Following The Followers

Today, like every Friday on Twitter, is #followfriday. For those who haven't the foggiest about Twitter, basically you can label updates with #[blah] so your tweet will be grouped in with a larger trending, or popular, topic. The hokey word play of followfriday just became a routine for people to tell other people who they like following and why. It helps expand your Twitter circle, which can get to feeling real small real quick.

I don't follow everybody who follows me. I do, however pay attention to who is following me, especially when they direct tweets at me. I decided to turn the idea of sharing who you like around and share who likes me. So I do #followerfriday.

On Twitter, I have the benefit of knowing who is watching and reading along regularly, for the most part. However, here on my blog I only know those who've followed using Google's friend connect, or who've subscribed via email, like my friend Rodney. I've got some 50 people right now presumably regularly reading this blog who I don't know.

I'd like to.

To that end, I'm going to try not moderating comments. I explained before why I'd stuck to moderating them even though some people in other circles consider it a surefire way to discourage commenters. Basically, I wanted you to know I was listening because you'd know I was forced to decide to accept or reject every comment submitted, and it is my blog and I wanted to avoid having to delete spam comments.

But I want you to feel totally free to leave whatever comment you'd like. I want to know anything about yourself you want to tell me, like what music you like right now, what you think about American Idol or Grey's Anatomy, or why you keep up with this blog. Anything.

So we'll try it.

Peace.

All In Moderation

[EDIT - 05/09: I've turned off comment moderation, requiring only the word verification. I still get an email when comments are left, so reason #1 below still holds. #2 does as well, so if I end up getting spam comments I will turn moderation back on. We'll see how it goes!]

As I begin to get more comments (thank you thank you!), a question comes up that I suppose deserves to be addressed by way of a policy.

Should I moderate comments?

I do for 2 reasons:

1) I want you to know that I read every comment. Moderating them means that when you see your comment show up, I've read it. I've paid attention to what you've said. Often, I've already left a reply somewhere on your blog or in your inbox. I created this blog to communicate with people passionate about creativity. I want comments to encourage connection. I moderate to let you know I listen.

2) That said, I also want to maintain this blog's quality of communication. That includes the comment section. I don't like the idea of having inappropriate comments that I have to remove, leaving a "This post has been removed by a blog administrator" message. I'm talking about spam with crazy links as well as socially offensive or personal messages. Fortunately, I haven't had any yet, but prevention seems the way to go.

So please don't take the fact that I moderate to mean I'll discard critical or argumentative posts. In fact, those are what I like the most. They provide an opportunity for increased understanding and awareness, and show you care enough to voice your opinion.

Peace.

100th Post Sales Event!

Yep, 100 (keep reading for a GREAT tie-in). I'm kinda impressed that I've stuck with it this long. My blog has become a nice outlet, though, for my thoughts and feelings. While still focussing on my life as an artist, it has become more about me than my art recently. I hope you all who do read it find something of interest. I know I don't get many comments and I think the most common searches that find me are "100 SNL moments" and "examples of repetition", neither of which bring people remotely interested in what I do. Of course, who is who hasn't already found out about my work? I just like the fact that so many people around the world have at least caught a glimpse of my paintings and maybe skimmed through a snippet of what I've written.

I read somewhere out in the blogosphere that a blog isn't really a blog until there're 100 consistent posts. So, I've arrived! Whoopee! Now what?

Well, of late, I've been creating pieces for art shows using clear coat and not framing them. I started doing some that way because I had double albums and ones without sleeves at all. It's easier to ship them, and it makes for a more dramatic presentation when there're a bunch of them.

So, here's the deal: I'm going to start selling them that way to people who want to just hang them with a nail through the hole or who want to frame them themselves.

I'll paint'em, protect'em, and ship'em in the original sleeve, for a hundred bucks. Yep, $100 (THERE it is).

All you need to do is click the Buy Now button below and when you get to the payment confirmation page, click on "Who do you want?" and put the name in the box that opens up.

Since it's been awhile and maybe you don't know what I do:

CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE AT: WWW.VINYLART.INFO

Using Competition To Create Community

I need your help.

I've got a very diverse, yet ephemeral audience. It is growing, which is terrific, but I want to engender communication and networking as well, creating long-term relationships. Basically, I'm going to try to encourage people to share, to be heard. I know a lot of people who hit this blog have their own way of sharing already: their own blog, a profile somewhere with a comment wall, or a forum they post to regularly. And there are those who comment on others blogs, profiles and forums, creating feedback and dialogue. And there are those who, as yet, do neither. I want to make everyone feel welcome to speak their minds, share what they want, and respond with their reactions here on my blog.

To that end, a contest. I know the prize will be a piece of Vinyl Art of the artist of the winner's choice, but I need help. Please help me create the contest. I'd like to start it in February and have it run for a month. I'm going to let all of my connections know about it, so I should get a fair amount of initial interest at least in knowing what the contest entails. That is the question, however.

Since my audience in general are music-lovers, I'm thinking about something along the lines of asking entrants to share their favorite personal experience related to music. Then I'd pick the top 10 in my opinion, with the winner a random one of those. Entrants would be able to share their story in any online manner: a post on their blog, a YouTube video, a photo set on Flickr, etc. They would just add a comment with a link to it on my blog post about the contest and every night I would moderate the posts, making sure the entries were suitable. Or they could just put their story in the comment. Then everybody could check out everybody's story and along with it, get introduced to a whole new network of people.

I want to keep the judging part simple for now, not including the entrants in the winner selection this time, but trying to just get people to communicate with each other, celebrating their passion for music. I've given my pieces away through radio station contests and free art shows, so I thought, why not give one away as a means to bring my audience together?

