In view of the crisis the world is facing today, Virtual Media has come out like a superhero to save budding artists from being left unrecognised. With its reach to all the areas of the world, virtual media has been providing people with the exact platform that they had been wanting for a long time now. Thus, it will not be wrong to say that it is the future platform for talent showcasing.
I recently got a text from an acquaintance asking me to join her Instagram LIVE session. She had been selected to perform online. It was a surprise, given that she had started writing recently and had been sending me her poems and works of micro-fiction for proofreading. The surprise was pleasant of course, but it was a very sudden thing. For about 20 years of my life, I have been hearing how it is ‘difficult’ to be a writer and get recognition. Blogs these days have made it easy for those interested in prose, but poetry is still seen as a luxury. Her session went well; she had performed with 5 other selected participants and had around 85 viewers more or less, which is the double of an offline recital I’d been to two weeks before the pandemic gained full force and we were all forced to stay shut inside our homes.
Instagram is not the only Talent Showcasing Platform; there are other platforms and that too easily accessible ones that are in trend these days. Every other day I see some or the other WhatsApp status asking its viewers to follow their page on FB or IG. If not that, then pictures of some artwork or a Mandala design or a Madhubani painting enthrals you just by being there at your screen. Quarantine photography, series of make-up tutorials, global cuisines — all perfectly aligned in those small circles I see in the middle window of my WhatsApp makes me realise how far we have come and how commendable has been the contribution of virtual and social media in bringing out the budding artists to the world.
Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube have been metamorphosed into America’s Got Talent stages, bringing all the talent out to you. The most interesting thing about these platforms is that most of them are free of cost. Make a page, post your artworks/videos and bam, you’re there on the wall of fame! And if you have enough followers/subscribers and likes or comments, you can very well earn from it. Now that is an extra. No travelling costs, no tedious auditions, no waiting for results and you get all that you deserve. There can be a drawback in the form of nasty comments or rude criticism which might become borderline abusive, but the blessed features of ‘report’ and ‘block’ have kept things manageable.
Another asset of this virtual mode of talent expression is that one’s post becomes a part of the huge online repertoire; it leaves a footprint — mostly digitally, and at times in the minds of the viewers. My sister, who likes to paint, had her birthday last month. When I put up a story wishing her birthday, many people replied saying that they recognise her as an amazing painter from my status promoting her art account which I had put 8 months back. If that is not something, I don’t know what is. (Did I tell you that she didn’t know any of these people personally?)
I had been friends with Haley for 18 years and I got to know recently that she is an amazing singer and plays the Harp. I know that it is vague and unbelievable, but imagine knowing someone for 18 years and getting to know because of a YouTube link that this person holds special interest in music (she is into finance, by the way). Gaining recognition and at times, money through videos made as a part of someone’s hobby and posting them on various social media platforms is the new trend and frankly, the need of the hour.
The pandemic situation, the social distancing, and increased stress and depression have made easy and accessible modes of entertainment as necessary as anything else. The most striking feature of these platforms is that in spite of a plethora of similar kinds of posts, almost all of them have equal scope of being praised and recognised; what really matters are the person’s marketing skills!
Anyway, I would also like to include television in the list. Might sound a bit preposterous and forceful on my part, but I have been watching several auditions and competitions being held over video conferencing and they’re all successful. Shows like MTV Hustle and Roadies (in India) have been auditioning and performing online and they are a huge success! Some channels are also organising esports and are helping budding gamers showcase their talents.
The whole point of this article was to let you know that though the world is in a lockdown and most of the offline opportunities like slam poetry, art workshops and exhibitions, and open mics are out of reach, there is always a way to let your inner artist-beast unleash itself. We, at Fuzia, believe in giving the same opportunity to people all over the globe, and unlike this lockdown and the virus, we are here to stay!
So why don’t you turn your laptop into a journal and your phone into an easel and present the artist within you to the world with us at www.fuzia.com?
And if you want to take up your hobbies as your profession and are planning to work from home, then these efficiency hacks while working from home are just for you www.fuzia.com/blog/details/10-ways-to-effectively-work-from-home.
Originally published at https://www.fuzia.com.