Is CARA the new social media for artists? Instagram versus Cara
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 ก.ย. 2024
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After seeing Cara, I'm happy. No trashy ads and no recommendations from stupid influencers, what a novelty!
Remember Instagram and Facebook didn't have ads at first then they got popular this will likely happen to Cara too because you can't run these apps for free I'm going to very wary of this app as I am of all apps.
Exactly!! Hope it stays that way.
@@christinakentart oh no
Did you forget Instagram is a place upload photos correct?
Of course you're going to see influencers
Cara is so refreshing! I'm also happy to be rid of influencers!
I've been stuck on about 200 followers on Instagram for a long time so I decided to give Cara a try. Seems good so far, but my issue is that it's kind of hard to find traditional artists to follow because most users seem to be digital artists. And I do like digital work as well, but as a traditional painter myself, I'd like to follow other similar artists.
Hi! I just started at Cara too. I'm a traditional artist too, and have the same feeling. But maybe it just takes some time to get in the right 'bubble'.
That could be a question of time. since early adopters of a new app tend to be young and also early adopters of digital art.
Should we worry about instagram taking images for ai ? I wish to continue to post there .
yes, this! but I've actually seen traditional artists post this exact question on Cara, like "where are we, painters?" so everybody seems to be struggling with the same thing
@@tirzabeekhuis903 i've seen traditional artists look for other traditional artists on Cara so you're not alone! keep looking for each other
The creators of CARA are also artists that have been around for a long time. They were the early known artists in Deviant Art. One of the people behind it recently won a case against a plagiarist that used her editorial photography without her permission. It consumed a lot of her time, so after she won the case, she finally had more time to focus on CARA.
In my point of view, CARA is more like Deviantart/Instagram. It's a combination of portfolio and posting random works. I don't know what direction they will be going in the future but I hope it will remain favourable for creative people.
Oh cool! Thanks for sharing. I'm hopeful as well.
It's honestly worth such a deep dive It's a fantastic story and zemotion could potentially be the person of the year
@@solarydaysHow unfair your comment. If there's no ads, how would she pay to create it and then maintain it for us all to use it.
Is she supposed to go bankrupt for someone else's benefit? It's hypothetical, I don't know about her finances, but why shouldn't she look for contributions for a job done for other artist benefit as well. I'm sure she has paid a lot.
And then, maybe in the future she will see some financial benefit, who knows? But why not?
Why some people think artists should be poor and work for free!
Regarding donations, zemotion posted there are scam bots and fake accounts asking for money on Twitter. Be very careful you have the correct account.
Thank you for this comment and I will be adding this app to my portfolio!
It's less of an Instagram killer and more of a artist solidarity and sacred grounds for expression. I do think this is why artists will leave Instagram, hopefully most artists.
pfffft sure dude. a sacred ground of social media. It will turn toxic in a matter of months.
Honestly, this is those kinds of things that surely would benefit running a Kickstarter campaign to be ready to launch with "great ideas, but better decisions".
I’ve had a concern for awhile now that it seems like creative communities are in their own bubbles. Photographers are creating work that will make good content for other photographers rather than their subjects. There’s a pressure for designers to keep up with and replicate trends because other designers will like it. Art seems to comment less on the world around us.
I do worry about how this platform will contribute to that. I also wonder how SOCIAL this really is. It feels more like Behance than a social network to me
Eventually is going to flop, they need to advertise and people will not be happy with this or they gonna be bought by a bigger company. The app is good, but is like an Artstation, there's no interaction, if you comment in somebody's post they will like your comment and that's it, and there's no growth potential if you were big on Instagram and advertise your profile you will be big there, and your posts are going to front page, but if you are trying to grow an audience there's very little room from you.
I saw someone call Cara a "portfolio website not a social one" so perhaps your concerns have some merit.
