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Get a Blog:
One Photographer’s Insights
By Ethan G. Salwen
Chase Jarvis
I have a pretty successful blog and would volunteer to help out with the article…You can nav to the blog from my newly refreshed site chasejarvis.com.
ES: What compelled you to start blogging?
CJ: I wanted to help connect the dots for myself and for others. I’ve always been sort of dismayed at the general lack of openness and the amount of pretentiousness among the old guard in the world of photography. Holding business secrets near and being mysterious has never been my thing. A blog seemed like a great way to use “the new media” to break that old mold of keeping secrets and to welcome in a new generation of professionalism based on sharing.
ES: So you really started blogging as a form of community-building in the photography world?
CJ: Yes. I’ve been a pro for more than 10 years. In that time, I had no photography mentors, and I never assisted a day in my life. Having no mentors has really made me really want to become one. I’ve had a strong desire to foster a full range of meaningful relationships — especially where I had something to give others — and not just the business ones where I clearly had something to gain. Many years ago, after some initial professional success, I started an internship program. It proved a great way of giving back and keeping in touch with the new, younger shooter. Now my blog offers me a great way to communicate answers and respond to the large volume of e-mail I get from to aspiring shooters, as well as to keep in touch with the old hats in the profession. It’s served as a platform to create a community where the subscribers and visitors can share their thoughts. It’s also been fun to share what inspires me and what I am thinking about in regard to popular culture, and at the same time to receive inspiration from others. I look at other blogs and new media for inspiration and understanding of our cultures. So when I can help others do the same, it feels right.
ES: So you are really enjoying the experience.
CJ: Absolutely. For some people, I’ve heard that blogging is hard work, that it even causes anxiety. That’s not how it affects me. For me there’s no pressure at all. It’s just fun. It’s another creative outlet for me.
ES: You post quite a bit — sometimes every few days. Are you worried about overwhelming your readers or having to sustain this rate of posting?
CJ: I’m not worried at all about overwhelming my readers or, on the flip side, keeping up some particular pace. That’s part of the beauty of the new, permission-based media online. I’ll just keep writing and posting, and subscribers and visitors can read the blog when they want. Perhaps they read it five minutes after I post, perhaps two weeks, or perhaps two months. The choice lies with the user. The content lives online for them to read any time. Conversely, if I choose not to post for a while, my subscribers can still interact with my old posts, or the comments of others, by leaving comments.
ES: Specifically for whom are you writing?
CJ: For the community of artists and business people — aspiring or accomplished — of the new media who are interested in technology, popular culture, humor, photography, and related topics. And of course for me. The old media is dead and dying. The new media needs new ideas and new heroes. I like to think that my blogs and the blogs of others are helping to achieve this. To paraphrase a bunch of popular phrases that help make my point: “It’s a Web 2.0 world”; “Small is the new big”; and finally, “If you’re not going to do it, who is? Create!” As Debbie Millmen sums up from the Design Matters Podcast: “We can talk about making a difference, we can make a difference, or we can do both.”
ES: What do you mean by “new media” and “Web 2.0”?
CJ: By “new media” I’m really talking about “Web 2.0,” so the answer is the same. Basically, I’m referring to all forms of Web-based communication that are not traditional TV advertising, print media, etc. Web 2.0 is a buzzword that was coined by O’Reilly Media in 2004, when they used it for the title of a series of conferences. Web 2.0 refers to a second generation of Internet-based services such as social networking sites and communication tools that emphasize online collaboration and sharing among users. By “permission-based marketing,” I’m talking about the fact that the only people who receive my blog are people who are actually choosing to receive it, instead of me spamming them. Visitors to blogs are getting the media they want at their leisure and discretion.
ES: What are the specific marketing strategies behind your blog? In addition to writing for your creative community, are you also sharing information to give clients and potential clients a sense of who you are?
