The Riddle of Audience Engagement

So, I have always had issues with audience engagement.

I started this blog for me, and proposed NUNA largely for myself, not expecting to win.

During the Kickstarter, I did socials religiously and it was exhausting. A mailing list was touted as THE thing to have, yet mine never gained any traction.

I ran Meta ads for a while, and got a half dozen great responses on the Nuna FB page with lots of great advice.

At the university, I've been given two assistants, one of whom suggests I need to do a social media cross post blitz everday!

Uh, no.

If I do that, who writes the game? Who runs it? Who feeds my son?

This is what I think of social media.

It can suck you dry if you let it.

I like this outdated blog the best. Zak S once called it something like a throwback to the 90's. I'm cool with that.

Discord is exhausting with all the conversations and notifications.

I've long since quit Twitter.

BlueSky is pleasant, and I go there to chill once a month maybe.

FB is a dumpster fire that I keep just to stay in contact with friends and family, and spread updates on my Nuna page, but otherwise it is a huge trap of doomscrolling and triggering content.

I did Japanese lessons on YouTube for a while some years back, and between filming and editing, it was a chore.

I get enough emails as it stands without starting a dedicated mailing list.

So when NUNA is done-done, I'll put it back on Kickstarter for free buzz, and see where it goes. I'll have copies printed by then, so can fulfill expectations and also sell online. Also will have digital and POD versions on DriveThru.

One thing that this art residency is teaching me is that the slow way is the living way.

Still, I miss connecting and interacting with people. If anyone has suggestions on how I could build and interact with community at my own pace, I am all ears. Until then, I'll just keep doing what I am doing, just with more support than I ever had before.

Thanks for listening.