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Okay, twitter world, you guys are a powerful force to be reckoned with. I mention one of the things I was planning on doing to an internet peer I haven’t spoken to in a long time, and then you guys just turn into a bunch of awesome people and make this donation goal of mine into a viral campaign.

Let’s go back to holiday season of 2009, on my comic site, punksandnerds.com. Around that time, my grandparents’ friends’ grandchild died of Leukemia. Let me cut and paste what I wrote back then:

“This is all related to the type of charity I want to raise money and give to. And let me explain that too: My grandmother died of Leukemia in 2005, at Punks and Nerds’ peak. What was sick in the head was that I had more fans offer condolences than most of the people I considered friends at the time. I’ve honestly had people say things like, “Your grandmother’s death means nothing to me” and “Everybody dies. It’s not worth crying over, move on.”

“I do not care what kind of person you are, and if you think like that, that’s fine. It’s okay… But that is no way to talk to someone you call a friend, or at the least, someone who calls you one. But it was one of the harshness of realities I experienced. The family life opened my subconscious a bit, and made me realize I was taking my online comic life too seriously. I had to change mentally, become healthier within, mature, and understand that life matters too much than to become upset if there’s people on live journal, that never met me, saying nasty things about me, simply because of what I post under my comic strip at the time (like this). Life is too special to stress out when viewership numbers go down. The amount of readers is only just a way for a lonely person to try and feel acceptance where it lacks in other places in life, after all. I didn’t have acceptance in some places in life, But I had acceptance in places that matter. Family and the close friends that counted. I know why all these things affected me the way they did, but we shall keep that story untold for now.”

“What matters is that the family situation changed things severely for me.”

“Back to the charity… I have heard my deceased grandparents’ friends’ grandson has passed away at 19, from the same Leukemia my grandmother had. Nineteen guys. That’s our age group. Sometimes I think too logically, thinking that there is cause and effect for things in the world… But when a 19 year old passes from an illness… What is the reasoning? There is none. He didn’t have a chance to live life. My characters that I have created are living a fuller life than he was given. And that upsets me. Punks and Nerds has morphed into a story of growing up and learning how to deal, but it’s something this guy won’t get a chance for.”

“So that is why Punks and Nerds’ charity will be towards Leukemia. Because my grandmother’s death triggered a change in me to improve, and this kid’s death is going to help remind us to live.”

But unfortunately, that charity drive didn’t really go very well. My audience has shrunken compared to what it was in the past, so revenue I made during that month wasn’t a lot. Some people were good souls that trusted me and gave me money to support the cause, but in the end, it wasn’t much.

And here’s the thing… There are tons of charities in the world, but were also stuck on hard economic times. I realized that asking some people for money when they are struggling to either keep their job, or find a job, is not going to turn around great results.
I realized then, “You know what? This doesn’t have to be a holiday specific thing.” And decided that I’ll work to raising money for the entire year of 2010.

In January I began making videos using blip.tv. When they throw commercials at the start of my videos, I get pennies per view. And I realized that might be the easiest way to raise money, by just having people view these videos I put up. I want the people to view these things anyway, so I might as well be charitable with the profits I’m earning off of them.

My goal of raising money for 2010 then felt more possible. Because now all I had to do was simply make more videos worth watching, and then by the end of the year, give a good chunk of the profits to the charities I wanted to. To Jake Wetchler’s family, to Haiti, or even to sick puppies.

No one has to donate anything, no one has to feel uncomfortable because we’re in the middle of poor economic times… All they’d have to do is watch something online, and hopefully get entertained by it. I thought, “Yeah, that could work.”

And I pretty much kept this idea hush-hush until I mention it to one person, and she was like “I can make this into a big success!”
Now a bunch of you people are being very cool and are tweeting about it, and I thought it was really important to write something official about it, so that you don’t feel like you’re going to the site to try and help out, and the only one who is benefiting is my wallet. Ha ha ha, that’s not the case. Do not worry, I am living life where I work for happiness, not for money.

Jake’s website is at: www.dontletthecancerwin.org
That’s the main charity I’ll be giving to by the end of the year, but companies like ASPCA and something for Haiti will not be ignored.
If you want to read my old Punks and Nerds blog posts where I originally came up with the ideas, here they are:
http://punksandnerds.com/?p=129
http://punksandnerds.com/?p=192

And now you know. Cause knowing is half the battle.

