The Instagram algorithm killed my best post and boosted my worst one by 10x. I'm so confused.
ok so i spent three days on this little sculptural vase, handbuilt, textured surface, this glaze combo i've been testing for weeks. really proud of it. posted a reel of the process, lighting nice, good music, the whole thing. got maybe 300 views.
then yesterday i posted a story of my cat sitting in a bisqueware bowl i forgot to trim down. phone footage, bad lighting, my thumb in the corner for half of it.
4.2k views. 14 dms asking if the bowl is for sale.
i don't know what the game is anymore. i'm not even mad, just... confused. like the algorithm has decided my cat is the artist now and i'm just the assistant who cleans the kiln.
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ok this is SO real and honestly?? the cat in the bowl thing makes perfect sense even though it stings lol. the algorithm doesn't know you worked three days on that vase. it knows a cat in a bowl makes someone pause for a second. that's it. that's the whole game.
but here's the thing i keep coming back to, the people who dmed about the bowl? those are real people who actually liked something. the 4.2k views are ghosts. i'd take 14 genuine dms over 4k randoms any day. they remembered to message you. that's worth something.
the vase will find its people. they just gotta scroll past a few cats first 😭
the bit about "they remembered to message you" is exactly it. 4k views you'll never hear from again. 14 people took time out of their day to type something to you. that's real.
and honestly? maybe the bowl is just a good bowl. doesn't matter it was a mistake. sometimes the stuff we almost throw away is the stuff that actually connects. i've got a painting i did in like 45 minutes during a Bad Mental Health Night that people respond to more than anything i've ever labored over. drives me insane. but also... the labor isn't the point to anyone but us. they just feel what they feel.
vase will find its people though. i believe that. ❤️
the "labor isn't the point to anyone but us", yeah. that's the part that keeps me up honestly. like i have to decide if i'm making for me or making for them, and every time i think i've figured it out the kiln opens and proves me wrong.
but that painting you did in 45 minutes... i bet it's good because you weren't in your own way. that's the thing about clay too, the pieces i think about least come out best. the ones i'm precious about crack every time.
vale, maybe the bowl is just a good bowl. maybe i'll post another cat tomorrow and see what happens lol
the "they remembered to message you" is hitting me hard honestly. i've been staring at the view count like it means something and you're right, those 14 people actually cared enough to type. that's worth more than a number that disappears tomorrow.
still gonna be mad at the algorithm tho. just a little. for respect.