Well, I was a part of a community art site called Paigeeworld before it shut down (the creator was suing their father who was a co-owner, messy stuff, so the site didnt shut down for other reasons). The community was very open and everyone encouraged the growth of each other. Its not like joining such a social site will make artistic vision stay in an echo chamber. We still have the outside world aside from the site. Cara is a good thing
Idk, I grew up on deviant art and left because of all of the UI changes they were making without addressing the creepy grooming or untagged porn back around 2015-ish. I loved DA because I could see and share my art with artists, it gave me motivation to make stuff and try out a ton of different mediums, styles, and go out to find new subjects. It's the reason I'm a artist today, even if I would spit in it's face today for how the company fucked up their own site.
I never minded the ads, I could even deal with more ads on cara if it would keep the site up! I haven't seen this many artists in one place in years, and I've missed it so much, I'VE MISSED IT SO MUCH. The closest I've seen is art communities on discord, but those can only hold maybe a few hundred artists and you can't really follow people or specific subjects in a discord chat. Like it's super fun to talk to people but it's not the same you know?
Cara revolves around the opposite of what you describe in your first paragraph. It's no longer about following trends of making viral content, there's no algorithm punishing you for not churning out "content" often enough to feed the beast.
Deviantart was like that before they wanted to be "modern", then everything was about FOMO, fighting the algorith and seeing your work being drowned anyway in an ocean of mundane picts of salon nails, bath selfies and the like.
Me and my friend was discussing this, and the point you made at the end, we was saying the same thing. The most important things are galleries, pop-up events, conventions, and meeting people, buyers in person.
Yes! I'll take 10 in-person conversations over 10,000 likes any day.
I think you have very valid concerns. I’m a digital artist and I’ve been wanting to start posting my art on social media and try to build some kind of following, even if it’s not very big. I was kind of stuck on what to do, which app to use because none of them seemed to respect artists or try to protect them. I’m glad a solution has presented itself.
I definitely want to support Cara just to see where it goes. For now, my home is tumblr, I’m just focusing on improving my art. It’s hard to know which social media will stay in the long term, but I hope we get at least one good art platform for artists that manages to stick around and actually stand by artists.
I hope so too!
I’m in a similar position. I mostly post for my own enjoyment, but have become disillusioned by the scrapping & lack of protection for artists by Meta, etc.
I'm not sure where this is going but I really like what I see in my feed on Cara for now
Me too! So much art! And people that I follow!! Imagine that.
If majority artists abandon IG and migrate, people will have no choice, but move with them.
There are service artists - tattooing, graphic design, concept, freelance etc.
You summed up my thoughts perfectly in the bottom sentence. As a junior graphic designer the people that seek/will seek 😏 out my skills aren’t other designers. The majority of designers I follow on instagram aren’t “original”. I constantly see the same typography, color palette, etc. and they have design prompt challenges (which in my opinion is basically what AI is doing). Also graphic design isn’t art and it isn’t just posters, logo design, and branding.
I think having an artist focused place is great, and I hope Cara embraces that. Because then it could become the go-to place when you need to find the said artists for commissions or fine art purchases. But I agree with you - I wouldn't put all of my eggs in one basket either. Diversification is the way, anyway, if you have the energy and time to grow a few platforms at once.
I agree, an artist network is very valuable. And yes - diversify!
I wonder if they have considered some kind of shop function and take a modest fee like 4% from sales through the app? Or maybe a small fee to list paintings for sale on a separate page? Hm.
I wouldn't be opposed to that, worth considering!
there is a portfolio section on the app but thats about it so far, but i think its great !
That seems like a good idea that would hopefully benefit both the app and the users. Would create a new avenue for artists to make money and sell art, while also funding the app.
Maybe the collectors and galleries will start using Cara.
I hope so! Will try to encourage them to join.
If collectors arent using it, then i am not entirely sure i see the point, do i want my art admired by 1000 other artists or by 100 art collectors, i know which i choose
Exactly I think it's a waste of time. @@nicbeese1
There is no way for Cara to know what is AI and what's not. I don't think it's worth it. They will probably also misidentify art that is not AI as AI.
I’ve already seen Artistic Agencies sign up, because they do Not want AI art. They stated they will be using Cara to find talent.
