It's Not Nice To Fool Mother Nature

Contributing Editor Elana Centor also blogs at FunnyBusiness

When I started posting this morning my intent was to feature the blog of Alisha Vincent . Vincent is a newbie to Blogher. If you go to the Business & Career blogroll you'll find her as a new member.

Two hours later I'm feeling a bit conflicted.

My conflict began when I started searching for some photos of Alisha's artwork. See, Alisha's blog is about the business side of being an artist.

I was genuinely excited to share her blog. It has great advice.

You can work in an office or tell yourself that parenting is your true path in life but if creativity is something you've been hit over the head with, there is no greater or lesser priority. It's simply something you have to do. So make time for it.
...Don't avoid what's in front of you. Take what was thrust into your hand and do something with it. Make art with meaning. Make art with intention and purpose. Be creative and don't look back. And, above all, stop asking why or what you're supposed to do with this passion... and just do it, already!

And Practical Tips

So, you want to be a successful, self-supporting artist or craftsperson? And, you know a million and one things you need to work on, learn, or develop to get you to that goal?

What you need now is to SET YOUR GOALS IN STONE by BUILDING IN CONSEQUENCES.

Your graceful walk towards the goal will turn into a gallop (or in my case, a procrastination frenzy) when you take time NOW to...

... mark your calendar with the date you expect to accomplish a task;

... plan a studio open house, release party, unveiling, or opening night;

... print postcards or invitations for your open house or new work unveiling;

... invite your peers, people from your network, and those you admire to attend your event;

... post your event date and some rough details of what you hope to accomplish on your own blog.

Imagine having a party at your home or studio to announce your business name, reveal your logo, unveil your latest work, or have a group critique session.

Would it really be so difficult to just put a simple consequence on the horizon that pushes?

Procrastinate tomorrow.
Mark your calendar today.

But when I went surfing to find a sample of Alisha's art to include in this post, I discovered something else out about her that made me let go of the fact that I had spent several hours reading her blog.

When you read Alisha's blog you get the distinct impression she is a working artist.

But, artists we don't always see it. We wrap our heart into things. We tell ourselves the minutiae IS important and that even if people don't notice it - it's the intent that matters. For a maintenance man, going through unrecognized motions is draining and absurd. For an artist, going through the motions with inconsequential details is still draining and absurd we just tell ourselves it's not because it helps justify our wasted energy or it demonstrates how dedicated we truly are.

Her About me section on her blog says a lot...

fine art, contemporary craft, creative careers, arts administration, business education, obtainable goals, realistic expectations, art education, networking, success

But its what she doesn't say that has my undies in a bundle.

Alisha is the Public Affairs Director of the The Rosen Group.

The Rosen Group, an arts marketing, publishing and advocacy agency located in Baltimore, Maryland, was founded in 1981 by Wendy Rosen. The Rosen Group was created to function similar to a trade association for American crafts. "What craftspeople needed," Rosen says, "was support from the kind of infrastructure other industries have developed - trade shows, publications, and associations - but adjusted to the needs and values of crafts artists."

Now does that negate the quality of the information in her blog? No. The blog does answer the key question she poses

Where do ART, CRAFT, and ENTREPRENEURSHIP merge? Is it possible to make artwork, sell it, and not drive yourself into premature insanity? Is an artful life more fullfilling?

The conflict is that she never tells you she is an employee of an organization that serves as a trade organization for craft arts. This is her job.

The first time I heard the expression "High Art" was in the 1970s.I was living in the Fan District of Richmond Virginia. My neighbors were art students and art professors. They were all struggling artists.

"High Art" was part of their never ending conversation because my artist neighbors were continually struggling between the desire to create "high art" and their very real desire to earn a living.

Every profession has it's own "high art'-- To me, High Art in blogging means transparency, disclosure and ethical behavior. It means taking the high road.

I just hope that the Rosen Group will see the benefit of "High Art" and start acknowledging that Alisha's Blog is a business strategy.

Submitted by Elana Centor (view blog

) on Fri, 05/05/2006 - 07:57

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Thank you

I had found that same blog last week, and haven't the time to explore it more. I'll keep the "backstory" in mind as I read it further.

