronted with a bunch of unnecessary information that no one asked for. (Of course, if the goal is just to kill time, then social networks are great, but that’s a conversation for another topic altogether).<\/p>\n<p>In addition to social networks, there are periodicals, blogs and other sites. For example, <a href=\"\/blog\/all\/why-you-should-run-a-blog\/\">in the post about the benefits of blogs<\/a> I advised starting blogging on your own domain. But it begs the question: how do you read content scattered across dozens of different sites? Usually, people follow pages on social media for this exact reason, to read all posts in one app. Also, most people and even brands don’t have their own standalone blogs, so there is no place to follow them except social networks. What to do then?<\/p>\n<p>This is where it’s time to talk more about RSS.<\/p>\n<h2>What is RSS<\/h2>\n<p>RSS <i>(which stands for Really Simple Syndication)<\/i> is a way to subscribe to any updated content. RSS can be used to subscribe to anything with a so-called <i>feed<\/i>: blogs, social media pages, and even services like Soundcloud or YouTube.<\/p>\n<p>It’s important to understand that RSS is not a specific app, but an open technology. Like email, for example. RSS has been around for decades, and it’s all the more surprising that so few people know about it.<\/p>\n<h2>How to use RSS<\/h2>\n<p>To subscribe and read content using RSS, you need a special app, a <i>reader<\/i>. It’s like for web surfing we use browsers such as Safari or Chrome, so for reading content on RSS you need an app too.<\/p>\n<p>I use an app called <a href=\"https:\/\/reederapp.com\">Reeder 5<\/a>. Here is what it looks like:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<div class=\"fotorama\" data-width=\"1401\" data-ratio=\"1.0478683620045\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/rss-reeder-app-1.png\" width=\"1401\" height=\"1337\" alt=\"Full view with a list of subscriptions and posts\" \/>\n<img src=\"https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/rss-reeder-app-2.png\" width=\"1401\" height=\"1337\" alt=\"Compact view with a focus on a particular post\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"e2-text-caption\">Reeder 5 on macOS<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>If you are on a Mac, I highly recommend this particular reader: it looks great, works great and syncs quickly between devices via iCloud.<\/p>\n<p>If you are a Windows user, check out <a href=\"https:\/\/feedly.com\">Feedly<\/a>. It works right in your browser, like Gmail for email. Feedly is not as cool as Reeder, but nothing better for Windows as far as I know.<\/p>\n<p>To add someone to my reader app, or to subscribe to someone, I click the “plus sign” at the top left (I press the ⌘+N shortcut, of course) and paste the page’s web address. This way I sort of form my personal newsfeed of those authors I’m interested in, even if one is on Instagram, another is on Facebook, and the third is a news website, for example.<\/p>\n<h2>The best thing about RSS<\/h2>\n<p>The RSS reader allows you to group authors into folders, mark posts as unread, and add them to favourites. Also, there are no annoying ads, reposts, or other information garbage in RSS. That’s all great, but it’s not the best thing.<\/p>\n<p>The best thing is that the content is waiting for you rather than demanding your attention here and now. Social networks are like this: if you haven’t been there for a day or two, all recent posts are already “drowned” in your feed. Many people develop the so-called FOMO because of this — an obsessive fear of missing out on something interesting that is provoked by social networking.<\/p>\n<p>On the RSS, the posts are always waiting for you regardless of any algorithms and precisely in the chronological order in which the authors published them. Obviously, if you won’t open an RSS app for months, you may accumulate a lot of posts. Well, and that’s totally okay — they’ll be waiting, so take your time and enjoy reading later.<\/p>\n<p class=\"quote\">in RSS, the content is waiting for you rather than demanding your attention here and now<\/p>\n<p>I’ve even noticed this: after I practically stopped <s>mindlessly spending hours<\/s> using social media, and instead started very selectively subscribing to specific authors of interest to me by RSS, I began to feel much better about myself. Less anxiety, less procrastination. More control, more usefulness. I can’t guarantee you’ll feel the same way, but this is how I feel.<\/p>\n<h2>How to add social media pages to RSS<\/h2>\n<p>To subscribe by RSS, all you have to do is put the page’s address into the reader, as I wrote above. But under the hood, things are a bit trickier: for a site to be added to the RSS reader, it must have a special file with special formatting, which is where all the new posts are collected. This file is called <i>feed<\/i>. Most news sites and blogs have such a file.<\/p>\n<p>Usually, you don’t need to know this because the reader finds this file on the site. For example, if you paste the address of my blog <a href=\"\/blog\/\">dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/<\/a> into the reader, the app will quietly search my feed link and actually subscribe to <a href=\"\/blog\/rss\/\">dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/rss\/<\/a>, because this is my blog’s feed address. You probably won’t even notice such technical detail, and again, this knowledge is usually unnecessary.<\/p>\n<p>However, it’s a little different with social networks. If you paste a link to, for example, an Instagram profile, the reader will likely give you an error: “Sorry, there is no <i>feed<\/i> at this address”. Social networks are doing everything they can to retain an audience within their platforms to show people more ads and simply don’t generate feeds for user pages. Social networks don’t want you to read their posts at a convenient time and in a convenient RSS reader, bypassing ads and notifications of new likes from your friends.<\/p>\n<p>Fortunately, there are services like <a href=\"https:\/\/wtf.roflcopter.fr\/rss-bridge\/\">RSS Bridge<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/rss.app\">RSS.app<\/a> that turn content from third-party services into feeds that readers can understand. Just exactly what we need! It works for Instagram, Telegram, Mixcloud, and many other sites that don’t generate the feed file themselves. I’ve been using these services for quite a long time, so I recommend them.<\/p>\n<h2>Bonus: who to subscribe to<\/h2>\n<p>At different times my RSS reader has had anywhere from a few dozen to several hundred authors. From time to time I unsubscribe from some, and add others. It’s such a living, ongoing process. But if you’re just starting out or have decided to try using the RSS, here are a few sources and people I recommend subscribing to:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/djtechtools.com\">DJ TechTools<\/a>, DJ community. They write about equipment, software, artists, and industry news.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/feeds.transistor.fm\/sos-recording-mixing\">Sound On Sound: Recording & Mixing<\/a>, a podcast about recording and mixing music from one of the oldest music magazines. They share how to make transients, in what order to put the effects chain, how to use dynamic equalization, and other subtleties.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/conceptartworld.com\">Concept Art World<\/a>, a showcase of digital artists and conceptual art. They post illustrations of stunning beauty. These works inspire half of the tracks I’ve written.<\/p>\n<p main><a href=\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/john00fleming\/\">John 00 Fleming<\/a>, DJ, producer, and owner of the JOOF Recordings label, where I help him with A&R. Aside from announcing tours, new releases, and other typical artist content, John is one of the few who gives interesting behind-the-scenes details about his DJ career and perspective on the industry. You can learn a lot from him if you want to.<\/p>\n<p aside><a href=\"\/blog\/tags\/john-00-fleming\/\">Blog posts about John Fleming<\/a><\/p>\n<p main><a href=\"https:\/\/world.hey.com\/jason\">Jason Fried<\/a>, entrepreneur, co-author of Basecamp, Hey, and the books Rework and Remote. He gives an interesting perspective on business, management, marketing and PR.<\/p>\n<p aside><a href=\"\/blog\/all\/marketing-by-sharing\/\">Jason Fried on marketing by sharing<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ilyabirman.net\/meanwhile\/\">Ilya Birman<\/a> — designer, DJ, creator of the blog engine on which my blog runs. He writes about product and navigation design, music, philosophy, life.<\/p>\n<p>Well, subscribe to my <a href=\"\/blog\/\">blog<\/a> too, of course!<\/p>\n<p>If you know any cool authors or magazines to read – post link in the comments, I’d love to subscribe to them too.<\/p>\n",
            "date_published": "2021-09-14T10:32:56+01:00",
            "date_modified": "2024-11-19T20:52:27+01:00",
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                "Productivity",
                "Social media"
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            "id": "227",
            "url": "https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/all\/why-you-should-run-a-blog\/",
            "title": "Why you should run a blog",