CJ: I think that typically I go about business and my profession as an odd mix of strategy and whimsy. Strategically, from a business standpoint, I take things seriously. I try to work smarter, not just harder. And I’m admittedly sophisticated in my approach to business generally. I look carefully at the marketplace, numbers, timing, trends, etc. But at the same time, I’m quite whimsical artistically in that I try to focus my creative energies on what grabs my attention organically. I also allow myself to explore a lot. And my blog has become a wonderful part of this organic exploration. It initially served as a way to communicate with a lot of the community members e-mailing me regularly with photo questions, career questions, and art questions after I gave a talk or won an award. It was a way of giving back in a forum that allows for feedback and discussion. But in a very short time, it became more than just a forum to share ideas. I never really set out to direct the blog to clients, but I’ve since learned that many of my existing clients and plenty of prospective clients have taken a keen interest in what I’m writing. I can understand that it helps give them insights into what makes me tick perhaps. Did I set out with this as the main goal? No. Has it been a nice feather in the cap? Certainly.
ES: Can you talk about the “personal factor” of blogging? How do you balance presenting a more personal side of yourself while also presenting yourself in a professional manner.
CJ: Well, I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t want my blog to reflect my personality. But in all truthfulness I don’t sit around preparing to blog with any anxiety or attempt at sophistication that implores me to focus on some manufactured professionalism. I let my professionalism ooze out of my imagery, my work directly with clients and my reputation. If anything the blog is meant to be relaxed, jovial, inspiring. I typically enjoy a fantastic and ongoing relationship with nearly every one of my clients and I enjoy being über professional on set and in delivering the highest quality product. But I do like to have a good time all the while. I take work seriously to the point of kicking as much ass as possible, but I like to keep it in perspective. I like my interactions with crew and clients, both on and off set, to reflect this. And I suppose that the blog is just an extension of this mindset.
ES: You provide a ton of interesting links on your blog that take the viewer to other sites. Does this distract attention from your blog or have any downfalls?
CJ: I can imagine that some business analysis expert might agree that there are downfalls to the loose nature in which I run my blog. But the goals I have for my blog are modest and they’re focused on breaking out of molds and exploring with my audience, not keeping within expected molds and regurgitating the latest industry gossip. It’s meant to give, not to take. As a creative, it’s my job to let my mind wander, to gather inspiration. And in my life, inspiration comes from far and wide, so my blog comes from there too. There are plenty of industry mags and Web sites to give facts about lens performance or to review color calibration software. I want to give my readers something else, something different, something that I think they crave that’s lacking out there.
ES: In one of your posts you mention that you would like to see the comments section used more to get dialogs going. But would you really want your blog littered with hundreds of comments?
CJ: Blogging — and commenting on blogs — is old hat for many. But for most people on the net it’s still very new, and many people are shy about posting comments. I’d say for every comment someone posts on my blog I receive several e-mails. I wish it weren’t that way. I understand a general hesitation for putting your thoughts and ideas out there, but I’m trying to pacify those anxieties for such people. People can post comments anonymously. And they should know that there’s no room for fear in this Web 2.0 world. In order to build a community we need to be fearless. The less fear, the better the discussion. I’m just trying to encourage as many fearful would-be contributors to engage in the discussion in such a manner where everybody wins. I could be singing a different tune someday if I have to moderate a bunch of whackos on my site, but I tend to be a person of greater belief in human nature. My site clearly is not for everyone, like a YouTube or a Flickr, so right there, I’ve got a built-in filter. I just want to make a nice community and so far, it’s been reasonably on track.
ES: Moving forward, how do you see your blog evolving ?If you keep blogging at this rate, in a few years you will have more than a thousand postings. Will you just have one big blog site with all of these posts?
CJ: Good question. I’ll let you know when I have a good answer. As of right now I’m just going to continue on with what I’ve got going. I’m always evaluating things of this sort and I’m always reviewing my business goals, so I’d say for where I’m at now, it’s going according to plan.
ES: What advice can you give to ASMP members about to engage in blogging?
CJ: If you think you’ve got it within yourself to blog, start today. The only thing you can do wrong is wait to join the new media. Our culture and our industry need new heroes. Start helping the cause. If you’re not interested in the large amount of work it takes to maintain a blog, then don’t start one. But do start cruising other blogs and commenting. Become a part of the discourse. It’s kind of like voting.