I’m also seeing a lot of artists state they’d be ok covering 5$/month, as a cushion for those who can only afford $1/month
I’m on Cara! Can’t leave Instagram because my living depends on it but I definitely made a rant reel about meta ai 😂
I feel you, I don't think I can leave Instagram yet either, but maybe someday...
Give please instruction how to install on iPad Pro and Window machine. Christina is not telling how to do it.
@@cms4Lenayou could check cara faq. as far as i know, it’s only on phones
I like Cara but the amount of people that come to the platform, post an image and get upset they arent getting a bunch of likes is crazy.
Cara isnt about numbers but community. If you want to be seen you need to interact with other artist through following, commenting and rebloging.
Alot seem to not understand the seperation of timeline for rebloging and the portfolio for post work 😵💫
That‘s actually how it worked years ago on insta xD when the times where simpler … we are way to addicted to numbers … and yes i don‘t get how people are expecting big numbers after like couple of weeks xD … cara itself is trying to grow ….
Great point. I also really like the reposting feature - I can share work of artists I love without it mixing with my portfolio :)
Jumped on Cara a couple of days ago. ..feels like I’m right at the bottom of a long hill again. I’ll climb it but a little jaded from the climbing the IG one. I’ll do both for now and see how it goes but I have a feeling Cara will fade away if they have to rely on goodwill of their users (Meta/big tech hate won’t be enough).
I feel you, it's frustrating to start a new app... I am hopeful though. Will be interesting to see how/if Cara can become sustainable.
@@nerobaal6655 yup! and thanks for the good luck -appreciated!
Been on Cara for over a year. Good to see the community move to it. It's what he community needs.
Aside from AI, I personally hope Cara is an artists app
like I’m rlly overwhelmed by tiktok and Instagram bc of the toxicity around the art community lately😭
I would def make a art posts there just for art and it’s a great timing since I’ve been looking for an app maybe for artists like Pinterest
We’re all artists. We have the most ideal mindset to push through the challenges of entrepreneurship in a creative and unique way. It’s our super power that many business minded individuals lack. However, we can learn from the corporate types as well. To move fast, pivot, and push through. To learn the business side of things but navigating it with our creative spirit.
Onward and upward!!! 🥳
Thanks for the video and sharing your thoughts on Cara!
So so true! That's a great way of thinking about it.
In case you haven't heard about Nightshade AI filter, you can put it over your art before posting and it is not visible to the naked eye, but makes it impossible for the art to be used to train AI
Thanks for the tip!
Doesn’t work none of those blockers work. They all have been hacked and the tech doesn’t work.
i think Cara will go kinda in the fotsteps of deviantart, a place initially FOR artists that will gain popularity with non-artists and people looking for artists later in its popularity. Im enjoying it a ton currently just because I feel like its giving kinda early deviantart vibes
Glad to hear you are liking it so far :) I'm also happy to see so much art!
Joined Cara today! Already love it! Way better stuff to see. My mental health is already improving
Awesome, so glad to hear it!
Im gonna sit this one out. If Cara becomes artist-centric than it’ll be less sales for me, whereas on instagram I’ll still get more sales from the general public
Yeah, I'm hopeful about Cara, but I'm not leaving instagram any time soon for the same reason. So in the meantime I'll be juggling both apps :/
It has promise; I only discovered it a few days ago and joined; then your video on Cara popped up. Everyone talking about it!
I like the splitting portfolio and posts so can doodle or paint .
Looking at the artwork a lot does seem digital and very polished looking like Ai; I wonder if any will get through the net ?
Hope it stays on photos only and remains for artists by artists.
Glad that something like this exists. I think the social aspect would be better if there are some areas, specifically bound to a topic. Like the old boards for example. It is highly counterproductive that social media platforms usually tend to gather everyone at one place instead of strictly dividing people with different interest and giving them their deserved space. For example a big space only for artists and nothing else. The interactions would be highly valuable imho.
I like that idea! Could be a good way to foster community as well.
