I've been beading for myself lately...
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Pink & Green India Beaded Necklace
I love these Indian beads. I could easily buy some in every color possible...
Orange & Teal Necklace
I've been better about beading again...making some stuff for myself...and trying to be more disciplined about getting into the studio!
Monday, June 3, 2013
Flickr & ipernity
OK. I get it. Ipernity is just like the old Flickr (except they don't care if you mention you are selling something). But the thing is, I don't want an ipernity account. I'm not happy with the way Flickr slammed us with all the new stuff either; I was doing stuff there when it changed over and it did freak me out. My Facebook page from that night is filled with me freaking out, in fact.
I hate the way this whole Flickr fiasco is scattering people, friends and people who are in the Blythe community, and I'm sure people from other hobby communities are feeling the same way, going through the same things. I also don't blame people for going to ipernity--people have to do what is best for them. And I don't blame people who have accounts at both places now, whether just to see which is the better fit or to keep in touch with everyone. I get that.
Here's the thing, tho. I'm starting to feel like, to a certain extent, some people who went to ipernity think the people who didn't need to be cajoled and they will just go there and everyone will be happy. It's not everyone, for sure, and maybe they feel like the people who stayed at Flickr are doing the same thing to them. I guess what I'm saying is, it seems like this whole Flickr mess has turned from people being angry with Flickr to people feeling like they are bad or wrong if they don't do what other people are doing. It is getting me down, because it seems so silly.
I don't like everything at the new Flickr, and as I said I HATE the way they managed the transition. But the thing is, I did have a nose around ipernity just to see that all the fuss was about, and I wasn't really bowled over by it, either. I mean, is it even cool, the way they seem to have so blatantly copied (old) Flickr, right down to an Explore feature? I don't know; it doesn't seem so cool to me. I guess if I'm going to move 9,000 photos and break ties with someplace I have been for 6 years it's going to be for something amazing, not for a copy of something. Again, that's just me (when I left Pinterest I looked for something that was different enough that I didn't feel I was just back at the same old place).
Many of the things that people are upset about at Flickr can be avoided fairly easily. For instance, I agree that the home page is way too cluttered and I would like to choose which activity I see. So I just skip it--as soon as I land on it I don't look, I just click whatever I want at the top--recent activity, contacts, whatever. I get that justified view can be annoying, but I've had that for months with the exception of my photo pages, so I got used to it a long time ago (I get the feeling that Flickr foisted that on some of us much earlier than others, from what I have read recently...?). I'm not crazy about the crammed together photo page layout, but I will say that a couple weekends ago, when I took and posted a ton of photos, it was nice that all those new photos weren't immediately buried pages back merely because there were so many. So maybe the layout has some advantages (options would still be nice, tho!).
Also--and here's the big thing--I use Flickr for a lot of reasons. Yes, I use it for Blythe photos, and for keeping in touch with the dolly community. I also use it for garden photos, travel photos, nature photos, other interests like old graveyards and historical stuff, you name it... It's the place family and friends can easily see photos so I don't have to e-mail a bazillion photos a bazillion times (I'm from Wisconsin, but I moved to Scotland; so all my family and lots of my friends live on a different continent than I do). I admin groups there; some don't really need much attention at all from me, but some do. And then there are all the friendships I have built up. Not everyone else has moved elsewhere, and many have 2 accounts, so there is not a huge incentive for me to just up and leave. As for having 2 accounts, we're all different, but since I already have Flickr, Facebook, ArtFire, Tumblr, LoveIt, Google+, Blogger, and other things I know I am forgetting at the moment, do I really want or need yet another place that requires me to devote time to being online? For me, the answer is no. I considered it quite seriously, and for me it would be moving towards that line where I would just resent all the time I felt I had to be online. The thought of loading the same photos twice also doesn't appeal to me at the moment.
So, the thing is, I guess, I understand that some people like ipernity better, and I am glad it is there for them. But I don't like it, and while I think Flickr is far from perfect, I also find it is not the worst place in the world. I don't want to feel bad that I don't want an ipernity account. I am not betraying anything or anyone and I'm not a Flickr toadie; it's just that all things considered, there's no compelling reason for me to leave (and I would leave if there was; I left Pinterest when they decided they needed to censor art and I really loved Pinterest before that). If I left and went to ipernity, I wouldn't be doing it because I wanted to, or because I really like it there; and if I went both places, I have a strong feeling I would just end up resenting them both. It's just not for me. Not because I think Flickr is perfect; far from it. But ipernity isn't perfect either, and I already have a history at one place, and for that reason, it "wins" even tho it's got problems. And that's all there is to it.
