Okay, so unless you've been living under a proverbial rock in the social media world, you've probably seen the news that Facebook, in an effort to redistribute attention on the platform, will be deemphasizing content from Brands in the News Feed. This is a pretty big deal in the journalism world, and quite frankly, for me as a content creator because I'd come to rely on the all-powerful algorithm putting the work I produce out to the world here on Facebook. It really isn't anything new in the algorithm and bot-driven world of social media, but for the work that I've been doing and plan to do over the next weeks, months and years, it's the straw that broke the camel's back.
As the great saying goes, "Don't build your house on rented land." And well, I've been guilty of it, using Facebook as my primary photo/video/link delivery and promotion service. It's never what the platform was designed for and, from all accounts, not where the company wants it to go. So... after a great deal of planning and thinking, I'm going to be taking control of my content in the form of Photo Forward Media. Starting today, I'll be transferring my multimedia, YouTube, blog, and video portfolio content here at photoforward.media (or www.photoforward.media). If you follow Ben Brewer Photography, you're going to get all of this and a hell of a lot more with Photo Forward. Want to see all of my videos sorted by category? It'll be here. A totally revamped blog detailing my photography work, thoughts on creativity/photojournalism, updates on projects in progress. Totally here.
A HUGE theme for me personally this year is the notion of "Learn from the Best" AND "Teach what I know", I'm going to be using the Photo Forward site as the launching ground for a podcast interviewing a huge variety of talented, disciplined, and unique visual storytellers from around the world. That content will still be a few months out, but hit the Get Connected button and you'll get first access to the Podcast before the general audience.
This is a big and, quite frankly scary jump and shift in how I approach my life as a photojournalist, as a freelancer, as a teacher, and as a guy who's trying to find his voice as a creative. So as we kick off 2018...I just want to thank all of you for your support of my work and everything I'm trying to build here. Time to get back to work and put my best Photo Forward. Cheers, everyone.