Maybe it's just me but there are a couple of things bothering me today. Number one is spammers. Not the canned meat product kind but the other one. ( If you grill the heck out of it, I can eat the canned version) I have been getting several Spam comments a day on this blog. Usually, Blogger catches them and sends them to a spam folder where I deal with them. Last week, I went to my blogger tools section and found a way to report an offending site. It worked for a couple of days then they started getting in through other urls instead. The short of it is, at least for a while I am restricting comments to registered users, you will get a pop up box or the like the first time you comment. I love all my readers ( except that asshole in the Balkans who keeps spamming me) and I really enjoy every comment so this bothers me .If I find a better solution besides the dreaded word verification, I'll happily try it.
Bother number two. I just received a "Call for Artists" from a local gallery for their summer exhibition. All I need to do to be considered to be included is send them up to 3 images in their designated format and a check for $30. I should also include materials, process, price and an Artist's Statement. That was about the entire content. It covered pretty well what I could do for them but it said not a damned thing about what they would do for me! Since they asked for pricing I assume the work will be for sale. They don't say. Will there be a commission charged above the $30 I gave them to look at three pictures? They didn't say. Will there be judging for cash awards? Didn't say. Will there be national press coverage? Didn't say. Will there be a gala opening? They didn't say. How will the show be promoted? You guessed it. They didn't say. All I can say is Vanity, Vanity, all the world is Vanity. If I just want to tell my friends I'm an artist and I'm in a show maybe it's worth it for that. Would it ever put any Ducats in my pocket? I really doubt it. There are a lot of people out there who need to realize that this is a business.
That about does it for now. I'll try to do better next time.
I don't seem to get many spammers I set my blog posts to accept all comments up to four days all the old ones have to be approved and that seems to have stopped them.
ReplyDeleteThanks Linda I'll check that out.
ReplyDeleteSpam! Spam! Spam!Spam! I block all anonymous comments, but I Linda's approval system too.
ReplyDeleteYou would think that a show that charges an entry fee.....and most do these days.....would at least have a web site giving all the details of what they will do for publicity. As for not stating a commission fee, that's just plain sloppy work.
You're not grumpy, just realistic.
My favorite is the requests explaining their event as an opportunity "to get my work out there" as if everything I make just sits in my garage after I make it until someone invites me to show it to them. Not sure why it gets under my skin, but it seems so presumptuous.
ReplyDeleteSue, that's it exactly! Nice to hear from you again.Smartcat, yup it's all about them they offered no reason for me to participate.Not even a bogus one.
ReplyDeleteBack before I became disabled, I was a singer/songwriter/musician in Nashville, TN. It was a common thing then for me to get offers to pay so and so productions and send them one of my finished tracks to "be considered" for a woman's compilation album. I never did it because it was, like, $100. But how it actually worked was, EVERYONE who sent a track in was on the CD and the money everyone paid in paid for the manufacturing of it. This made it seem worth the $100 until I actually heard one of these compilations. When I say everyone, I mean EVERYONE was put on it --the good, the bad, and the ugly. And I quickly realized I DID NOT want to have my name publicly associated with some very bad work on a project like that.
ReplyDeleteI get the sneaky spammers - you know - the ones who send a generic compliment, that in no way relates to your post or your work, and then have a link to a web site where they're selling something.
ReplyDeleteSince I have to approve posts, those right in the trash.
I have had spammers in the past, but lately, knock on wood, I have been spared.
ReplyDeleteMy opinion on shows with entry fees (that sometimes also involve shipping the work to and from if it doesn't sell)... I won't enter unless I know that it's a high profile show that could lead to some recognition or sales if I am accepted. I also feel, as you do, that all the details need to be spelled out in the application.
Thanks to everyone who chimed in . It's good to know I'm not crazy. The spam seems to have stopped and I hope it is not too difficult for you to comment.
ReplyDelete