Debra
A Stitch In Time
Simple Still Life

Submitted by debra roby on Fri, 05/05/2006 - 05:16

Nothing wrong...

You don't have to be a "working artist" to feel the way she feels about art. Also, the perception is subjective. You might get the "working artist" impression, others don't.

She makes art, so she is an artist. Her job has something to do with art, which is fortunate - but her job could be anything. She does need to support herself, after all, and at least it is in something she supports. Perhaps she wants to keep her blogging life and her working life separate. It's her choice what she wants to reveal to the world. Trying to use her work history against her is kinda...disturbing.

It's not like she's saying "NEVER TAKE A PROPER JOB IT IS THE EVIL" or whatever. She's just sharing her thoughts on an aspect of her life that matters to her.

Submitted by Tiara Shafiq on Fri, 05/05/2006 - 05:37

Her work is the point

Her job as Director of Public Affiars is to promote The Rosen Group. Her blog is all about the issues that the Rosen Group supports,promotes and endorses.
The magazines and books that are listed on the sidebar are primarily published by her employer, the Rosen Group.

Baltimore, Md. (February 9, 2006)--Rosen Media, a division of The Rosen Group, announced today that it has purchased Crafts Business magazine from founding publisher Larry Hornung. Hornung will step down as publisher after the upcoming March/April issue, which will be mailed to subscribers March 1, 2006.

It's the lack of transparency promoting a business that signs her check that I have issue with. You definitely do not have to be a "working artist" to feel the way she does.

However,if your blog benefits your employer(and I'll make some assumptions designed and paid for by her employer) than that itsy bitsy relevant fact should be shared.

Just as the disclosure that James Frey made up some of the details of his novel changed my perception of his book, the fact that Alisha works for Rosen definitely changes my perception of the intention of this blog.

elana
Blogher Contributing Editor,Business&CareersFunnyBusiness

Submitted by Elana Centor on Fri, 05/05/2006 - 06:03

dot com = commercial

I guess I see nothing wrong with a blog being part of an overall sales and marketing strategy. There are quite a few of us who keep personal blogs in order to journal, vent, etc., but there are also quite a few of us who keep professional blogs which feed into our careers in some form or fashion.

You were able to discern that this particular blogger is employed by a company and that makes her blog... what? Less real? Is blogging-for-hire somehow of less value than blogging-for-pleasure?

The "dot com" at the end of the URL is the giveaway. It's a commercial enterprise. So what if her blog is more like an informercial than a public television broadcast? If the information is good, it's out there for free consumption, and she's not actively HIDING the fact that she's employed by a company that benefits from her good marketing/blogging skills, so what?

I write a free weekly blog-based column for actors and if a reader wants to click on a link and buy a book that I wrote, that's cool. Also fine if a reader doesn't want to do so. Sure, it's far more obvious that my weekly blog is a part of a value-added system for a company that sells actor-services than it is that Alisha's entries are a part of her company's promotional makeup, but I think you're painting with too broad a stroke on this issue.

As you mentioned, just because a blog is a part of a money-making endeavor doesn't devalue its content. How do you feel about banner ads and Google ad space on independent blogs? Are bloggers with those money-makers in place somehow more altruistic and their information considered more valuable?

So you're turned off to her company and possibly to her personally for not having disclosed more transparently that she's maintaining a work-related blog that serves a commercial purpose? I guess I may just be more cynical by nature and therefore more open to this sort of thing as just the nature of the beast. Television networks don't air PSAs because they want to--they do it because the FCC says they have to. And they do so with a neat little banner ad that reminds you how nice the network is for bringing you such a special message.

The Internet is a commercial delivery device just like network television is. Media literacy is a good thing. I have no problem with someone working a commercial angle on a blog. As long as she's not creating fictional people to draw attention to her brilliant ideas in an attempt to drive up traffic (read: customers), I'm all for it!

-Bon.
ActorsVoice
Live your dreams! If you don't, someone else will.

Submitted by bonnieathene on Sat, 05/06/2006 - 15:50

Bon.I think you miss the point..