-J

Which lists seven different advices from seven billionaires, and how they used their words to get to where they are today. I then compare and contrast my life to each advice.

Ok- I am a little late in posting here… sorry. So to begin, my name is Maggie. I am a photographer in New York City.

Josh asked me to post on Will Draw For Food because about 2 1/2 months ago I began a project called a 365 day project (A photo a day for  year). Have you ever been so frustrated with yourself that you were second guessing what you were doing with your life? Welcome to me 3 months ago. I was losing myself to a day job which I work to help launch my photography business, but mostly I was starting to forget about my goals. I hadn’t picked up my camera in months and I really didn’t know if I loved photography anymore, for me that was the scariest moment of my life. I decided it was time to start being creative and not just every once in a while but every day.

Since starting I realize that it takes a lot of time and energy to be creative. It’s not something that is there and you can tap into it whenever you feel like it., it is something you have to use constantly and exercise or it will never amount to anything. At the end of the day I may be exhausted because I spent two hours trying to get the perfect picture but its worth it because I am happy and feel accomplished.

I have posted a picture now for 75 days in a row. That is the most consistent thing I have ever done in my life. I hope that by watching my project progress it may inspire you to start a project of your own. Maybe even set a goal. Do something that makes you happy for 2 minutes a day, an hour a day or maybe even more. I am in the process of creating slideshows of my images, so be sure to check back!

Please take a look at my blog:

maggiesusse.tumblr.com (follow me!)

or become a fan of my business on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Astoria-NY/MS-Photography/231370728377?ref=ts

My new website is under construction and once that is up and running I will post it on here.

Let me know what you think! Feedback is always helpful. I hope you enjoy this 86 degree weather.

Maggie!

I’ve been using the very basic program, iMovie, to create these films. I’d draw in photoshop, record in garageband, and put ‘em all together in iMovie. The simplicity of the program is actually very good. I’m able to create results within hours, but my options with the program is very limited.

I thought it was time to try and bring the videos to the next level, maybe include some crude animations to the videos, that I’ve seen many people do with their videos on youtube. “I could animate like that!” I can draw a before and after sketch and flip back and forth between the two, and call it “walking.” No problem.

So I asked a person who is known for their videos, as well as studying film both during college and now during grad school. They’d know which program I should look into. I asked, and they thought I’d do well with Final Cut Pro.

And thus, that program was installed on my computer, and… Crap. I have no idea what I’m doing anymore. The shift from iMovie to Final Cut Pro is even MORE of a contrast than night and day. iMovie I could figure out what I wanted to do within a few minutes of trial and error, but with FCP, I’m staring at windows all over my monitor, overwhelmed and lost.

I don’t know what I’m doing.

So I spent some time on youtube, looking up beginner level tutorials on how to get myself running the program, and, that went nowhere.

The videographer also mentioned to me that another person who posts videos online uses Adobe After Effects. I downloaded CS4 last year and noticed that was part of the bundle, but I just never used it. I booted up the program this time, and once again… What the hell am I doing?

This time there were a few youtube videos that did result in some progress within the program, but then I shut the thing down because what I was trying to do on my computer wasn’t matching the video. “It’s not ****ing working!!!” With After Effects they talked about keyframes, which reminded me of Flash… So I gave up and tried booting up that program.

In the past I took flash courses in high school, and had an internship where I was being taught flash little by little everyday. So, at the very least, I had a clue with this one. I wasn’t completely lost with Flash.

But I was probably even more frustrated… Because this time, when I was stuck, the video tutorials were pretty much telling me what I was already doing, but when I did it, it came out wrong. And when they did it, it was beautiful.

I spent hours and hours just trying to learn a few basic things, just to get the ball rolling, and it made me think about how much I’ve absorbed in the programs I use everyday, without even acknowledging it.

Adobe Photoshop is up and running every day on my computer. There is not a single day when I’m not working in it, and at this point in my life, it all feels very natural. But I remember when I first started using it, I was only using it to scan in things, crop them, and then put them on sites a ten year old might use… Something like geocities.

That slowly evolved to drawings where I’d simply use the fill tool to color it in, and that slowly progressed where I was using a few photoshop effects here and there, eventually making comics, one thing leads to another, and now I’m getting paid to use the darn thing.

