Facebook is bad for artists?

I had some interesting findings after posted a poll on DA regarding my Facebook Fan Page. Many have commented that they are against Facebook and discourage me from posting art over there due to various reasons, and one of them due to the possibility of having my art being used freely by this social media site. So here are my thoughts based on my experience running a FB page for a year.

The main reason for me to set up a facebook page, is to extend my fanbase beyond DA, to the not so artist-oriented demographics. I have been using DA, and only DA, as my art HQ for the past decade and will always be. Facebook is acting as an outpost to connect with my fans in a more responsive manner due to the convenience of making posts, replies, making announcements and sharing images. Honestly, it is not my intention to choose between DA and FB, but to use both concurrently for different purposes. 

So far I have not encountered any incident of FB using my images for advertising or any other commercial activity yet. Long before I started posting art on social media sites, my artworks were posted and shared by others on FB, twitter, tumblr, instagram, pinterest..etc, and many times without the proper credit to me. Worst, they were stolen, distributed and used illegally on a daily basis, cos there many of them found my art on these platforms without knowing I am the original creator. Now at least they can tag me on facebook or instagram if they choose to.

So is facebook bad for artists to promote their art? I can't answer for all but it works for me so far, especially with their efficient mobile apps. I am using it as an extension of dA, not the replacement of it. 

My Facebook Fan Page: www.facebook.com/Stanleyartger…
My Instagram name: Artgerm 

www.imaginaryfs.sg

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MY DA INTERVIEW

For those who wanna know a little bit more about me, you can find the interview here:

news.deviantart.com/article/20…

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