Going to check out Cara with my wife since we both run an art business.
Awesome! See you there :)
Excellent post! Great analysis, very in depth. Love how you conclude by emphasizing in person events & an email list.
Back in the day, Instagram would give you the flexibility to view the most recent posts. But nowadays, the algorithm just prioritizes trending content and frivolous memes. It feels like the platform is more concerned with pushing certain types of posts, rather than catering to the user's preferences and delivering a seamless experience. It's unfortunate, but it seems like they're not all that invested in what the actual users want anymore. I honestly feel like we're getting into some shitty new reality
Yeah, same. Someone used the term "fast food content," it's like the apps are pushing content that is attention-grabbing and addictive, but lacks substance. And the sad part is, it works, it keeps people glued to the screen :/
@@christinakentart I loved the days when I would open Instagram and watch art related posts only
As an artist I want to show my work to regular people and not to other artists! Instagram sucks more and more but Cara is not really an alternative
I agree, since making this video I've been waiting to see if the art community would shift, but it looks like the galleries and collectors are sticking with instagram for now.
It can't become an alternative to Instagram if artists don't go try it out. We're feeding the problem by staying on Instagram.
I just made a CARA account thanks to your video. So glad this showed up in my feed, thank you ❤
Awesome, see you there!
I hear what you say. I ditched meta a little while ago. (Except for whatsapp, because having that app installed is kind of a necessity here in the Netherlands). So thanks for making this video, I will give cara a try.
Awesome, see you there!
I don't know who Instagram is FOR anymore. I'm a San Francisco architecture photographer and everything you described about artist experience on Instagram is happening with us too.
I feel you :( I heard that many photographers are moving to Foto, have you tried it?
@@christinakentart Not yet but thanks for the recommendation. Hope you're having a lovely San Francisco afternoon too!
@@christinakentart Do you know how I join Foto? Looks interesting but I'm confused.
@@djcruse Oh that's a good point, I think they are restricting the number of people who join for now since they are in beta, so it might not be possible to join at the moment.
The app very much started with people from all walks of the creative professional industry looking for a safe place to host their portfolios and also list/find job openings. Branching out to the greater community as more people open up their own accounts from the wider community. There is a job listing's page already but I don't know if those listing's are being monetized.
I'm a traditional artist on CARA aswell. So far the community is kind and supportive. Yes i starting at 0 again but posting on insta isn't doing much for me.
Glad you've found it supportive so far! Me too :)
I think we got used to free stuff at the exchange of privacy and / or bad advertising and now with AI, the balance is turning bad for everyone. As a developer and artists I've asked this myself, understanding both sides. New social media will need to be minimalist and focused on helping promote and sell artists' content... the difficult part (as mentioned in your video) is getting on board curators, galleries, promoters and all the intermediaries, which makes the social media difficult and costly to run since paint is different to digital pain, and that is different for musicians, and all the range of artists. If it is too niche based, it is not social or doesn't cover the exposure potential and interactions. Paying for platforms is going to be needed in those cases. Hosting and storage is not cheap and people already got used to complex UI interfaces. As in many things, going back to basics it is highly recommended, and needed.
So true!
I moved to cara because its slower, im not looking for just views im looking for true appreciation. I dont plan to get hired off it i just want a space where i can show what i do freely, get constructive criticism from someone who can intuitively understand what i was going for. Im at a plateau where i need people who can say this is where you went wrong and this is what i would do differently to fix said issue. To me Cara represents a place where i can do that and i hope that it will urge me onward with it. Im tired of hearing that something is fine or pretty and nothing's wrong with it when i see where colors n such go flat with no idea how to fix it. I want to finally move to the next level in my capacity as an artist
What I want to know is, if Cara is for artists made by artists, what reason is there for non-artists to go there? Having your art on Instagram allows so many random eyes on it which can potentially get you commissions or work, etc. Cara, if it's only for artists, why would they want to pay for anything when they want to make money? I get that Instagram has this AI crap and the algorithm sucks, but I don't see a point in going to Cara if you don't get all eyes on your work.