            "content_html": "<p class=\"lead\">And where to start, what to write about, and why you shouldn’t blog on social networks<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/why-you-should-run-a-blog-hero.jpg\" width=\"2500\" height=\"1606\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>I enjoy reading the blogs of various people: marketers, designers, developers, promoters, entrepreneurs, editors, and specialists in other fields. And I noticed that among my reading list, there are very few representatives of the music industry. And I’m not talking about media, I’m talking about specialists’ blogs of people who would share their personal experiences.<\/p>\n<p>And then I thought: what if someone wants to start a blog but does not know how? Or someone doubts why they need a blog when they have Instagram?<\/p>\n<p>Whether you are a DJ, a music producer, a label manager, or a specialist of any kind (not just in the music industry), I’d like to encourage more good blogs, so in this post I’ll talk about the benefits of blogging and where to start.<\/p>\n<div class=\"question\"><p><b>There are different kinds of blogs<\/b><br \/>\nFirst, let me clarify that blogs’ content and purpose can be different. I distinguish at least two main types: personal and professional blogs.<\/p>\n<p><i>A personal blog<\/i> is when the author talks about daily life, posts family photos and reflects on current events. If the author is not a well-known media personality, such a blog is unlikely to be of interest to anyone except a small number of people he or she knows in person.<\/p>\n<p><i>A professional blog<\/i> is when the specialist shares the intricacies of his profession, talks about the projects he has done, the problems and their solutions, new skills and useful observations. Such blogs are interesting to read, even if unfamiliar with the author.<\/p>\n<p>Here I talk about the second type of blog specifically.<\/p>\n<\/div><h2>Why blogging<\/h2>\n<p>When I talk to someone about starting a blog, I often hear a question along the lines of “Who’s going to read me?”. And it’s a reasonable question: If you don’t already have an audience of your own, you’ll probably be the only visitor of your blog, at least for a while. In addition, the Internet already has almost everything.<\/p>\n<p>However, in my opinion, the main benefit of a blog is not that people read you at all. If you write interestingly and for a long period of time, sooner or later, you are sure to get an audience that reads you, but that’s a nice <i>consequence<\/i>, kind of a bonus side-effect and not a reason to start writing.<\/p>\n<p>Here are some good reasons to blog:<\/p>\n<p main><b>To systematize your experience.<\/b> Knowing and understanding something are not the same thing. When you explain something by writing a blog, you understand it much better. That’s exactly what happened to me with the advice series: it would seem that if I’m advising someone something, I’m probably good at it myself, right? But the truth is that I have become good at some things because I explain them to others. Thanks to the blog, the experience is better learned and solidified.<\/p>\n<p aside><a href=\"\/advice\/\">In the advice series<\/a>, I share my experiences and answer readers’ questions about music production, DJing, performing, marketing, management, and other aspects of the music industry<\/p>\n<p><b>To improve your skills:<\/b> writing, language, discipline. It takes practice to become good at something. Being able to write clearly and present your thoughts in a clear, structured way is no exception. And who writes clearly, thinks clearly. Such skills are worth cultivating.<\/p>\n<p main><b>To spread knowledge<\/b> about yourself and your business. There is an interesting thing with specialist blogs: when you read the behind-the-scenes details of some profession, you inevitably notice that the author clearly knows his stuff, since he understands and talks about all these subtleties. That is how the reputation of an expert is formed. And such a reputation builds trust and opens up new opportunities.<\/p>\n<p aside><a href=\"\/blog\/all\/marketing-by-sharing\/\">Marketing by sharing<\/a> by Jason Fried<\/p>\n<p><b>To save time<\/b> so you don’t have to explain the same thing over and over again. Imagine that you’ve written a large, comprehensive post about how you do business. And then in a conversation, someone asks you about this topic. And now, instead of telling everything all over again, you can kindly offer the person to read about it on your blog if he or she is interested. For example, I wrote this very post for this exact reason because I had to explain it several times.<\/p>\n<p><b>To help people.<\/b> Most of the time you probably won’t even know it. People tend to react more strongly to things they don’t like than to be thankful for things that help them. Nevertheless, rest assured that the knowledge you share will help others learn something new, come to unusual conclusions, or inspire development in their field. Isn’t that great?<\/p>\n<p>These are definitely not all the reasons for blogging, but they’re good enough to get you started.<\/p>\n<p class=\"quote\">Run a blog for yourself to systematize experiences, improve skills, and spread knowledge<\/p>\n<h2>What to write about<\/h2>\n<p>Let’s say you’ve decided to blog. And then you might be confused: “So what is there to write about?”. The thing is, when you know something, all things seem simple and obvious to you, and you’d be like: “Everybody knows that!”<\/p>\n<p>My advice is to write about what you’re doing and explain <i>why<\/i> you’re doing it that way:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>For example, an engineer does mastering of the tracks. How does he do it? What kind of equipment does he use? How is gear better than software plug-ins, and is it better? Does stem mastering really worth it? How to prepare tracks for mastering? How much headroom in volume should a producer leave and why? Is it necessary to do a separate mastering for each streaming platform? Is there really a “volume war” and should producers be worried? Can a DJ play non-mastered tracks? Why do we need mastering at all?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>It would seem an ordinary routine that an engineer faces every day, but there is so much to tell! And so it is with almost all professions. Talk about it, and the blog will become your best portfolio.<\/p>\n<p>Another thing I advise you to do is to define for yourself some topics or categories. For example, on this blog I write about DJing, performing, music, marketing, productivity, and professional growth. You don’t have to think of all of such topics ahead of time, but it may be easier for the authors to start writing by identifying a few similar topics in their field.<\/p>\n<h2>Where to start<\/h2>\n<p>First, you need to decide where you want to write: on a third-party service or on your own standalone blog.<\/p>\n<p><i>Third-party services<\/i> are so-called blogging platforms: sites on which you sign up and start a blog. Probably the most popular ones are Tumblr, Blogger, Medium.<\/p>\n<p><i>A standalone blog<\/i> is a site that runs on your server and is under your control. I strongly recommend this option, and I explain why below.<\/p>\n<p>To start your own standalone blog, you need three things:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-table\">\n<table cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" border=\"0\">\n<tr>\n<td><b>Domain<\/b><\/td>\n<td>The address where the blog is available. For example, dsokolovskiy.com<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Hosting<\/b><\/td>\n<td>The server where the files are stored.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Engine<\/b><\/td>\n<td>The program which runs the blog.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>For some people, these words may seem very frightening, but in fact, buying a domain name and renting hosting is not more difficult than signing up on Medium or purchasing anything online. The engine installation is somewhat different, but it depends on what to choose.<\/p>\n<p>Running and maintaining a blog costs money: a domain name will cost about $10 per year, and hosting is roughly another $20 per year. The engines are usually free. Here are some popular names: WordPress, Drupal, Aegea.<\/p>\n<p><b>My blog runs on Aegea.<\/b> The beauty of this engine is that it has no typical “admin panels” with complicated user interfaces. Aegea makes blogging as easy as possible, and it’s a pleasure to write in it. It also has everything you need to make it look and work properly right out of the box: automatic typography, search, tags, drafts, a mobile version, a built-in audio player, comments (you can disable them if you don’t need them), and much, much more. By comparison, on WordPress or Drupal you would need a programmer and a designer to do all that, but with Aegea, you install it, and it just works.<\/p>\n<div style=\"max-width: 720px;\"><div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/blogengine-en.jpg\" width=\"1220\" height=\"1332\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<div class=\"e2-text-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogengine.me\/\">The Aegea website<\/a> visually demonstrates how the engine works<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><h2>Why not Instagram<\/h2>\n<p>Some readers may wonder, “Why bother when social media is around? Why set up and pay for a standalone blog when you can do the same on Instagram? Why do all that when you can just as much systematize your experience, improve your skills, and spread the knowledge on a Facebook page? You can blog on social media, right?”<\/p>\n<p main>Can you blog on social media – yes, you can. You can do anything, frankly! But that said, there are fundamental disadvantages to social media that are worth keeping in mind.<\/p>\n<p aside><a href=\"\/blog\/all\/anything-is-possible-but\/\">Anything is possible, but<\/a><\/p>\n<p>In my opinion, here are a few major flaws:<\/p>\n<p><b>You don’t own the content.<\/b> Everything you write and post on social networks belongs to corporations, not to you. In practice, this means that your years of work can disappear in a flash because the social network closes down (think of MySpace). Or because the service will become hopelessly outdated and no one is interested in it (look at LiveJournal). Or because moderators will find your post inappropriate to their guidelines and block your profile. Choosing social media as your primary platform for publishing thoughtful posts does not value your time and efforts. And all of this is true for third-party blogging platforms as well, which is why I recommend starting your own standalone blog.<\/p>\n<p><b>Form affects content<\/b>. Each social network defines a certain format, and you have to adjust the content to fit it. For example, you cannot publish more than 280 characters on Twitter in one post. On Instagram, you cannot post just text without a picture. Facebook, as experiments suggest, reduces the reach of link posts, so people get creative, publish a picture, and leave the link in the comment below it. Or at some point, the author realizes that if he takes a long break between posts, fewer people like them, and when fewer people like the post, the social network algorithms consider this content uninteresting and don’t show it to the rest of the audience, and eventually the race for engagement begins.