What do you think? Let me know your reactions to any part of my idea, good or bad. Give me suggestions to make it better, to make it so you would enter it yourself. That is, of course, the purpose. If you need to know more about Vinyl Art, read through this blog, even starting at the beginning. Also, watch my YouTube videos, and certainly,

CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE AT: WWW.VINYLART.INFO

and give me some feedback! Thanks for any help.

Happy New Year! Welcome To Vinyl Art By Daniel Edlen!

Self-promotion is hard. Very hard. But it really helps when people connect, share, and then spread the love. Two completely separate connections have greatly increased the number of people who at least know about my artwork.

The first came after I commented at Robert Benson's blog about collecting vinyl. I was looking to grow my audience and I cautiously introduced myself. Cautiously because I never know how collectors will react. But he flipped! The YouTube videos gave him chills, he said. Pretty cool. So it turns out he is connected to Jerry Osborne and also writes articles that he posts for a very wide audience. He interviewed me on the phone, my first one! Then he actually let me check over the draft of his article and make sure the quotes were accurate! He's posted it in several places now.

The second came through, I believe, the post at NOTCOT.org. I was scanning through my website log yesterday morning and saw a hit from an administrative account at getTRIO.com, a cable network owned by NBC. Figuring they would contact me first, I didn't do anything. Then, about 30 minutes later I got an E-mail from PayPal saying that the Hendrix had sold! Looking at my logs to see where the person might've come from I found tons of traffic from getTRIO. They had put up a post about me! Me! Great little blurb with an excellently cropped pic of my Miles Davis. Holy mackerel. So we'll see what happens with that!

Today, after finishing organizing my records, or at least trying to, I'm going to paint, paint, paint. I made a change on my website, putting PayPal Buy Now buttons for all the paintings I've done that I think are my best and people might want again. Some of them are still available immediately, but all are available by commission. Also, my wife was concerned that people might get the idea that those listed are the only ones I'll do. And some online contacts have asked that. So, to clarify, I'll do anybody for whom I can find both a picture and an album released on vinyl. Anybody.

I'm hoping with this new exposure, people will read through this blog, even going back to the beginning. I really like how it's turned out, and enjoy reading through the posts in sequence. I started it with the intention of using it like a journal of my art doings, as well as to provide more information about my past background and how it impacts my present work. It's meant as a companion to my main website, answering questions and expanding upon the content found there. I've also since added my YouTube channel with several time-lapse videos of the creation of my artwork. So, hopefully these different ways of finding me will bring in more people and give them, well, you, enough of a sense of who I am and what my art is about. If not, please, please don't hesitate to leave comments, E-mail me, or even call me. I'm very open and appreciate any feedback, positive or critical.

At the start of a new year that I hope has found you well, if you are interested in reading, seeing or watching more about me, first:

CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE AT: WWW.VINYLART.INFO

and then come on back here to scan through my ramblings or head over to YouTube to view my videos. Peace.

SOLD - Miles Davis 01/10/08

The Verve - Blackpool - 6 Nov 2007

I'm sitting here looking out of my Phoenix window at a day that belongs in London.

I'm listening to a very good taping of the show 3 days before the show we saw in London.

I'm feeling very overwhelmed, overflowing with emotion, Life's an Ocean. Intense gratitude for life. Their music definitely is directly connected to what's real. Space and Time. I'm aware of how big little moments can be. Even though I've only got a handful of subscribers yet, and most people who've found my website are looking for vinyl art toys, I'm extremely thankful and want to shake the hands of everyone whose given me moments of their energy, their life. I know it can go unnoticed, unappreciated. I know.

But then you can connect, communicate with Life. Everything happens for a reason, a reason one might not know at the time, but a reason. To be open to that is a trick. Computers crash, garage door openers hesitate, websites show up unexpectedly. I get to paint portraits of musicians I and others love. Then I get to share them. Cool. I really do crave feedback. Not to validate my existence, just to know if I've impacted others' existence. I keep creating profiles at every social networking site I find to do just that, give others a chance to find me, to see what I do, maybe to share me with other others.

I know I'm rambling a bit, repeating myself from earlier today. But I just want to emphasize this content's connection to Life, to what's real. Human contact. Community. And with that, appreciation of individuality and uniqueness. Who are you? Tell, show the world. Open up. I'll listen, and respond.

SO, that's that. Gotta box up Willie! See him in my post from a coupla days ago, or:

CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE AT: WWW.VINYLART.INFO

and thanks for listen, no I mean, reading.

Jammin' For Primitive Kool

Painting up a storm for the show. Don't have much to say today other than I'm curious why my blog ranking jumped so much yesterday. I wish readers would leave me comments. Let me know how you found me or start up a dialog. Something. Anything. Also, there are more examples in my online gallery if you want to:

CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE AT: http://www.vinylart.info/

For now back to painting! Woohoo!

eBay And Feedback!

I've gotten my first comment! Woohoo! And from another artist too. How exciting. I hope more will follow.

I also have a couple pieces available on eBay for a couple more days. I thought I'd mention them here since they haven't really caught any attention there yet. I've got Buy It Now prices on them at the price that they are mostly selling for in galleries. I know 2 days notice is short, but I'm trying to make the most of my 7 bucks for posting them:

Santana - http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=170142992944
Jim Morrison of The Doors - http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=170142994102

So, take a look and see what you think! Indeed, these two are also shown in my gallery that you can see if you:

CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE AT: WWW.VINYLART.INFO

Come one, come all!