Exactly
I agree, for me it's very important that clients (e.g. galleries, collectors, art advisors) can see my work.
Even still, it’s a space for artists to find community without having to worry about Ai stealing their work. I think there’s still value in that.
People who aren't artists visit galleries and art events irl. Art attracts people. If your work can be viewed publically on Cara, the non-artists will still visit there to see it. They will seek it out.
On Cara i feel SAFE & i always see the artists I love
That's awesome!
youtube originally didn't have intrusive ads or a subscription model, it had ads in a sidebar
I loved the layout of Cara. I'll be there anyway, and redirect my clients to there. I'm an old well stabelished artist. I think I have an obligation to help the new generation built their network in a safer place like Cara.
That's awesome! See you there :)
Gostei muito do seu ponto de vista. Sou professor de artes e não tenho mais paciência para o Instagram ou outra empresa da Meta, meus alunos iniciantes se sentem incentivados e muito confortáveis em mostrar seus desenhos no Cara e. Por enquanto o aplicativo está sendo o fluxo dessa insatisfação, espero que eles saibam lidar com essa oportunidade sem afetar o que conquistaram. Vou te procurar por lá! Abs e obrigado pela reflexão.
I think videos should be a feature on Cara, I love looking at time lapses, painting videos, or just an overview of someone's work. There are also artists who make traditional mixed media art that would be hard to showcase without a video (papercuts, lino, murals etc.) so I do hope they can implement that in the future.
I'm really excited for Cara's future! It's clearly an app by artists for artists, it's about time we had that. I do agree with not putting all your eggs in one basket, I suppose we'll just have to see. I'm just glad this relatively safe space exists for now :)
I agree it is nice to see process videos, and it would make the app more inclusive for other artists. I think they might add video in the future. l'm just hoping if they do, the app doesn't become like tiktok...
Interesting! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and insights. I am seriously considering CARA I just don’t know if I have another social media learning experience in me right now! Yeah a little bit lame, but that’s how I feel right now. Good luck to you and thanks.
I feel you... sometimes I'm like "no, not another app!" but I need an alternative to instagram :/
I wouldn’t mind ads from art suppliers and art stores. If they allow art sales, I can see them taking a cut of sales. This app has a lot of potential, I’m sure they’ll figure it out as time goes on.
Makes sense to me. I'm just worried the ad model is such a slippery slope - they might quickly move away from art and towards "engagement."
@@christinakentart I hope not. One of the things I miss about Instagram is finding people through the "newest post" tab. The algorithm took away the opportunity for new creators to be discovered.
Yes - in-person interactions are so important to creators. To *everyone*, really.
So true!
IG is not for artists only. My art is soap does this mean Cara would be better for/worse for me? I’ve never liked IG so I’ve never posted much anyway. Finding an alternative is enticing for me. Thank you, for sharing 😊
You can use glaze outside of cara. Also nightshade.
Awesome, thanks for the info!
I'm gonna sit this one out, I don't see the end of different social media sites one has to manage nowadays to keep in touch with the exact same people. The problem with this platform is that they just got a big influx of new users who praise them for no commercials etc but also they have no funding so I don't know how that will work out.
They are trying to copy what artstation is, but they likely won't be able to steal the userbase, only create another small bubble of artist community with the same nepotism issues you can find in any other art community because it's always the same people on top driving these things.
Yeah, I'm getting tired of all of the different apps as well. I agree they need to make money somehow, and how they decide to do that will determine the future of the app.
I love that you mentioned how Instagram is becoming more live-action and AI… part of why I liked Instagram in the first place was because it was more silent/visual. Facebook got too ‘loud’ for me. I’m going to look into this CARA app and see how it goes. I love technology, I think there’s already too much abuse by AI though. I love the human aspect of arts on all forms and mediums. I hope we don’t ever lose the human perspective.
The thing is, if you just stick with the old stuff, it will literally never change. At least with Cara, we are choosing that we don't want the trash, and if it ends up changing for the worse, then we had a good time with it and can decide what to do then.