<\/p>\n<p><b>You are not in control.<\/b> If the social network changes its design tomorrow, and not for the better, there is nothing you can do about it because you are not in control. If a social network starts running ads through every post you share, there’s nothing you can do about it because you are not in control. If a social network removes some of the functionality you’ve been relying on, as you’ve probably guessed, there’s nothing you can do about it because you are not in control. Can you easily find any of your posts from ten years ago? Or edit it? Or structure it in any meaningful way? No, no, and no, because you have no control over anything on social media.<\/p>\n<p class=\"quote\">On social media, you don’t own the content and have no control over anything. Relying on social media means not valuing your time and efforts<\/p>\n<p>There’s nothing like that with your blog, and it’s exactly the opposite. You have full access to all texts, images, and files. You are free to decide whether the design of your blog will change or remain exactly the same twenty years from now. You can add or remove features as you need them. You can organize everything the way you want.<\/p>\n<p>“Wait a minute!”, some probably will argue. “But social media has an entire audience! Instagram has one billion monthly active users, and my blog will have one person. So what, are you suggesting that I should just give up on social media altogether?”<\/p>\n<p>Well, it is naive to think that once you create a new Facebook page, a Telegram channel, or an account on Medium.com, you will immediately have thousands of readers because, supposedly, these platforms have millions and billions of users. Winning and nurturing the audience is challenging and takes a lot of time no matter where you do it (and if such a task is even needed; and let me remind you that this is not what really matters in a specialist’s blog).<\/p>\n<p main>Personally, I have many concerns about social media, even beyond the flaws mentioned above. But even so, I am not yet ready to give them up completely. At the same time, nothing stops you from writing good posts on your blog and then sharing them anywhere, including social networks – I, for example, do just that.<\/p>\n<p aside><a href=\"\/blog\/all\/can-we-drop-social-media\/\">Can we drop social media?<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Happy blogging!<\/p>\n",
            "date_published": "2021-03-18T10:29:54+01:00",
            "date_modified": "2023-06-18T14:44:24+01:00",
            "tags": [
                "Marketing",
                "Personal development",
                "Productivity",
                "Social media"
            ],
            "image": "https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/why-you-should-run-a-blog-hero.jpg",
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        {
            "id": "710",
            "url": "https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/all\/can-we-drop-social-media\/",
            "title": "Can we drop social media?",
            "content_html": "<p>Back in the late 90s and early-mid 00s, there were websites, emails, and blogs that you could read directly on the site or by using RSS. That’s basically how content distribution worked. You’ve put something on the web, and people read it if and when they want.<\/p>\n<p>Today, the majority of content seems to be in social media, and no surprise since Facebook alone has almost 3 billion active monthly users. So it seems natural that many of public figures, music producers and DJs included, focus their energy and post everything here.<\/p>\n<p>But, to be honest, I’ve never been a big fan of social media. The fact that the content you work hard for is owned and controlled by some companies and algorithms is worrying, to say the least. I’m fortunate to have certain skills allowing me to run my own blog where all my content is safe from those corporates, but still, there are just too many things I don’t like in social media: from censorship to selling users’ data. Frankly, to me, social media seems to be less and less ethical to use.<\/p>\n<p>That makes me think about whether I should use social media for my public communication at all. I mean, I don’t like doing so, but do I have to? For music producers and DJs, the audience is the most valuable asset, any marketer can tell you that. But should we really rely on social media to gather people to let them know about our work?<\/p>\n<p>I wonder what you guys think about a sort of ”web 1.0” with plain and simple RSS feeds and emails instead of Facebook, Instagram etc.? Would you still follow the artists you like in such a way? Or is there no way to get around without social media for artists?<\/p>\n<p>I totally get that other people might have different opinions on that, so I’m curious to hear yours.<\/p>\n<h3>P.S. Added a few hours later.<\/h3>\n<p>Ironically, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DanielLesden\/posts\/256479832701327\">this post I’ve put on Facebook<\/a> got more engagement than any of my typical posts. I’ll just add a link here for archiving purpose.<\/p>\n",
            "date_published": "2021-03-10T12:51:18+01:00",
            "date_modified": "2023-06-18T14:51:05+01:00",
            "tags": [
                "Music Industry",
                "Question",
                "Social media"
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            "id": "842",
            "url": "https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/all\/insta-dj\/",
            "title": "Insta DJ",
            "content_html": "<p>A good documentary from Pioneers about the impact of social media on DJs and the industry. I liked the fact that the view is not one-sided, but both pros and cons are expressed.<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-video\">\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CBpldtnWm7M?enablejsapi=1\" allow=\"autoplay\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<p>I tend to lean more towards the “everything is good in moderation” approach: if a DJ spends every minute of his free time on social networks, something has gone wrong; if people on the dance floor don’t let their phones out of their hands, something is all the more wrong.<\/p>\n<p>I’ll leave these quotes from the film here:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><i>‘Being at the clubs for a moment itself is all about being amazed by the music, feeling the atmosphere, meeting other people who feel the same as you do about the tracks being played. As soon as you pull your phone out, you lose all of it, you lose the essence of the reason why you’re there.’<\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p>There’s definitely a danger that we’re losing human connectivity as a result of living through our screens. When you used to go to a club, it was about the music but it was also about meeting people. And now it’s about the music and taking photos of that music and posting it in real-time and not about people around you. And I think we’re all missing some of the magic of the moment because of it.’\/\/<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Highly recommend watching the whole thing.<\/p>\n",
            "date_published": "2019-10-18T14:06:00+01:00",
            "date_modified": "2023-11-17T21:57:50+01:00",
            "tags": [
                "Health",
                "Music Industry",
                "Pioneer",
                "Social media"
            ],
            "image": "https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/remote\/youtube-CBpldtnWm7M-cover.jpg",
            "_date_published_rfc2822": "Fri, 18 Oct 2019 14:06:00 +0100",
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        {
            "id": "538",
            "url": "https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/all\/fleming-penner-livestream\/",
            "title": "Live Q&A with John 00 Fleming and Tim Penner",
            "content_html": "<p class=\"lead\">Livestream highlights<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/john-00-fleming-tim-penner-live.jpg\" width=\"1200\" height=\"746\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<div class=\"e2-text-caption\">The live stream’s banner<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Two of my favourite artists, John 00 Fleming and Tim Penner, hosted a fantastic <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/john00fleming\/videos\/10155382649475927\/\">Q&A live stream<\/a> yesterday that was full of insightful information and motivational speeches that every producer (myself included) should know. Seriously, go watch that video if you missed it live. It’s 2-hours long, but it’s worth it.<\/p>\n<p>For those who don’t have two spare hours, I’ve written a quick summary to highlight some of the most important quotes from these two masters. And in such way, it’s also easier to come and read this again at any time.<\/p>\n<h2>On social media<\/h2>\n<p main>I feel sorry for the next generation. Running a specialist label you definitely get to work with super talented producers and DJs, but they can’t make a career because they don’t know how to handle social media or they not doing it whatsoever. And it pains me because that person should be on main stages on the festivals and have a fruitful career, but they haven’t because they don’t understand social media and not doing what they should be doing. \r\n<\/p>\n<p aside><a href=\"\/blog\/all\/ace-ventura-on-social-media\/\">Ace Ventura on social media<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Music is used to be first, and if you were a good DJ, you’re good to go. Now it’s the other way around. If you good at social media, your career will take off regardless of what you got behind you, the music comes afterwards. Nail the social media, and then worry about the music afterwards. It pains me to say, but that seems to be the way it is today.