surprising stats and tensions.
New yearbook is out. To keep things interesting, this blog article comes with two extras. I’ll start with the extras first, and for some reason, the main text will come at the end. Contrary to my previous habits, the main text takes up a few thoughts on current events. These days, concern and bewilderment are certainly not just my constant feelings. But some people have probably already had enough of it, so I pushed this part of the blog post back.
Extra 1: My 2023 Yearbook is Ready
Although I try to avoid Christmas as much as possible, I still have a few friends whom I feel the need to give gifts to or who I care about. In times like these, when you can easily check the price of a bottle of wine with just a few clicks on your cell phone, I haven’t liked this type of gifting for a few years now. Instead, I’ve come up with something different: a yearbook that reflects my artistic activity. It’s a unique and thoughtful gift that always is cherished by the recipient.
With an edition of only 5 books, numbered and signed, these books will of course increase in value should I one day, contrary to expectations, become a recognized artist. A good reason for the recipient not to throw them away straight away. 🙂
My 2023 book turned out quite stylish, with some works shown in a virtual environment, which gives the whole thing an exclusive character.
The cover of the 2022 book deeply shocked one of my US friends. But I actually didn’t think anyone would find it shocking.
The cover of the 2021 book also confused some. Now I have arrived in the mainstream. 🙂
Extra 2: Stats on articles
After I recently reported on Google’s new algorithms and essential changes to searches and ranking, I was asked to report on further developments regarding the texts. Especially for the articles whose SEO I have improved. [1]
The article discussed (Mu Qi: Six Persimmons) is still getting far above-average daily clicks. However, one reason may be that the picture is being shown in a museum in the USA. It can be assumed that some people not so familiar with the painting use search engines to find more information.
Even more surprising
But what is quite surprising is the last article, Wu Wei – Daoist Talks (X). Thematically speaking, it’s not necessarily a “clickbait topic”. Still, it has a surprisingly large number of visitors – more than 2000 in 2 weeks.
I do not use tracking software because I respect the privacy of my readers. So I can only see basic key data, such as the number of visitors or countries. The relationship between the number of visitors and the visitors’ countries of origin suggests that it is not bots or other techniques that influence the numbers.
Hardly any of us, including me, know what the algorithms of Google & Co. actually do. Even though I have been working intensively with it for more than two decades and have achieved quite good success at times [2]. Being found by search engines is not important for everyone. But it is important for me and improving SEO is definitely helpful and worth the time spent. I’ll be working on fine-tuning over the holidays.
Why artists should take a stand
Not only in the chaos of our current times, it’s natural for people to have different perspectives. However, we should strive to return to an environment of free exchange of thoughts to adequately address the challenges we face. Artists can play an important role in this.
Through countless worldwide efforts, we have improved our views on some issues such as environmental protection, global warming, sustainability, and more. We have improved our thinking and actions in these areas, even though we are still at the beginning and it may seem that we have started taking responsibility too late. Artists have played a significant role in this.
Similarly, we also should address war, give it a face, remove it from the realm of abstract threats, and show how much wars affect us all in a globalized world, even if they are fought regionally. They not only destroy human lives and the environment but also divide societies and can bring them to the brink of ruin.
From my perspective, we live in a time that will occupy a significant position in future history books for several reasons. And we are far from reaching the zenith. [3] So it’s about time to think more about it and find solutions.
Guns Down
It wasn’t until October that it became clear to me in which direction we were moving and that it was time to address the issue. And time to think about what contribution I could make. I then thought of something that I generally quite like: A kind of large-scale peace initiative, inviting artists from all over the world to present their work on the subject of war, mass destruction, or even oppression in a kind of online gallery with all bells and whistles and thus provide input that, in the best case scenario, would initiate a global reflection about war and its consequences for all of us. Not only performing art but also installations and related art movements should be included. [4]
In the past, artists often spoke out against social injustices, especially against the atrocities of war, but today we miss their contributions. This is no wonder since censorship has been going on for a long time and (not only) artists are massively intimidated. Cancelation of exhibitions by renowned artists, if they do not whistle in a certain key, is now the order of the day. (e.g. Ai Weiwei – theartnewspaper.com). For others, careers are destroyed altogether (e.g. Hollywood).
After conducting extensive research, I created a few drafts. I also considered launching a related social media campaign. However, upon examining the platforms in question, their owners, their censorship methods, and the expected inconveniences of all kinds, it’s unlikely that the project will gain much traction.
But you could organize a competition for this.
So it’ll probably stay at a few drafts until I come up with something better.
footnotes:
[1] Of course, I write down my own thoughts. However, I use AI to correct my mistakes, improve my writing style, and contribute to better SEO.
[2] At the dawn of the Internet, I was paid $2-3000 to get company websites to the top of Google
[3] The development of autonomous weapons alone makes one’s hair stand on end. Here is a feed about it: autonomousweapons.org
Hardly anyone knows that we are already producing slaughterbots today. If you have time, watch the first 2 minutes (YouTube)
[4] We should never forget how much popular culture contributed to ending the Vietnam War.
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