This is the second video I see in Cara and I definitely want to try it. As for the "AI training" Meta has a lot of issue with EU Commission because the way they let the choice to the user to choose if he wants or not his content to be used as "training material"is not clear and apparently whatever your choice they could use your content in a tricky way. So for me Instagram is dead for artists.
Let’s all just join it. Join it, make it grow. Get rid of instagram for artists and show them people power.
Yes!! Artists unite!
Thank you so much for the great and honest video❤ I am also not ready to stop posting on instagram, but I’m very much hoping that this app grows, because it does have potential
Thank you, I hope so too!
the value of a social media depends mostly on the people in it. If Cara has our backs, we should do our best to make it thrive!!!!! It might be our only chance of having a long term social media platform for artists.
Yes! Let's at least give it a chance! :)
Fantastic, thanks for the share. Im so fed up with Insta at the moment.
I joined Cara and I like it so far. It seems like a good alternative to Instagram and I appreciate the artist focused mission statement. I'm also wondering how they'll manage to keep it going as it grows. You're asking all the right questions. A subscription model is interesting as it removes the need for advertising revenue. I agree, I don't know if I'd be willing to pay a subscription for social media, though. If it was REALLY good, maybe. It would have to be an amazing platform that I find highly beneficial to my life.
I have no problem with them selling advertising. The MAIN thing they need to offer is the natural aristocracy of talent. So let the popular content gather its own momentum without manipulating the algorithm. They should allow videos and everything else that Instagram offers. Just don’t mess with the feeds. Not sure why this is such a difficult balance to strike.
Christina, that's well said about the pros and cons of Instagram and Cara, I do agree with a lot of points you mentioned.
Thank you!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and perspective on Cara. I’ve been watching artist moving over to it, but definitely curious to see how a small team handles the move of some many artists at once and keeps in moving forward successfully.
Me too! I hope so, the past few days it has been very hard to use. Hopefully it gets better as they upgrade their servers.
Thank you. It's nice to know they include traditional art. I thought it was all digital art.
Yes! I found many of my favorite traditional artists from Instagram have recently joined Cara.
We've got used to using 'free' platforms, which are costing us so much in terms of loss of rights of our work, loss of engagement, and losses to our productivity and mental health... Not free by any means!
5 or 6 quid a month is definitely worth paying to remove all those losses.
I really feel that a subscription model is the only way to really control the format and security of a platform. And more people need to acknowledge and stand up for that.
I loving it so far it's good not great but good.
Not only is D.A overrun with A.I. images, but it did pretty much the same thing instagram has done with using your images for ai training, way before instagram did.
2:32 I got an automatic email to opt out and it was pretty easy, I got confirmation within 10 minutes and I'm not a big creator, but the caveat is, from the words they use, the opting out only applies to art you upload going forward and anything prior is already taken for the training.
Thanks for sharing. I'm glad to hear it was easy to opt out! Helpful to know that it only applies to the work going forward, seems messed up to me, although it is what I suspected.
I totally understand the questions and concerns about the features and reach with Cara. However, I think it's important for a lot of artists to remember that this is a new, independent platform going up against the juggernauts of the industry. People always talk about wanting to have an alternative but if you don't support it when it finally comes out then you can't complain. Everybody wants Cara to already be caught up but that's not how that works. You can absolutely keep using other platforms but if you don't ALSO use Cara then it won't grow at the pace that is needed. I know we live in a time of instant gratification but this is one of those things that will absolutely be worth it if we're patient and supportive.
I've started to get bored with IG. Only about every 3rd to 4th post is from someone I specifically follow to see their content. IG feeds me sponsored stuff, and suggested stuff, and seen by others stuff. I don't care, I care who I followed. Show me that.
Same here! It is so frustrating.
Excellent video! Thank you!
As an animator, the inability to post videos (that aren't youtube/vimeo links) is a major downside. There are also some major limitations on the desktop version of the site that I hope get updated.
