The Daily Maybe #7: Creative Utopia Or Nah?
#SupportYourCreatives
In the short time I’ve been writing The Daily Maybe, I’ve had inspiration for episodes from a variety of places. My family, YouTube, the 90s, and more.
Today, my eye wandered over to Twitter.
Now, between the various social media platforms I use, I’m easily on Twitter the most. Being on the app as much as I am, I know Twitter is a breeding ground for large, engaging, and almost inescapable communities.
These communities are amazing places, because they enable so many people to share their voices with so many others. A number of these communities are so well-known, they’ve become staples of Twitter culture — Black Twitter, film Twitter, London Twitter, and gaming Twitter are just a few of the circles I’m exposed to every day.
There’s one particular community I’d like to focus on today, however: Creative Twitter.
Now, I don’t just mean the people on the site with the most inventive uses of memes (though they are most definitely appreciated.) I’m talking about the Creatives on the site: the writers, artists, comedians, singers, and activists of Twitter.
See, both these particular people and the sub-communities they belong to are brilliant. They share their art, use Twitter to build an audience for it, and, in more than a few cases, help promote the art of their fellow creatives.
It’s that last point that’s most important to this post. On Twitter, there is a precedent for communities coming together and sharing each other’s art. The resulting cornucopia of creativity benefits everybody, no doubt. And yet, there are still those who would act against it.
Allow me to explain. That last point, and this entire post, stem from this tweet:
She has a point. The black community did wonders for their creatives recently, in the form of the hashtag #WeAreNigerianCreatives. A lot of brilliant artists gained so much exposure when that was trending.
To put the effect of that hashtag into perspective, I saw hundreds of tweets with #WeAreNigerianCreatives attached to them. Literal hundreds. The kicker?
I only follow one Nigerian creative on Twitter.
Think about that for a second! I only follow a single Nigerian creative, yet he managed to single-handedly spread a lifetime’s worth of art across my timeline through that hashtag.
It’s amazing what just one person can do with a good message. And with such great and entertaining work on offer, why wouldn’t more communities get in on the exposure?
Well, as mentioned in the above tweet, not everyone is so open to spreading art from people of their own culture. As a Pakistani creative, that tweet resonated with me: I’ve simply not seen nearly as many (or… any) Pakistani artists being spread on Twitter.
I know what you may be thinking at that: “Sarim, that’s a little anecdotal.” Well, you’re right, it is. But hear me out; look at the wide variety of creatives I linked above. Just look at that array of human beings for a second.
After however many years on Twitter, I’ve been exposed to an insane number of people and demographics. Ask anyone else who’s been on Twitter a while, or take a look at your own experience, and chances are you’ll hear the same. The platform is simply built for easy exposure.
With this being the case, it makes almost no sense to me that I’ve never seen any Pakistani creatives on my timeline! There’s no doubt they exist; I’ve met a good few in real life. So why, then, do they not gain similar exposure? Or have their own hashtag? Or have any notable conversation about them whatsoever?
Now, I’m sure this lack of exposure doesn’t just apply to Pakistanis; there are a lot of creatives out there trying to find an audience. My focus on Pakistanis is only on account of my being one — there’s a wider point here.
That point is, communities are undeniably capable of helping each other find an audience. Hashtags like #WeAreNigerianCreatives WORK. So… Like… DO IT.
Seriously, it’s astounding that there aren’t more creative communities banding together to bring about exposure. I’m not just saying all this because I myself could benefit from a communal movement — it’s just genuinely a shame that we’re potentially missing out on so much art because of a lack of hashtags and cohesion.
I made this point a little more clearly here:
The bottom line? Support creative people when you can. Every retweet, every share, and every like all go a long way towards helping someone find their audience, and to making the timeline a better place.
Support your own. Support others. Support anyone and everyone who makes art, because you can. The power to make a difference rests in a click. If we don’t foster communicative environments, we risk losing any number of creatives.
As the self-proclaimed “soldier of culture” himself says:
And that’s that.
Till next we meet,
Sarim
