Here’s a bit of a Janus-headed post for this part of the year when we (supposedly, or if we’re obedient to the whims of Facebook’s middle management) are engaged in a lot of looking backwards and forwards.

Have you noticed how landing pages of websites with accounts used to look like:

Sign in

Sign up

And now they’re more like:

CREATE A NEW ACCOUNT!

already a member? log in

Somewhere along the way, some theorists of web publicity got together and decided acquisition is a better use of energy than retention, and this is one result.

But, erm, it doesn’t work if you actually want people to act on their online association with your brand. If the main goal is to collect lots of followers / likes / fans / whatever other word a social network uses (pets? square eyes? addicts?) so when you contact an industry professional you look impressive, then sure, hardly anyone bothers unfollowing (or equivalent) something so just go for acquisition. But for those of us with a certain amount of direct hustling going on as well as trying to get into bed with people that might sign big contracts with us, we’d like a bit more from our Facebook numbers in boxes please. Maybe if I’m playing a concert in the city you live in you’d actually come. Maybe if one of my bands stands to get a festival slot by one of those appalling ‘public vote’ faragos you’d vote. Maybe you’d actually listen to some music or even pay for some. And at that point I actually have to try and communicate and engage with people and make it feel like I want them to keep up with what I’m doing … I mean, of course I do! I’d do this anyway! The fact that it might coincide with career aims is sheerly fortuitous for all of us … er …

Which, if you’re wondering, is why I’m not always posting about depression or how to structure a worship song. They git hits, likes, follows – but not usually anything outside the blogosphere, not even feedback or comments. And I’d like to get a readership a little more interested in me as musician. Remember folks, always read the label (even on a blog).