You can upload gif
Fair point. I wonder if there is a way to allow video without it becoming like tiktok?
There is a platform, called Ultra book in France and I think maybe Cara would be similar to that at some point.
Thank you Christina!!!!!
For sure!
Very well considered coverage of Cara. Thanks for this. I’ve been seeing the app come up again recently and was giving it another look.
Thank you!
On the finance side of Cara, they should start with maybe $2 per month no ads $1 with ads. With 500k already signed up a very low sub could make it all possible. I hope they stay true to their roots, so few do.
That's a good point. I hope so too!
Great content, and thanks for this video. Subscribed
Also, for what it’s worth, let’s not forget that galleries and collectors should follow the artists and not the other way around!😊
Thank you! Yes, I agree, I think if I were a gallery or collector, I'd want to be on the app with all of the artists!
I'm so proud that i found Cara before this big boom of popularity
This is really interesting. I will follow Christina on whatever platform she is at
Thanks Richard! :)
Great insight, as always, Christina. Thank you.
Thanks Maura! :)
This sounds interesting to try and yes I do play around with AI but I am still an artist. I still paint, sketch, creative my own art. Even I am on Deviant Art but I do post mostly my art. Thank you Cara.
Hope they add video feature soon. Really makes the work standout or what if you wanna post animations
Glad I wasn't tripping. I follow about 1,000 people and like 30-40 percent are people I know from school. The rest should be artists, yet all I get are dumb reels and posts and barely find any of the artists I follow anymore. Seriously, I get none of my art posts and there are like a majority. It's so weird.
That is so frustrating! That's one thing I'm happy with about Cara right now - my feed is full of art by artists I love.
i was born before social media in 1993. Every single great social media place starts out as a great place, and then artists and various people can make money on it and get great exposure, than the ads come, then the app either gets as good as it is going to become or it starts to get needless updates and then they sell out. So i am guessing that Cara will start out great and then sell out eventually no matter how much they truly feel like they never will or dont want to.
Yes, it seems that way for any social media funded by ads. For that reason, I'm more hopeful about a subscription model. The big question there, of course, is if people will pay.
I love that the foucs is only on the art and not "reels" -- which are slowly killing my soul.
Yay! I agree with how you pronounce Cara. I just signed up today and am on the verge of deleting my Instagram account that has 14,000 followers.
Haha thanks for the confirmation. That's great! See you there :)
I’m also a SF Bay Area was artist, I will check out this app and find you. Thanks for sharing 🤙🏽
Oh cool! If you come to an opening in the bay area and see me, please say hi! :)
How long do you think before this new app turns into another instagram? History does repeat itself. Once everybody jumps into it, it then becomes harder to get spotted.. again.. app after app. Right?
Just lOved your evaluation!!!! I'll wait a bit more to decide about CARA. I'M really fed up with IG!!!!!!TFS
Thank you!
Thank you for taking the time to share this information. 😊
For sure! :)
Pretty much agree with this entire video. I live in the EU, luckily my request to opt-out of the new Meta AI programme was accepted. I don't like that other artists can't opt out (easily) though. I'm ok with investing a little time into Cara; I dont invest that much time into Instagram as it is anyway. I agree that it's more sustainable to grow an irl art community. I live in a small town, the nearest "big city" is a bit over an hour away from me. I don't have a car, but luckily my boyfriend does and is from said big city. And he's well connected with the creative community there :)
My few tests with instagram ads is that in my efforts to target collectors and other potential people who might be looking to by art, instagram instead showed my ads to other artists. I did get some followers, but almost exclusively other working artists. I couldn’t get it to properly target the sector of the then market I was trying to reach. 2:03
Yes, I think that's what happens with my ads too.