<\/p>\n<p class=\"quote\">Nail social media, and then worry about the music afterwards<\/p>\n<h2>On organising music<\/h2>\n<p main>I can only answer from me personally. I organise playlists as the tools that I need in hand. I never pre-plans set at all, I woke up to every single gig whether I playing an hour set or a 10-hour set, I never know what I’m going to play until I step up to the stage. But the way I’ve got my playlists it’s the musical tools that I know, let’s say ‘Progressive’ which is deep and melodic, you got ‘Progressive’ which is dark and driving, you got ‘Trance’ which is driving, ‘Psychedelic’ which is deep. <\/p>\n<p aside><a href=\"\/blog\/all\/organizing-music-library\/\">Organising music library<\/a><\/p>\n<p>I must have to have about thirty different playlists, but the key to me is learning the tracks. It’s identifying by looking at the track exactly what it’s gonna do as soon as you start playing it.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes I secretly spy on other DJ’s playlists, when they come along playing before or after me and they got the USB connected to the players. It just pains me that some DJs will have just twelve tracks and nothing else on the USB. I couldn’t play like that!<\/p>\n<p>When you first get tracks you don’t really know how good is gonna be until you play it in a live situation. It might sound quite driving at home but when you play it a club it’s not driving, so when I get back from the gig the first thing I do is spend an hour just going through memorising what I played and adding the extra notes.<\/p>\n<h2>What makes a good warm-up set<\/h2>\n<p main>John 00 Fleming: The short and sweet answer is basically what you <i>[Tim Penner]<\/i> do. You got a respect the person that you warming-up for, you got to do your homework. And this is a big moment. What a lot of newbies think is their head is “Wow, this is my gig, this is my moment to shine, this is the moment my career going to take off!”, and they just want to play a headline set in that warm-up set. But it does the opposite, you just really upset the DJ you suppose to be opening for.<\/p>\n<p aside><a href=\"\/blog\/all\/warm-up-dis\/\">The importance of proper opening DJs<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The point is you’ve got to get people in the room, you got to keep your levels down. You don’t want to walk in a club when everything is just screaming at you and you can’t go to the bar, get a drink and hang out with your mates.<\/p>\n<p>You want to warm-up slowly, but then when everybody standing around the dancefloor that’s the magic moment — it’s knowing exactly when to drop a track that has a bit more energy or familiar track, and that’s when your levels come into play.<\/p>\n<p class=\"quote\">You got a respect the person that you warming-up for, you got to do your homework<\/p>\n<p>Tim Penner: It is a really important job to be the most humble artist in that room: you’re setting the mood and you’re setting the vibe for the night. And the thing is that people are too smart now. They may not know that you are the best DJ in the world but they know that fit that motive perfectly for the night, and you set what that whole night is supposed to be about, people know this.<\/p>\n<h2>On productions skills<\/h2>\n<p>When new artists come into it, there is something that cool and hot at the time and that’s what they wanna make. So it takes time to become a skilled producer, and they’ll start to make that genre. So what you see now is all those artists starting to get better, they started to sound like that generic sound from four years ago. And when I listen to such music, I’m like “it’s not current anymore, it would’ve been four years ago”.<\/p>\n<p>So the best turning point that also was for me is the hardest, is staying true to yourself but also looking ahead of the curve and seeing where the trends are going.<\/p>\n<p>Keeping close to what you wanna make and expressing yourself through music while becoming more skilled as a producer, but not going by trends and trying to cut them off. Those artists that are cutting edge and trying different things, they are the one that stands out now.<\/p>\n<h2>On balancing production and life<\/h2>\n<p>This balancing production is a battle that every artist faces whether you touring or not, balancing life, in general, can be really hard. That could be one of the biggest hurdles for an artist to get over. You know, you have a family, a spouse,  you have emergencies, and other things you want to do to fill your time with.<\/p>\n<p>And wheater it’s touring or Game Of Thrones, there’s a balance between life and work. And you need to find that balance. Everybody faces this battle, and I think it’s a number one reason why people give up.<\/p>\n<p class=\"quote\">You need to find a balance, it’s a number one reason why people give up<\/p>\n<h2>On the mixdown<\/h2>\n<p main>There are certain misconceptions about what makes a good track in the end. Mixdown and mastering, I think there are misconceptions about what that is, you know, a lot of artists will put sounds together and try to make a track and be like “well, we’ll fix it in the end”. But mixdown and mastering start at the very first sound that you put down, it’s very important to understand the physics of the sound and what you are trying to accomplish.<\/p>\n<p aside><a href=\"\/blog\/all\/what-is-the-sound\/\">What is sound<\/a><\/p>\n<p>One of the tricks with figuring out how to make music is how to make sounds sound full. A lot of people will just load their Ableton with a lot of sounds to make it sound full, when in fact the whole goal of making good-flowing music is to give each sound it’s own space to move.<\/p>\n<p>So that is actually a backward concept where you make a sound and you need to let that sound work its magic in its own space. It’s not fighting with other sounds, and that’s the key.<\/p>\n<h2>On sharing the knowledge<\/h2>\n<p main>A lot of people keep things in secret, and if anybody knows me that followed me over the years, I’m an open book. And I think being an open book, sharing your knowledge and helping people is the best way to strengthen our industry, as opposed to keeping it sheltered behind your own wall. <\/p>\n<p aside><a href=\"\/blog\/tags\/advice\/\">Advice series<\/a><\/p>\n<p>We want to be around for as long as possible, that genre and our feeling, and the way to that is to embrace young artists, help them to get over the hurdles so they gonna be there decades down the road.<\/p>\n<p class=\"quote\">sharing your knowledge is the best way to strengthen our industry<\/p>\n<p>Read also: <a href=\"\/blog\/all\/futurephonic-live-with-chris-and-regan\/\">Futurephonic live with Chris Williams and Regan Tacon<\/a><\/p>\n",
            "date_published": "2018-06-12T18:44:09+01:00",
            "date_modified": "2019-11-13T11:34:08+01:00",
            "tags": [
                "DJing",
                "John 00 Fleming",
                "Marketing",
                "Music Industry",
                "Quotes",
                "Social media"
            ],
            "image": "https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/john-00-fleming-tim-penner-live.jpg",
            "_date_published_rfc2822": "Tue, 12 Jun 2018 18:44:09 +0100",
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        {
            "id": "507",
            "url": "https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/all\/ace-ventura-on-social-media\/",
            "title": "Ace Ventura on social media",
            "content_html": "<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/ace-ventura-.jpg\" width=\"1200\" height=\"630\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<div class=\"e2-text-caption\">Yoni Oshrat aka Ace Ventura<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/psymedia.co.za\/ace-ventura-yoni-oshrat-exclusive-interview\/\">Ace Ventura gave an interview<\/a> to a South African-based Psytrance portal Psymedia.co.za, and here’s what he said about social media:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><b>Psymedia: You’re incredibly active on your social media channels. Is it an important role?<\/b><br \/>\nAce Ventura: It’s not just important, its a must. With the overflow of so many new producers around, combined with the short attention span of this generation, making music, as good as it is – isn’t enough. If you want to actually be heard you must get yourself out there and let the public know about it.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"quote\">Being active on social media is not just important, it’s a must.<\/p>\n<p>It’s nice to see a confirmation of what I’ve been written before by such an experienced artist, it makes me think I’m on the right way. And it’s a lesson for upcoming producers around as well.<\/p>\n<p>Read and watch also:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"\/blog\/all\/vlog-002\/\">Why music alone is not enough (vlog)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/blog\/all\/the-importance-of-building-a-fan-base\/\">The importance of building a fan base<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/blog\/all\/futurephonic-live-with-chris-and-regan\/\">Futurephonic live with Chris Williams and Regan Tacon<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/blog\/all\/laidback-luke-on-music-sales\/\">Laidback Luke on music sales<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n",
            "date_published": "2017-11-28T11:20:46+01:00",
            "date_modified": "2019-05-11T18:22:47+01:00",
            "tags": [
                "Marketing",
                "Music Industry",
                "Quotes",
                "Social media"
            ],
            "image": "https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/ace-ventura-.jpg",
            "_date_published_rfc2822": "Tue, 28 Nov 2017 11:20:46 +0100",
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        {
            "id": "430",
            "url": "https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/all\/should-i-post-in-every-social-media\/",
            "title": "“Should I post on every social media?”",
