A Natural Creation With a Healthy Kidney

Not-so-slowly and deadly-surely I'm pulling away from the quicksand of social media.

I’m not one of those who wake up at night to check their IG feed... or FB… or Twitter… Sorry - X. I don’t sit on the toilet half-awake, half-asleep, squinting at my phone, struggling to see through blurry, sleepy eyes how many likes a selfie with a giraffe’s balls—or wait, was it an elephant’s?—received in the last three minutes. I don't walk with my eyes glued to my phone either. I’m not a person who feels compelled to post on social platforms every day, every second, from every conceivable place—bathroom, toilet, bar, septic tank—while puking, farting, burping, with or without pants...

Yeah, I guess FB, IG, X, TikTok, YouTube etc probably hate me, as I am NOT hooked on them. What’s more, I am immune to all of them. Social media avoids me like a deadly virus. Yeah, like Chuck Norris. Sort of... If you know who Chuck Norris is, then we’re on the same page.

Maybe I was an idiot, naive enough to believe, to actually think that all these social media platforms could bridge the gap between artists and their audience. That they could actually connect the artists with those who want to see their art. Maybe that was the case back in the day, but not anymore. 

I know, I hear you—social media is great with many happily connected. Maybe some, but not the way I'm talking about, and at what cost? —"Oh NOOO! I didn’t post on IG for 20 minutes! My followers are gonna hate me! They’re gonna leave me!... OMG! I’m doomed!”

Or—“I was sick for two days! Far too long! And I skipped twenty five IG/YT/FB etc uploads! I will now starve for the rest of the year! That’s the end of my career!!!!"

Maybe many are connected... at the expense of actually creating. Instead of producing lasting and engaging artwork, they churn out disposable, short-lived and miserable reels, reducing their creative expressions to tiny squares with a lifespan shorter than a goldfish's memory—what is it, 3 seconds? Feel the pressure on your psyche? Crazy stuff out there.

I am actually a demanding guy. I want to create, I want to make my art, and share it with those who truly appreciate it and want to see it. Nothing more—Just that much. Honestly. But I didn’t sign up for the whole insanity thing there—I am not into creating content to please millions of algorithms and unknown followers who actually don't give a sh*t about your work or art in general. Followers who, in fact, may not even exist (that actually reminded me of 'Dead Souls', a novel by Nikolai Gogol). I love what I do, not what someone wants me to.

Anyway... I left IG on 2nd June 2023. Never looked back. I didn’t delete the account, though, simply to protect my ‘brand’ name - Stray Drifter.

I am also gradually stray-drifting away from FB, as it doesn’t truly connect me with people. In fact, I’d say it actually prevents me from connecting with them—and does so extremely successfully.  I have over 600 followers—people who signed up to see what I create and share with them. These are people who are really (I hope) interested in what I do but my work, however, isn't getting to them. The narrow path is heavily barricaded with algorithms of all sorts.

Maybe I'm too old to understand the idea behind having genuine followers who are being prevented from following. Yeah... My brain cannot encompass this super strategy. But, if you don’t know what it’s all about—it’s about the money.

I was trying to reach out to people by paying FB for ads—no luck. Paid them for even more ads—even less luck... Paid FB to boost posts—massive no luck. I even thought I heard their CEO laughing at me... Heck... Then I tried to sell my kidney to FB—no luck either, as the kidney’s too healthy.

I guess you know the definition of insanity—doing the same thing and expecting a different result. I'm not insane, not in that context. This is why…

…I decided to walk away from FB as well.

I don’t think I will abandon FB this year, but I eventually will. Hold on, after having a second thought, maybe this year? Maybe I am insane after all, as I'm really looking forward to it. To me, it’s a dead horse, and I'm damn bad at flogging dead horses. And I am not a fan of the ‘carrot and stick’ strategy either. It's a time waster. Those who are as young as me and a little bit older know that time is really a finite and most precious resource. And we are constantly running out of it.

Don’t panic. Walking away from Facebook isn’t equivalent to seppuku, not even close—despite what social media giants want you to believe. Trust me, it’s not. It's actually quite the opposite.

I am moving to my website—Stray Drifter.

That's where I will be sharing my creations with those who can be bothered to type StrayDrifter.com in a browser and hit enter. Here I'll be sharing my drawings, photographs, and various art projects. By the way, I am currently working on a few photo projects about Ireland, but it's classified until it's done. Sorry, no spoiler here.

I have also started a blog (at last!), which I called ‘‘Scrolls’’. Here I will write with cats, about cats, photography, drawing, art and stuff in general. A good portion of sarcasm and humour guaranteed. 

I'll be sharing my writings here as well. That page isn't ready yet, but it's comin’ baby—hold on tight! I'm currently working on a few fiction books and also planning to create my drawing and photo zines.

I have one short story finished, proofed, and ready to launch, available in two languages—neither foul, with one being English. There's also a sci-fi fiction novel nearly complete; it just needs final proofing. This novel will also be available in two languages, including English. I’ll share the blurb soon. Additionally, I promise to offer a few signed books and prints if you're interested.

So as you see I wasn't wasting my finite resource (namely time). I switched to another hosting platform and been working on my new website. Transferring files, creating content, coding, redesigning it and giving it a new context, sense and purpose. Why? Why not social platforms? Cos that's me—a natural creation with a healthy kidney.

So, thank ye all who, despite the social-media-hurdles, had courage to visit Stray Drifter. Who decided to share my passion for art here. Really appreciate your presence here. If you have any questions, suggestions - let me know.

Enjoy staying on StrayDrifter.com for unlimited time. You’ll thank me later.

UPDATE 14.07.224
Well… Today I found out that Meta informed its Facebook and Instagram users that as of June 26, 2024, almost everything (with a marginal exception) that had been posted on those platforms became Meta’s property.
So. This morning I deleted all my posts from Facebook and officially walked away from its sick environment.