You wrote:

You were able to discern that this particular blogger is employed by a company and that makes her blog... what? Less real? Is blogging-for-hire somehow of less value than blogging-for-pleasure?

And it is part of my personal understanding that part of Web 2.0 is to separate the cooperation and communication of the internet from the all-too-pervasive commercial nature that Web 1.0 has become. Honesty and transparency are an important part of this.

The point is, Alicia writes her blog as if it were a personal blog, not a professional blog. She does not admit up front that this is a blog for the Rosen group. The lack of transparency looks and feels like a lack of honesty.

Everything she says is legitimate; however, by hiding the corporate nature of the blog, it feels less legitimate.

You also wrote:

The Internet is a commercial delivery device just like network television is. Media literacy is a good thing.

Debra
A Stitch In Time
Simple Still Life

Submitted by debra roby on Sun, 05/07/2006 - 07:50

Aren't we assuming a lot here?

Who's to say this isn't a personal blog and Alisha Vincent isn't actually blogging on behalf of her employer? Did I miss something?

After all, she's been doing it for some time (since Aug 2004--a long time for the biz world) and there is a squib at the bottom saying that the views expressed are hers, not those of her employer nor any organizations she's affiliated with.

I'm not saying I'm anti-disclosure. I'm also not anti-paid-blogger. Probably in my own bio, regardless of who (whom?) I was writing for, I'd disclose my employment status, but hey--I also talk about sex and the state of my colon.

I know plenty of actors who also work for The Man, some of them in arts-related jobs. It often gives them a unique perspective which I think is great, but for some purists, it dilutes their street cred. Maybe she was concerned people wouldn't hear the message--even her own, personal message, because remember: we don't know!--if she disclosed her employment status.

Anyway, I think we should ask her! In fact, I'm going to shoot her an email right now.

Thanks for starting a good discussion.

Submitted by communicatrix on Wed, 05/10/2006 - 07:30

Have to say this doesn't bother me...much

Intersting thread. I reviewed Alisha's blog and think it's very high quality, full of both practical information and personal stories about her life.

She blogs quite a bit about her travels and her meetings with artists and the like. It is easy to discern that she isn't just an artist but works in the arts as well.

I probably wouldn't assume her company pays for the blog. There are many many techie bloggers, for example, and high profile ones, that blog about technology while working at large technology firms, but as divabat says, they've drawn some kind of boundary between their working life and their own blog. It is entirely possible to have a personal blog that attmps to establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry, even as your company of employ may change. In fact I highly recommend people do that, in this economy and job market. It looks liek she's just doing it in the arts instead of in technology.

If this were a Rosen-funded blog, and she so described it, it wouldn't bother me AT ALL. I would give them props for funding such a creative and entertaining blogger.

If this is not a Rosen-funded blog I would say too that she hasn't done anything wrong except be a bit naive to not identify her specific place of work...simply to avoid making a bad impression to those who decide to figure it out. Of course, maybe it's naive in a different way...maybe she's afraid of being Dooced and thinks talking about everything but her company name will help prevent that.

The alternate possibility is that this is Rosen-funded, and they've chosen not to reveal it. I think, if true, that's a bad decision. If I were consulting with them I'd advise them to be proud of their association and be very public about it.

But I still have to say, it's a good blog.

As for Web 2.0 not being about commercialization? I think that's patently not true. If it were, there wouldn't so many damn companies on this list. :)

Elisa Camahort
BlogHer and Worker Bees
elisa@blogher.org/elisa@workerbees.biz

Submitted by Elisa Camahort on Wed, 05/10/2006 - 07:39

Well, wonders never cease

I heard of BLOGHER several months ago but never logged on until today. I'll give you one guess how BLOGHER came to my attention... Yes! That's right! This article.

Well, wonders do never cease because, while friends and strangers continue to email me about this post... the author has never corresponded with me. Perhaps had she corresponded with me, this "controversy" would not exist... or certainly the article would have been a more watered down version of itself.