Fun thing is, I’m still experimenting and learning something new with photoshop to this day. I know I’ve skipped and ignored some very basic things the program can do, but I use it in a way that’s easy for me.

So, going back to film editing… It’s foolish for me to want to have incredible results within a few hours, but I just get frustrated anyway. I want to see instant results. I want the things I have in my head shared with the world.

But is that a good thing? I mean, yes, it’s good and vital to be educated in multiple things, but when it comes to a career in the art world, it took me a few years to realize that when my resume and portfolio show that I’m kind of all over the place, willing to do anything art related, the jobs were hesitant to hire me. Companies, in general, at least, need a person that has a specific talent, and to be really good at that. They fear a person who dabbles here and there, and remains at a beginner level because they don’t spend enough time gaining the experience to become a master at one of those crafts.

So I’m divided. Half of me believes it’s good to know these programs, because if I wanted to leave a freelance world, companies often want artists to know all of these programs, right? However, these same companies want to hire experts within their field, and not someone who dabbles for a hobby.

I’m a busy guy. Look at me. I can’t count the number of websites I’m working on with just one hand. I’m working on a comic once a week for free, and I’m writing a novel. I’m making those videos, I’m writing scripts for them, I’m drawing for them. I’m writing journal entries such as these… I’m working on a rock opera for goodness sake!

I even know what I want when I’m older. I know what I want to do. I’m not spending all of my time on all of these projects because I’m unsure of what it is I really want. No!

The problem seems to be, however, is that I want to create more than I can simply handle as a human being.

Like maybe if humans lived an average of 300 years, and there were 400 days in a year, 32 hours in a day… Maybe then I could handle all the ideas in my head on my own.

But for right now, boy do I feel scatter-brained.

And perhaps, it’s time to understand I could always use some help to get my ideas out there.

Can you animate?

I already had around 1k fans following me on myspace, where I would post updates, talk to them about projects and ideas in regards to future ones. I even used myspace’s blog portion to talk about freelance assignments I was working on. I received a ton of kudos and comments when I did that.

Then I realized how much like myself, people were using myspace less and less. It seemed like it was only a really good website if you’re a musician aaaand… Hmm. Well! I guess myspace really is only the bees knees if you’re a musician… Everyone else seems to have migrated over to facebook.

So when I restarted my comic, stating that it’s a sequel that could be followed with or without following the original series, I made a facebook page for it as well, so that people could interact with myself there as well as receive updates on their facebook page. The 1k fans I had on myspace didn’t quite transfer over as well, and it’s still slowly building to what it once was… But I tell ya, facebook is a lot cleaner than myspace and pretty easy in comparison.

So I had myspace and I had facebook, why twitter? Well, whatever, I thought, and gave twitter a try. Problem was, I kept on receiving nonstop messages from people I knew and all the kvetching that was going on with them. Picture yourself working on your laptop, responding to an email, and then you get a twitter notification that someone is sad today. Then another person writes how their relationship is making them miserable. Five minutes later, the other person in that relationship leaves a passive aggressive comment towards their boy/girlfriend.

When the only “positive” twitter alerts I was receiving was, “That peanut butter sandwich was awesome,” something was wrong. And so I cancelled my account.

Fast forward a few years, and I’m now a freelance illustrator full time. Networking is not only necessary, but required when you’re trying to sell original products. My myspace account was pretty much dead, I migrated over to deviantart, and realized up to the minute posts on twitter helped people gain instant results… But more importantly, the best form of advertising was mammoth on twitter, word of mouth.

The best people you can trust for things that might be interesting, fun, or just plain ol’ good, are your friends and family. They know you better than advertising companies, despite what all the Don Drapers believe. Basically, twitter allows people who are trying to sell a product, to get advertising without actually paying for it. They can focus on pumping out original ideas, and then mention it on their twitter feed. All that’s left is crossing your fingers and hoping it bites. Honestly, that’s how normal advertising works, but this one you don’t have to spend money before crossing your fingers and praying for the best.

As such, I rejoined. First I thought of just using twitter to notify people of when I was doing something business-related, which is why my twitter name is the awful “joshmbroadcast” (Josh Mirman is Broadcasting something right now!!!) and not something more intimate as just my name. I want to change it, but my twitter is linked and used all over the place right now, and I fear it might be too late.