            "content_html": "<div class=\"advice-question\"><p>As a music producer, should I post on every social media? Is it worth posting the same content on different social channels? Should I treat them differently? How frequently to post?<\/p>\n<p>Mike L.<\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/every-social-media.jpg\" width=\"800\" height=\"400\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>I used to think that as more social websites you use as better. Several years ago I would say “yes”, you need to be on Facebook, Twitter, Vk, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram, Telegram, Snapchat, Viber, YouTube, Vimeo, HearThis, ReverbNation, Google+... did I forget to mention anything?<\/p>\n<p>Now, I’m saying this: you should be only on those social websites at which you are certain you can handle it at 100%. And by that, I mean constantly posting and working with the audience — not just once in three months when your new EP is out, but daily or at least weekly. Consistency is the key here.<\/p>\n<p main>Let’s say, could you post on Snapchat a few times a day, every day, without sacrificing your other duties? If the answer is “no”, you probably shouldn’t even start then. Remember that semi-alive public pages are even worse than their absence.<\/p>\n<p aside><a href=\"\/blog\/all\/the-importance-of-building-a-fan-base\/\">The importance of building a fan base<\/a><\/p>\n<p>If you just started building your web presence in social media, I’d suggest starting off at least with Instagram and Facebook. The rest depends on your time, your audience demography, and your creativity.<\/p>\n<p>If you still have any questions, feel free to drop a line in the comment box below.<\/p>\n<p>Read also: <a href=\"\/blog\/all\/amplifr\/\">my experience of managing social media with Amplifr<\/a><\/p>\n",
            "date_published": "2017-04-26T17:23:07+01:00",
            "date_modified": "2024-06-16T15:56:41+01:00",
            "tags": [
                "Advice",
                "Marketing",
                "Social media"
            ],
            "image": "https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/every-social-media.jpg",
            "_date_published_rfc2822": "Wed, 26 Apr 2017 17:23:07 +0100",
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            "id": "401",
            "url": "https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/all\/what-should-i-post-on-social-media\/",
            "title": "What should I post on social media as a music producer",
            "content_html": "<div class=\"advice-question\"><p>What should I post on social media? Do you have any ideas? I’m also trying to find someone who can help me with posts.<\/p>\n<p>From the <a href=\"\/blog\/all\/the-importance-of-building-a-fan-base\/\">previous question of Timothy<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/social-media-hero.jpg\" width=\"1200\" height=\"608\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<div class=\"e2-text-caption\">Bedroom producers be like: <i>“Ok so it’s Wednesday, let’s see what I can post on Facebook today”<\/i>. Illustration by Alexander Nanitchkov<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Before answering these questions, I’d like to make one thing clear first.<\/p>\n<p>There is no one ultimate winning strategy for social media content that would work for everyone. Some people engage their audience by posting funny pictures, others prefer to make it strictly business.<\/p>\n<p>Whatever way you choose, I suggest being genuine. I know words like “be yourself” sound cheesy, but once you accept where you currently are it’ll be much easier than pretending to be someone else. Music producers are different from corporate companies in a way that our communication is much more personal. Behind every alias and track is a real human being, and people feel that too.<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, I know where this problem comes from. Look at any successful artist’s social feed and most of the time you’ll see either his upcoming gig announcement or photos and videos from the past gigs. But what if you don’t have twenty gigs a month yet? And obviously you can’t upload a new track every week either, so “I don’t know what to post on social” can be a real issue.<\/p>\n<p>Well, here are some ideas for you. Keep in mind this is not an instruction but rather general categories of a content that you could possibly post as a bedroom producer:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-table\">\n<table cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" border=\"0\">\n<tr>\n<td><i>Making-of’s<\/i><\/td>\n<td>Show what you currently working on or tell how some of your previous works were made of. It always goes nicely, especially with the videos.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><i>Studio<\/i><\/td>\n<td>Demonstrate your workplace, gear, and tools you use. I find that this type of content attracts both listeners and producers.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><i>Mentions<\/i><\/td>\n<td>Did some credible DJ played your track? Have your track climbed at the top chart? Did you give an interview? Tell about it.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><i>Share<\/i><\/td>\n<td>Shout-outs to the other producers you enjoy. Share their music, give them credit, tell why you like that particular track or song.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><i>Trivia<\/i><\/td>\n<td>Some episodes of your daily life. Remember that something that seems ordinary to you as a producer might be interesting from the fan’s perspective.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><i>News<\/i><\/td>\n<td>Official announcement such as signing on a record label, release dates, new track’s preview; milestones in your career.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><i>Hashtags<\/i><\/td>\n<td>Share content on a specific day of the week with trendy hashtags, like #ThrowBackThursday or #FridayFunday.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>But you can go further and create your own sort of series of content. For example, I host a monthly radio show, run a weekly advice blog, and plus occasionally share “Track of the week”, “Weekend readings” and other blogs. It helps to fill the gap between releases as so I always have some content to share. And people know that too so they have a reason to keep an eye on my updates.<\/p>\n<p>Here are some of my posts just to give an example:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<div class=\"fotorama\" data-width=\"520\" data-ratio=\"0.68601583113456\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/facebook-cd.png\" width=\"520\" height=\"758\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<img src=\"https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/facebook-album.png\" width=\"520\" height=\"758\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<img src=\"https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/facebook-blog.png\" width=\"520\" height=\"758\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<img src=\"https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/facebook-video.png\" width=\"520\" height=\"758\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<img src=\"https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/facebook-tbt.png\" width=\"520\" height=\"758\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>As for you trying to find someone who could post on your behalf, read the <a href=\"\/blog\/all\/manager\/\">advice on artist’s manager<\/a> if you haven’t yet because it’s a quite similar story. If you have no idea what to post on Facebook, how do you think someone else would know it unless you expect some generic phrases and producer’s memes? It might be a good idea to put social media management on someone’s else shoulders later, but I wouldn’t recommend doing that in the beginning because that’s how the learning curve goes, you have to get that experience from the first hand before hiring someone.<\/p>\n<p>I also highly suggest checking out <a href=\"\/blog\/all\/amplifr\/\">my experience of managing social media using Amplir<\/a>. If you have the right tools and know how to use them, it turns out, managing social media isn’t that hard and time-consuming. In fact, you can have several active social accounts just by spending an hour a week if you work efficiently, so time is no excuse even for busiest persons.<\/p>\n",
            "date_published": "2017-02-15T09:13:54+01:00",
            "date_modified": "2020-06-15T15:12:58+01:00",
            "tags": [
                "Advice",
                "Facebook",
                "Marketing",
                "Social media"
            ],
            "image": "https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/social-media-hero.jpg",
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        {
            "id": "390",
            "url": "https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/all\/amplifr\/",
            "title": "Managing social media with Amplifr",
            "content_html": "<p class=\"lead\">Scheduling, publishing, and analytics on social media<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/managing-social-media.jpg\" width=\"1505\" height=\"1003\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<div class=\"e2-text-caption\">My typical morning starts with checking the email and planning social media posts<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>As a music producer and DJ, social media plays a big role in my life. It connects people to my music and allows them to give instant feedback through shares and comments which, in turn, builds a relationship that I appreciate a lot. The problem is, however, that managing social media takes time. Quite a lot, actually. I bet everyone who has at least four to five active accounts knows this pain.<\/p>\n<p>In this blog, I would like to tell about a new service I started using recently that helps me manage social media, called “Amplifr”. To be clear, this is not an ad and I’m not in any way affiliated with this company. I hope my experience will be useful for those who actively use social media on a daily basis as I do myself.<\/p>\n<h2>What is Amplifr<\/h2>\n<p>In a nutshell, <a href=\"https:\/\/amplifr.com\/en\">Amplifr<\/a> is a social media management tool. Once you connect your social media account, it allows scheduling, publishing, and tracking analytics on your behalf. It works with all major social services and costs $5 a month per account.<\/p>\n<h2>How it works<\/h2>\n<p>If we look closer, the tool basically looks like a calendar table with time slots. By default, Amplifr suggests optimal daily posting times based on your followers’ activity. For example, on Friday the best time in my case would be 16:25, while on Saturday it’s 21:50. Of course, you can schedule as many posts per day as you wish.