I hate the way this whole Flickr fiasco is scattering people, friends and people who are in the Blythe community, and I'm sure people from other hobby communities are feeling the same way, going through the same things. I also don't blame people for going to ipernity--people have to do what is best for them. And I don't blame people who have accounts at both places now, whether just to see which is the better fit or to keep in touch with everyone. I get that.
Here's the thing, tho. I'm starting to feel like, to a certain extent, some people who went to ipernity think the people who didn't need to be cajoled and they will just go there and everyone will be happy. It's not everyone, for sure, and maybe they feel like the people who stayed at Flickr are doing the same thing to them. I guess what I'm saying is, it seems like this whole Flickr mess has turned from people being angry with Flickr to people feeling like they are bad or wrong if they don't do what other people are doing. It is getting me down, because it seems so silly.
I don't like everything at the new Flickr, and as I said I HATE the way they managed the transition. But the thing is, I did have a nose around ipernity just to see that all the fuss was about, and I wasn't really bowled over by it, either. I mean, is it even cool, the way they seem to have so blatantly copied (old) Flickr, right down to an Explore feature? I don't know; it doesn't seem so cool to me. I guess if I'm going to move 9,000 photos and break ties with someplace I have been for 6 years it's going to be for something amazing, not for a copy of something. Again, that's just me (when I left Pinterest I looked for something that was different enough that I didn't feel I was just back at the same old place).
Many of the things that people are upset about at Flickr can be avoided fairly easily. For instance, I agree that the home page is way too cluttered and I would like to choose which activity I see. So I just skip it--as soon as I land on it I don't look, I just click whatever I want at the top--recent activity, contacts, whatever. I get that justified view can be annoying, but I've had that for months with the exception of my photo pages, so I got used to it a long time ago (I get the feeling that Flickr foisted that on some of us much earlier than others, from what I have read recently...?). I'm not crazy about the crammed together photo page layout, but I will say that a couple weekends ago, when I took and posted a ton of photos, it was nice that all those new photos weren't immediately buried pages back merely because there were so many. So maybe the layout has some advantages (options would still be nice, tho!).
Also--and here's the big thing--I use Flickr for a lot of reasons. Yes, I use it for Blythe photos, and for keeping in touch with the dolly community. I also use it for garden photos, travel photos, nature photos, other interests like old graveyards and historical stuff, you name it... It's the place family and friends can easily see photos so I don't have to e-mail a bazillion photos a bazillion times (I'm from Wisconsin, but I moved to Scotland; so all my family and lots of my friends live on a different continent than I do). I admin groups there; some don't really need much attention at all from me, but some do. And then there are all the friendships I have built up. Not everyone else has moved elsewhere, and many have 2 accounts, so there is not a huge incentive for me to just up and leave. As for having 2 accounts, we're all different, but since I already have Flickr, Facebook, ArtFire, Tumblr, LoveIt, Google+, Blogger, and other things I know I am forgetting at the moment, do I really want or need yet another place that requires me to devote time to being online? For me, the answer is no. I considered it quite seriously, and for me it would be moving towards that line where I would just resent all the time I felt I had to be online. The thought of loading the same photos twice also doesn't appeal to me at the moment.
So, the thing is, I guess, I understand that some people like ipernity better, and I am glad it is there for them. But I don't like it, and while I think Flickr is far from perfect, I also find it is not the worst place in the world. I don't want to feel bad that I don't want an ipernity account. I am not betraying anything or anyone and I'm not a Flickr toadie; it's just that all things considered, there's no compelling reason for me to leave (and I would leave if there was; I left Pinterest when they decided they needed to censor art and I really loved Pinterest before that). If I left and went to ipernity, I wouldn't be doing it because I wanted to, or because I really like it there; and if I went both places, I have a strong feeling I would just end up resenting them both. It's just not for me. Not because I think Flickr is perfect; far from it. But ipernity isn't perfect either, and I already have a history at one place, and for that reason, it "wins" even tho it's got problems. And that's all there is to it.
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