However, through time, I felt nonstop promotion of myself was feeling kind of lame. Almost like I was spamming myself, when I really didn’t want to be a spammer. I not only have an audience, of different sizes (facebook less than 300, twitter less than 200, deviantart less than 150, youtube less than 30 google analytics states thousands, adsense pageviews in tens of thousands, blip.tv is all over the place, etc.) but I have an audience nevertheless. And I used to have a HUGE audience… I feel as a storyteller, I’ve only improved since then, so it’s only a matter of time of reintroducing myself to the world and expanding my audience once again.

The point is, I began to combine my promotional tweets with personal things, between jokes, my mood and sometimes just being positive. I try to avoid negative posts… And if they are sad and/or mopey, I do my best to stay clear from “woe is me”-ish posts. Have to remind myself that that was why I left twitter in the first place.

But the thing is, I’ve seen and follow a handful of other artists, and a lot only post things that are promotional. As a result, I have consciously been noticing I’ve gained fatigue in terms of their posts. It has made me question if using twitter to remind your followers that you’re human is actually better than not.

I brought this discussion up to a friend, and she stated that my belief of posting human, and sometimes inane comments, are not the standard way people promote themselves, because it can come off as “unprofessional.” When you’re trying to sell yourself and make a living, being labeled as unprofessional is… Well… Bad.

Yet, I shook my head while typing back to her IM window and said how twitter seems different and is changing the rules. The most successful twitter accounts with the millions of readers are more personal than promotional. I’m even following a bunch of famous people because I enjoy seeing their twitter accounts, reminding me that they are just as human as you and I.

Then my friend states how she gets a ton of updates on facebook about how her friends are eating a certain food for lunch. “You do not have any friends that are food bloggers.”

“No! I do not!” I replied. “I can’t argue and go; Well what do you know? How do you know me like that? I have tons of food bloggers! But you’re absolutely right, I know zero of them.”

She remained silent, so I continued. “Facebook feels different. Facebook feels like you’re talking more to friends and people you are close to. Facebook, you might befriend someone you met once at a party, but you’re not collecting friends just because you have similar interests… But twitter you do. Twitter seems much more open to interact with strangers.”

She then stated, “Have you got any work through twitter?”

I told her, “I’ve begun communications with people through twitter that I would love to collaborate with. I’ve gained a new audience through twitter, and when I post something I’ve done, they are quick to check it out. They are great at spreading the word out if they like something I’ve done. Money-wise, this has also helped my adsense revenue go up, because my pageviews  continue to go up as a result.”

So, I have NOT had an art director come to me and tell me they want to work with me, because of twitter. But I have had my career improve because of it.

And I don’t think many followers would’ve kept on following me if it was just this egotistical self-indulgent way to promote myself and remind the world how important I am and why they should be following me.

Excuse my language, but fuck that. I’m not a special person, I just happen to be living a life where an audience is required. If I wanted to be a mechanic and make the most amazing car the world has ever seen, no audience would be necessary. But creating stories makes me happy, and if I want to live off of it, I need people to read what I am writing, see what I’m drawing, and enjoy themselves as a result. It doesn’t make me special.. However, I feel special because of your support, but feeling and thinking things is not always the truth.

I read that last sentence in a buddhist book. And Buddha was pretty important back in the day.

During the discussion I had with the friend, I googled a few lines, such as, “What makes a successful twitter account” and “How to have a lot of followers on twitter.”

And then I found this article: 8 useful tips to become successful with twitter.

The first tip it said? “Above all, keep it personal.” Twitter accounts should have personal updates along with the promotional ones. Twitter accounts for media sources like CNN, that do nothing but talk about articles and news reports, the article states, are using twitter in the wrong way.

Now while CNN might be able to get away with it (or maybe they could do even better if they changed things?), it’s important to remember that we’re not CNN. We weren’t a news network that is trying to keep up to date with the modern world.

We’re just humans trying to do something with our lives… But it’s important to never forget that human part of us.

So, twitter, who knew that you’re promoting something that the entertainment world could use? A little dash of humanity (be it good or bad)? Maybe as such, even the inane tweets aren’t necessarily inane.

Maybe there’s a point to it all?

-J

follow on twitter @joshmbroadcast