<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<div class=\"fotorama\" data-width=\"1280\" data-ratio=\"1.6\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/amplifr-slots.png\" width=\"1280\" height=\"800\" alt=\"Suggested time slots based on the followers' activity\" \/>\n<img src=\"https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/amplifr-slots-my.png\" width=\"1280\" height=\"800\" alt=\"My slots\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"e2-text-caption\">Amplifr calendar: suggested time slots and my posts to give an example<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>When you click on the slot, a post editor pops-up. From there, you choose accounts where this post should be published, add text, links, and attach images. The great thing is that you can customize post contents for specific social media channels. For example, you can schedule a long post for Facebook and a shorter version for Twitter, all from one page.<\/p>\n<p>Once the post is published, you’ll see its performance with key stats: shares, likes, comments, audience reach, and clicks. These stats update once per hour or so.<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<div class=\"fotorama\" data-width=\"1280\" data-ratio=\"1.6\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/amplifr-scheduling.jpg\" width=\"1280\" height=\"800\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<img src=\"https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/amplifr-post-stats.jpg\" width=\"1280\" height=\"800\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"e2-text-caption\">Post editor and published post performance<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>In the analytics section, there are more stats which change over time. For those who want to dig deeper, there are even more options and tools including URL shorteners, UTM tags, and integration with Google Analytics. Now I can finally see how many people reach my website through social networks, and which posts they come from precisely. I’m sure SMM pros and marketers will appreciate these features.<\/p>\n<p>You can also invite other people to work on the project and configure permissions to determine whether they should have access to the post scheduler or just analytics, which is great for teams.<\/p>\n<p>A quick note: click tracking works only when URL shortening is active. I had it set to “off” until today, so my past stats didn’t include clicks. If you want to track clicks, make sure to remember to enable this feature:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<div class=\"fotorama\" data-width=\"1280\" data-ratio=\"1.6\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/amplifr-analytics.png\" width=\"1280\" height=\"800\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<img src=\"https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/amplifr-utm.png\" width=\"1280\" height=\"800\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"e2-text-caption\">It’s inspiring to see how your audience grows over time. Typically, mine is growing at a rate of about a hundred new followers per week<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Pros<\/h2>\n<p>I like Amplifr for various reasons. Here are the three major ones:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>It saves time. Prior, I had to manually post one place at a time, then copy-paste the contents to another channel — and If, say, I’d forget to add a link or had made a typo, I’d have to retrace my steps and go back to the beginning. Now I can schedule everything in one place, and Amplifr takes care of everything else. It’s not just about time savings, but rather about focus and attention.<\/li>\n<li>I can rely on the scheduler. Whether I’m on tour with no Internet connection or just want to spend a few days in the studio with no distractions, I can be sure that my posts will be published on time, automatically.<\/li>\n<li>It increases engagement. I had never had enough time to post something on Twitter, so I had Facebook-to-Twitter cross-posting which caused those ugly breaks in the middle of sentences. The same applies to Vk.com (Russian social network) which at some point I just abandoned due to the lack of time. With Amplifr I can post everywhere I want with no extra effort needed, and as a result, it helps me increase engagement and boost overall audience growth rate across all of my networks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Cons<\/h2>\n<div class=\"question\"><p><b>Added in 2021:<\/b> several years have passed since I wrote this post, and Amplifr has only gotten better. A few of the cons described below are no longer relevant.<\/p>\n<\/div><p>To be completely fair, Amplifr has a few drawbacks as well:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #828282;\">It can’t tag or mention someone on Facebook. Somehow it works for scheduling on Twitter but not on Facebook. If I want to mention someone with a “@” sign, I have to edit an already published post on Facebook and add the tag manually. I submitted this issue to the support team who then told me they would add this feature. Let’s hope they hold on to their promise.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #828282;\">There is no way to upload Instagram photos from a computer or a laptop. Formally speaking, it’s not Amplifr’s fault: Instagram allows posting only from mobile devices, and those services that allow using a backdoor to upload photos from PCs violate Instagram terms of use which might lead to an account ban. Nevertheless, I’d be happy to upload photos directly from Amplifr if Instagram would someday allow doing that through its API.<\/span><\/li>\n<li>The analytics section doesn’t gather all stats. For example, it doesn’t include audience reach from my personal Facebook profile (only public pages) and acts weird when it comes to Twitter where it sometimes gathers stats and sometimes doesn’t. I guess it’s an API limitation of some sort, so keep that in mind.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Bottom line<\/h2>\n<p>I think Amplifr is a great tool for managing social accounts. I would recommend it to music producers and DJs like myself, to label managers, and pretty much all public figures or brands.<\/p>\n<div class=\"related\"><p><a href=\"http:\/\/daniellesden.com\/blog\/all\/trello\/\"><img src=\"\/blog\/pictures\/trello-joof-demo-small.jpg\"><\/a>Read also:<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/daniellesden.com\/blog\/all\/trello\/\">Managing a record label with Trello: insights into an A&R routine<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>",
            "date_published": "2017-01-27T07:26:28+01:00",
            "date_modified": "2021-09-30T20:39:04+01:00",
            "tags": [
                "Productivity",
                "Social media"
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            "image": "https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/managing-social-media.jpg",
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        {
            "id": "373",
            "url": "https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/all\/telegram-channels-review\/",
            "title": "Telegram channels review",
            "content_html": "<p class=\"lead\">Opinion on Telegram channels from the marketing point of view, and comparison with Facebook pages in numbers<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/telegram-hero.jpg\" width=\"1200\" height=\"686\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>Typically, Facebook pages occupy the primary slot among social networks for public figures and brands, gathering all news as a central hub. I’ve been an active Facebook user since 2011, but the more I use it, the less I like it.<\/p>\n<p>As a DJ and music producer, I’m always looking for new ways of improving communication with the audience so followers can get my latest releases, tours, blogs, and other news. This search led me to Telegram channels, and today I’d like to share what I’ve learned about it.<\/p>\n<h2>What is Telegram<\/h2>\n<p>If you haven’t heard anything about <a href=\"https:\/\/telegram.org\">Telegram<\/a> yet, let’s start off with a quick 101:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>It’s a fast and free messaging app founded in 2013.<\/li>\n<li>It has mobile and desktop clients and cloud-based seamless sync between them.<\/li>\n<li>It’s ad-free and will remain forever free according to founders.<\/li>\n<li>It has a lot of powerful features like bots, secret chats, groups, channels, and more.<\/li>\n<li>By February 2016 (a year ago), it has 100,000,000 monthly active users and 350,000 new users sign up each day, delivering 15 billion messages daily.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p main>I’ve been using Telegram as a messenger for quite some time now, but started my own channel just about a month ago.<\/p>\n<p aside><a href=\"\/blog\/all\/telegram-me\/\">Telegram me<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>What is a channel<\/h2>\n<p>Channels are a tool for broadcasting public messages to large audiences, similar to what you do on Twitter. A sort of blog within the messaging app.<\/p>\n<p>A channel has as a public username so you can search it within the app or access via browser by the direct link, like <a href=\"https:\/\/telegram.me\/dsokolovskiy_channel\">telegram.me\/dsokolovskiy_channel<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Basically, it looks like just one of the chats in the app. You can share text messages, images, links, and even audio and video playbacks using a built-in player.<\/p>\n<p>By default, when you share a post, your followers will see a push notification. You can also send “silent” messages by clicking on the ring icon, this way they won’t receive notifications but rather just see an unread counter of your channel in the chats list, this is a sort of “gentle” notification. And since all broadcasts are organized by chats, you don’t need to compete for the users’ attention in their newsfeed using cat pictures — they will see your messages when they want to.<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/telegram-desktop.jpg\" width=\"1294\" height=\"858\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<div class=\"e2-text-caption\">Here’s how a channel looks in the desktop app<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>One noticeable difference between Twitter, Instagram, or any other social media is a lack of interaction. There is literally no way people can “like” or comment on your posts, at least for now. The only thing that makes you sure you’re not writing into the empty void is the views counter on the right side of each of your post.