Ask HN: Alternatives to Instagram? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Alternatives to Instagram?

6 pointspkdpic8 comments

Artist defacto forced to use IG for the last half-decade or face non-existence oblivion amongst professional peer community.

I've found it toxic and dysfunctional since day one but yet another corner seems to have been turned in it's decay.

I want to be on a more socially responsible minimal app, just tell me where to go.

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The internet itself is the biggest social network. To participate, make a own website. But that's only to make your work available to others, I understand that. Getting people to actually stumble across your work is the hard part here. Maybe treat your other accounts (Instagram, Facebook, DevianArt, Artstation, Twitter, Tumblr, ...) as secondary sites. Upload your stuff there and link your website. The question would be, why use the website when everything can be found on Insta? Maybe see the website as your whole internet presence and reduce different secondary sites to their medium. Twitter for text only, Insta for artworks only, Tumblr for photography only, ... and your own website would be the hub where everything can be found in one place. You would be independent from those sites while also participating there. Maybe one could introduce this form of usage with something like 'Instagram uses me and I use Instagram too' with a link to your webpage. I'm just rambling at this point, but truth be told, I don't think you'll be able to successfully avoid big platforms ... sadly. I guess we have to find a way to live with them without being contingent on them. And this is an approach that comes to my mind.

I mean, it's trivial to say, but big platforms have lots of users and that results in larger exposure which you're dependent on as an artist (given you haven't made it yet). All you really can do is accept the game but play by your own rules. If you're financially dependent on your work, there's sadly not a whole lot of room for ideology I fear.

Pixelfed is one I know of, but there are likely more: https://pixelfed.org/

Nice, that's the only one I had on my radar as well. That's a good confirmation thank you : )

If your question was "Alternative to Instagram that lets me import my existing archive" then you'll find Pixelfed is 'not the droid you're looking for'. Like the vast majority of the new fediverse apps, it provides no way of bringing your existing content with you, when you join.

Be careful with instances. I was part of a pixelfed instance. One day the owner deleted everything.

Artist - ArtStation?

maybe deviantart?

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