Composer here. I think people have become too accustomed to free networking. I used to pay $75 a year to a national library/marketing service which (Canadian) composers aspired to join after their studies. But over time this organization became less valuable as social media and networking apps proliferated, giving us more and quicker control of our profiles. As you pointed out, however, Cara NEEDS revenue because they require servers and technicians etc. If people understood these kinds of businesses then they might feel comfortable paying for quality service rather than expect a social/promotion tool to be free and perfect. Nothing is free; it might be just a matter of time before Cara too has to resort to click-bait entertainment and the harvesting of users' images for AI training data-unless users donate enough or pay a subscription fee etc. I hope it works out in our favour!
Great point. Seeing Cara grow and try to adapt to all of the new traffic has given me a new appreciation for what these apps do. I think a subscription fee would be worth it. Especially if it prevents Cara from resorting to click-bait and exploiting users like Instagram.
If Cara ever goes the manufacturing way it will become like Etsy where hand/home-made creators lost sales overnight when Etsy went public. I knew their initial platform model went south when they went public. Public means you only want to satisfy shareholders which means mo' money, mo' money, mo' money (meaning bigger shareholder dividends.) I know of some people who use Instagram as their online website presence (meaning they have no web address). I hope Cara remains true to its mission for the artists as it grows. Etsy continues to see the same frustrations as Instagram artist and leaving them too.
That's a good point, thank you! Etsy seems to have taken a turn for the worse, and is an important case study to look at when thinking about these platforms.
Pink 🩷😊
this is only a temporary hype. remember the Vero app introduced by Peter McKinnon? yes, exactly!
This makes a lot of senses and I was thinking I was doing something wrong
I'm in UK, it was easy to opt out of the AI training, you just click and say why you don't want it, after a short while, you get an email back saying you have opted out. I joined Cara yesterday but not sure if I can even be bothered to try and find out how to use it yet, until it stabilizes.
As someone who works in the animation industry but doesn't actively post art, I like Instagram because I enjoy artist content creation. I like seeing videos of process in ADDITION to the art. I feel like as someone who is in the 'art lover' category you mention in your video, Cara isn't really great for us. I need to check it out though. Maybe I can go on there and just enjoy the art, but will I look like a creeper without any art posted on my page? Or will people judge me for it? I know that's a silly thought, but it just feels like the dynamic of being able to enjoy the art AND the artist is hard to do without being an active artist myself.
Hopefully that made sense lol. Thanks Christina for this video, I got a lot of insight on the whole situation.
Thank you for your perspective! Yeah, I understand the concern. The current setup kind of signals that everyone on there is supposed to be an artist, which is not great if we want to expand the community.
Cara has so many great features with posting that i've personally wanted on insta for years, and about posting videos, you can put link embed, but they'll work on posting videos in future, but i don't think it'll be like tiktok or reels, more like animations or timelapses, you can post gifs for now.
i hope cara will be greater in the future.
That's great to hear. I hope so!
@@christinakentart they also have a discord server (that is much busier now) for some updates, even some bug reports or suggestions or anyone can help you with some problems you might have.
A little weirded out by the false ai flagging. That alone makes me unsure if I should join. Its great that they are vigilant against ai - thats the whole point, but i feel uncomfortable with my art being labeled as ai or even taken down or something when its not.
My style is pretty messy (for lack of a better word), so its easy to think that maybe it wouldnt flag me, but it feels better to be safe than sorry.
Yeah it was weird, it only happened to one of my paintings and I don't know why. But I haven't heard it happening to other artists, so maybe I just got unlucky. I think as the app matures they will be able to sort these things out. Right now I think they just don't have the bandwidth to deal with every bug.
Artists have to decide whether or not to invest in their digital presence. If you don't want ads, then you have to pay a small fee. Even if it's $3-$4 a month and you have a completely enjoyable experience using Cara, then it's worth it. There are free options available but that means compromise.
Yes, I think you're right about that
I'm all with the premise behind Cara and I've already jumped over to their app but honestly I have fears that it'll end up just an eco chamber full of artists with little to no potential for commissions through it. At the end of the day it's non artists that seek us. Hope it's not ArtStation 2.0
I also hope we can get clients/collectors etc to join! Not sure the best way to go about it...
Thanks for this video. I'm over Instagram.
Me too!! It's time for something better.