<\/p>\n<p>Is it a good thing? Let’s see.<\/p>\n<h2>My experience with channels in numbers<\/h2>\n<p>I have a very humble experience with Telegram channels as I’ve been using it only a month now, but here is what I’ve learned so far: per follower, Telegram posts reach a much larger audience than in any other social media.<\/p>\n<p>I think since it’s a messaging app, people treat channels like one-on-one conversations and hence trust the authors. For example, if on Facebook people can “Like” your page just to show some support, here on Telegram people follow channels because they really want to read them.<\/p>\n<p>Just to give some numbers to compare with, let’s take a look at my Facebook page which has about 14700 followers.<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/facebook-stats.jpg\" width=\"1414\" height=\"1464\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<div class=\"e2-text-caption\">On Facebook, organic posts reach and engagement is quite suck<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p main>You’ll instantly notice these two quite nicely performed posts with 10k and 13k audience reach and probably think “huh, not bad!”. Well, the truth is such spikes happen very rarely, and besides, we know that Facebook artificially gives your native videos higher priority in the users’ newsfeed in order to compete with YouTube videos.<\/p>\n<p aside><a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/@hankgreen\/theft-lies-and-facebook-video-656b0ffed369#.z7q4qw1uk\" class=\"nu\">“<u>Theft, Lies, and Facebook Video<\/u>”<\/a> by Hank Green<\/p>\n<p>If you look at the other posts, they typically reach in between 1–3k, let’s count it as 2k on average. That is only about 13% of the total amount of followers.<\/p>\n<p>Just think about it a for a moment: you spend a huge amount of time (and sometimes money, too) on getting a solid fanbase on Facebook, but once it’s time to actually speak to your audience — let’s say, you’re announcing a new album or a gig — only 13% on your followers will see your important announcement.<\/p>\n<p>Now compare this to what I’ve experienced on Telegram:<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-table\">\n<table cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" border=\"0\">\n<tr>\n<td><b>Stats<\/b><\/td>\n<td><b>Facebook page<br>14 700 followers<\/b><\/td>\n<td><b>Telegram channel<br>74 followers<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Average post reach<\/td>\n<td>2k, or 13,6%<\/td>\n<td>205, or 277%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Top-performed post reach<\/td>\n<td>13k, or 88%<\/td>\n<td>2k, or 2500%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>Yes, that’s it. Having only 74 followers on the channel so far, my posts typically reach as twice as the audience I have. And my top-performed post so far viewed by more than 2000 people (once the counter reaches thousands, Telegram only shows short “2k” without specifics). Imagine if I’d had 14700 followers here like my Facebook page has :-)<\/p>\n<p>How is that? Well, It seems that having no ability to “like” or comment motivates people to share your posts — this function is called <i>forwarding<\/i> here. And people actually do forward posts — to their friends, groups, and other public channels.<\/p>\n<p>Even those posts which underperform still reach out to about 50~80% of your followers, which is equal to the most top-performed posts on Facebook.<\/p>\n<p>Such a broad audience reach isn’t unique to my channel. For example, take a look at the <a href=\"https:\/\/telegram.me\/telegram\">Telegram’s own news channel<\/a>: they have 78k followers while their typical post reaches about 250–400 thousand people. That’s huge.<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/telegram-stats.jpg\" width=\"1294\" height=\"858\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<div class=\"e2-text-caption\">Telegram News channel’s post reach is &times;4-5 more people than the number of followers they have<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>Frankly, I have no idea what Telegram will be like in a few years. I also have no idea where to get the audience, I’m not even sure how most of these 74 followers I currently have found me in the first place.<\/p>\n<p>What I know, though, is that Telegram is certainly worth trying.<\/p>\n<p class=\"footnotes\">On cover image: futuristic art from Telegram.org. All numbers are taken from the moment of December, 15.<\/p>\n<p>***<\/p>\n<h3><i>Update on January 27, 2017<\/i><\/h3>\n<p>Last month I’ve been <a href=\"\/blog\/all\/amplifr\">using Amplifr<\/a> for social media analytics, and turns out I have 20% of the social traffic coming from Telegram. But taking into account that currently, my Telegram channel has 10—100 times fewer followers than my other social accounts, it actually means that Telegram has the highest click-rate per follower among all social networking services.<\/p>\n<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/telegram-analytics.png\" width=\"634\" height=\"236\" alt=\"\" \/>\n<div class=\"e2-text-caption\">Social network traffic distribution on my website, data from Google Analytics on January 27, 2017<\/div>\n<\/div>\n",
            "date_published": "2016-12-30T07:45:04+01:00",
            "date_modified": "2024-05-28T21:16:10+01:00",
            "tags": [
                "Facebook",
                "Marketing",
                "Social media",
                "Telegram"
            ],
            "image": "https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/telegram-hero.jpg",
            "_date_published_rfc2822": "Fri, 30 Dec 2016 07:45:04 +0100",
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        {
            "id": "339",
            "url": "https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/all\/messengers-vs-email\/",
            "title": "Instant messengers vs. email for business communication",
            "content_html": "<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/email-vs-im-hero.jpg\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1307.2340425532\" alt=\"cover transparent black\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"advice-question\"><p>What’s the best way to reach out to some artists to ask for a collab or a remix? Should I seek out their private accounts to get a more personal talk or you’d suggest using official contact via their managers etc?<\/p>\n<p>Craig Peterson<\/p>\n<\/div><p>Craig, I’d like to discuss the topic of “messengers vs. email” in general, regardless whether you want to reach out some artist to speak about remixing, or send a promo to a DJ, or send a demo to a record label. And obviously I can’t speak for everyone, so I’ll tell you about myself.<\/p>\n<p>Every time someone sends me a private message on Facebook, SoundCloud, HearThis, Google+, Twitter, Skype, VK, or Linkedin, one of the two things happens. Either I don’t see this at all because the service hides it from me, or I don’t have time to reply <i>right now<\/i>, as a result making this message lost forever.<\/p>\n<p main>That’s the general problem of all instant messengers. They demand your attention here and now, and you never know for sure how long this chat will take especially when you see a message with nothing but a “Hi, how are you?”. I do chat on Facebook and Telegram occasionally, though, it’s rather an exception for very few persons.<\/p>\n<p aside><a href=\"\/blog\/all\/telegram-me\/\">Telegram me<\/a><\/p>\n<p main>Also keep in mind that having all important conversation on Facebook or any other website is very risky. If your account gets stolen or blocked, you’ll lose access to all of your chats as well. If the person with whom you had a conversation with decided to remove his account, you’ll lose that chat as well (that happened to me once). That is why I have a principle: don’t rely on social networks.<\/p>\n<p aside><a href=\"\/blog\/all\/website-for-musicians\/\">A website vs. Facebook for musicians<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Email is different.<\/p>\n<p>I can read a message and mark it as unread to reply back later without getting “read” status by the person on the other side, making him think I’ve read it and ignored.<\/p>\n<p>I can write a draft while offline and it’ll be sent automatically as soon as I get the internet. I can set a reminder to reply to that particular email using third-party apps like Wunderlist or Apple’s built-in Reminders. I can add inline pictures in the message body, and add a hidden recipient in BCC if needed.<\/p>\n<p>And at last but not least, I can flag, label, and organize messages by folders wherever I like. When you get a hundred incoming messages per day, email is the only realistic way of keeping them organized. All of these things make email a clear winner for business communication. Remember, time is the most valuable resource.<\/p>\n<p main>So next time when you would like to send me a demo or just say hi, please drop me an email, I read every single one.<\/p>\n<p aside><a href=\"\/contacts\/\">Get in touch<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"footnotes\">On cover image: <span style=\"text-decoration: line-through;\">a slightly exaggerated<\/span> example of a typical conversation over instant messengers.<\/p>\n",
            "date_published": "2016-08-17T10:31:33+01:00",
            "date_modified": "2019-05-10T18:05:14+01:00",
            "tags": [
                "Advice",
                "Facebook",
                "Social media",
                "Telegram"
            ],
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            "_date_published_rfc2822": "Wed, 17 Aug 2016 10:31:33 +0100",
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        {
            "id": "282",
            "url": "https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/all\/website-for-musicians\/",
            "title": "A website vs. Facebook for musicians",