The TRUTH (which I do NOT try to hide and am proud of) is that I did work for The Rosen Group... as in FORMERLY. It is one of the bigger opportunities I've been granted in my career and, while it helped give me a new perspective, it most certainly was never the platform from which I was blogging.

If you look again at my blog, you will see several things...

#1 - Most of my posts were made before the sun was up (as in, before I even dressed for work!) or late at night.

#2 - The bottom of my blog has ALWAYS held the same disclaimer... that my opinions and advice are my own and not those of my employer.

#3 - Most importantly, if you read my past blog entries you will hear about other employers I have had in the past which helped further round out my experience and occasional "know it all" stance. ;) With the exception of 2 positions, every other job I have held in my career were ALL in the nonprofit or for-profit arts, always relating to art sales or gallery display and always close to the topic I am most passionate about - that artists don't need to STARVE to do what they love.

Some more fun facts for you...

- I AM a working artist. In fact, I have not posted since March because I've been so busy in the studio and living life. You will see occasional spurts of posting when time and inspiration was more available to me. But for the most part I have always posted on my blog as a SECONDARY or TERTIARY item on my "to do" list. My work (artwork or for my employer) comes first.

- I do not post images of my work online for several reasons... First, it is changing so quickly these days! Second, I don't sit in front of my computer as much and don't wish to have people email me comments or critique on my work and have my inbox log up with even more messages. It's already overflowing! Third, I do have a website with images that I will launch at some point later this year... but it simply isn't my priority right now. Having said that - I do email images to those I correspond with and who ASK for them.

What dissapoints me here is not that someone would pass judgement of me or my blog. I understand that putting yourself online creates a scenario for widder judgement to be placed.

Rather, what I find frustrating is the simple, ethical question which is posed when someone reviews someone blog and character without letting them know such a review will be posted online for all to read.

My views toward art businesses are mine alone... not my employers. And to have insinuated that I was blogging for The Rosen Group's gain is ludicrious and just plain wrong. If you re-read my blog you will see that I see few REAL lines between "art" and "craft" or so called "high art" and "decorative" arts. I think the buying climate has changed during my lifetime to mean that art buyers buy art pottery as well as one of a kind paintings. This is refreshing and because I have been lucky enough to have been given the keys to unlock many of the success secrets of artists who sell their work today, I view as my life duty to share that with others. Some of these tips I use in my own studio and others I just pass along for others to consider. I see nothing wrong with that and certainly nothing in this that tells people to support the programming of my current OR past employers. This is about simple sharing of business advice for artists... plain and simple.

Thanks for your time.

-Alisha-

Submitted by alishavincent on Sun, 08/27/2006 - 09:24

Thanks Alisha

...for leaving such a lengthy comment. I can imagine it would be disconcerting to find yourself the catalyst for a debate over blogging best practices.

As for journalistic (vs. blogging) best practices, I can tell you that I have found my blog referred to or used as an example by *mainstream media* sources, without a fact-checking or heads-up phone call/email either. And they made incorrect assumptions that forced me to post a disclaimer on *my* blog! While they never posted a correction. And had no capacity for me to leave a clarifing comment. I'm personally not a journalist, so this is conjecture on my part, but since it's happened to me twice with two different media sources I have gathered that they're not obligated to warn me if they find my public information and use it as an example, and that they're not obligated to delve deeper into what I say publicly, much as I would like them to.

As a blogger I can say that I often write about my impressions about this or that site, and it honestly doesn't occur to me to email the blogger about it because a) it would seem presumptuous for me to think they'd care about my musings or like I was looking for a link swap, which I'm not but also because b) I fall into the assumption that everyone is like me and has all their ego feeds set up and will find out very rapidly that I've mentioned them and will check it out if they care. And comment if I've blown it in some way.

Again, not speaking for the author of this post at all, just my observations on blogs being reviewed or discussed both by the traditional media and the blogosphere.

As I said above, I found your blog to be very high quality, so I hope you return to blogging when you get a chance. If I were an artist I would consider your blog a public service :)

Elisa Camahort
BlogHer and Worker Bees
elisa@blogher.org/elisa@workerbees.biz

Submitted by Elisa Camahort on Sun, 08/27/2006 - 11:07