            "content_html": "<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/website-for-musicians-hero.jpg\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1508\" alt=\"cover\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"advice-question\"><p>Can social media replace a personal website for a musician? It looks like the majority of producers prefer to have a Facebook page rather than a website. Is it necessary to have a website at all? What is the best strategy on this matter?<\/p>\n<p>Fabio Souza<\/p>\n<\/div><p>Indeed, for the last several years many artists moved their web space away from regular websites to social media. Facebook became a new main website, Twitter — a new blog, Instagram — a new photo album. And it’s so attractive.<\/p>\n<p>On social media, It is so easy to upload and manage your content. Plus, it’s way cheaper: creating a page cost nothing, and you no need to pay for hosting service and domain name. On top of that, all your audience is there!<\/p>\n<p><i>“Why on earth someone may want a regular website? We’re live in the 21<sup>st<\/sup> century!”<\/i> — this is something that I hear all the time. However, there are two important things that usually people forget to mention.<\/p>\n<p><b>You do not own the content<\/b> on social websites. All your posts, photos, videos, music, blogs, and everything else are owned by big companies. Basically, it means that your content can be deleted anytime just because it’s against someone’s policy, or because the company went bankrupt, or any other reason. In fact, these giant companies are like soap bubbles. Do you remember what happened to Myspace? That’s the lesson we’ve learned. Don’t solely rely on social media.<\/p>\n<p><b>You cannot organize the content.<\/b> Simple question: can you find anything that you posted on a specific date two years ago? I can’t, seriously. Once you post something, it pops up in news feeds over a few days, and then it’s gone almost forever. Unlike of Facebook, you can organize your website whatever you like: make a structure, create sections, add tags, filter, search, and highlight important things.<\/p>\n<p class=\"quote\">Don’t solely rely on social media<\/p>\n<p>A small remark. I’ve noticed that website constructor services like Wix become more popular these days. Don’t fall into this trap: having a website using 3rd party service is no better than Facebook, it has exactly the same two downsides as described above.<\/p>\n<p>Yes, I have to admit that making a proper website isn’t cheap. Also creating a good website is just one side of things, but keeping it up to date throughout the years — this is where the real hard work comes in.<\/p>\n<p main>Remember, all your posts are your time and your efforts. If you care about it and think your content is worth to ever get back to it again, I definitely recommend keeping it on your own website.<\/p>\n<p aside><a href=\"\/blog\/all\/what-should-be-on-a-musicians-website\/\">What should be on a musician’s website<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Answering your question, I found the best strategy is to have all your important content on your own website and link it to social media. This allows you to reach a broader audience, not risking and having everything under control. I won’t hide, this is exactly what I’m doing with this blog and my website in general, and it works pretty well.<\/p>\n",
            "date_published": "2015-12-23T10:07:10+01:00",
            "date_modified": "2019-05-09T15:55:17+01:00",
            "tags": [
                "Advice",
                "Facebook",
                "Marketing",
                "Social media"
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            "_date_published_rfc2822": "Wed, 23 Dec 2015 10:07:10 +0100",
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            "id": "259",
            "url": "https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/all\/getting-audience\/",
            "title": "Getting audience",
            "content_html": "<div class=\"e2-text-picture\">\n<img src=\"https:\/\/dsokolovskiy.com\/blog\/pictures\/audience-hero-bw.jpg\" width=\"1600\" height=\"904\" alt=\"cover transparent white\" \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"advice-question\"><p>Hi, Daniel. I’ve been producing music for 10 years. I released a few tracks on different labels and got support from some DJs. However, I still haven’t gathered an audience around my project.<\/p>\n<p>I don’t know how to promote my music. This might be an obvious question, but what is the right strategy to do that? For example, I have a page on Facebook or Soundcloud and I want to get more followers. But I don’t know what is the best way to do that.<\/p>\n<p>Another question is concerning the management of an artist. I heard, that many producers are hiring managers who can help them with a promotion in different media. Where can I find this person and how the process of working with manager looks like? Thanks.<\/p>\n<p>Alexander<\/p>\n<\/div><p>Professional music producers are public persons. We need the audience, just as the film industry and theatre. The problem is that not many music producers realize this simple fact: getting an audience is hard work, no less hard than the music production itself.<\/p>\n<p>Facebook and Soundcloud are good platforms for promotion in general, but it’s kinda tricky. The Internet, and social networks in particular, forever changed the way how we communicate. Social media are amazing, whilst also causes another problem: many producers strive for the numbers on their social profiles, thinking it is will lead them to success. It’s nice to have a lot of followers, but it shouldn’t be a goal or measurement of your success as an artist. Don’t fall into this trap.<\/p>\n<p>Also, think of social networks as one of the tools, but not limited to it. There are many other ways for promoting. Your audience will grow along with your artist name, and Facebook is a nice place to gather them. But not for finding a new one, otherwise it’s a vicious circle.<\/p>\n<p>Here are some ways of promoting:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Make good, quality music. That’s the essential foundation.<\/li>\n<li>Release music on trusted record labels. They do not necessarily have to be big ones but rather have their own niche audience, which is obviously should be your audience, too.<\/li>\n<li>Get gigs. Gigs are probably the most effective thing in terms of the promotion: your name is posted on events lineup, printed on flyers, you get more fans (the real ones, not just numbers in social profile) while playing, and more business connections at the venue as well.<\/li>\n<li>Get offline business connections with industry professionals, like DJs, musicians, party promoters and event organizers, press, and so on. I wouldn’t rely much on this, but it might help to open some locked doors.<\/li>\n<li>Make guest mix appearances. Many DJs host their own radio shows and usually have guest slots. Find those DJs with a similar audience to yours. By doing guest mixes, you increase your exposure.<\/li>\n<li>Start your own radio show or <a href=\"\/blog\/all\/podcast-on-itunes\/\">a podcast on iTunes<\/a>, it’s relatively easy nowadays. Unlike guest mixes, you probably won’t increase, but you’ll get loyal fans in a long-term perspective. Also, having your own radio show will keep you in a good shape as a DJ. Like fitness, just not for the body.<\/li>\n<li>Run blog and post advice :-)<\/li>\n<li>Deal with a press. Make sure that your key releases and news are highlighted by bloggers, reviewers, and niche websites of your musical genre. Arrange interviews, articles, and more publications.<\/li>\n<li>Arrange a photo session to get quality press shots. Using it in the press and social media, it could help your fans to associate your music with your identity. Consider pictures as part of your branding.<\/li>\n<li>Create a personal website and keep it up to date. It’s good to have all the information about your music easily accessible in one place. <a href=\"\/blog\/all\/website-for-musicians\/\">Don’t rely much on social networks on this<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Send email newsletters. Emails are a strong marketing tool that you shouldn’t underestimate. Make sure to put a noticeable form on your website, so you could gather email addresses from those who are interested in your news and updates.<\/li>\n<li>At last but not least, use social networks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And the list can go on. As you can see, there is a lot of work here that needs to be done. If you not doing some of these points, you miss some part of the audience.<\/p>\n<p>Also, I want to clarify the last point, since you asked about Facebook: “to use” social networks is not the same as “to be there”, like a shadow of presence. You have to actually actively use it: share posts, reply to comments. Do it daily, or so. Yes, it’s a very time-consuming process, but it pays off. Facebook has been designed to connect people, so here it is — the connection. You can instantly get feedback from a fan in a different country, musicians of the past century could only dream about! So use this tool to its full power.<\/p>\n<p>As for the right strategy, I’m afraid there is no “right” one. It’s all matter of personal choice and your personality. In general, I’d advise keeping in on the professional side of things.<\/p>\n<p>Numerous selfies and photos of your breakfast might be interesting to your friends (I bet not), but most likely not to your fans. There is nothing wrong to say “please give a like”, or “please buy this track”, but repeated infinite numbers of times it looks pathetic. Pictures of cats, dogs, and internet memes might be annoying rather than funny.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, I’d recommend sharing details of your production: from idea and draft, to “work in progress” and behind the scenes of the final result. Show people how hard you work in pursuit of success. Even small details of your work, like upgrading studio gear, or finding out a new trick, might catch huge attention from your fans — it is always nice to look at the inside world, at the “kitchen” of professionals.<\/p>\n<p main>Remember, your music is what basically makes a connection. People love you for the music, not for the brown eyes, unless you are a pop star. So stay on topic, keep it in a professional manner, carry on with dignity. And most importantly, be yourself. As for the question regarding managers, perhaps, I’ll write about it next time.<\/p>\n<p aside><a href=\"\/blog\/all\/manager\/\">Artist manager<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"footnotes\">On cover image: Comfort 13 club, Tel Aviv.<\/p>\n",
            "date_published": "2015-09-30T08:38:22+01:00",
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