fire your social media director.

[P0LYBIUS]

Copy/pasting from another thread since I have to head out, but since I didn't want this to get buried in the art thread in CB-

Congrats, we caught the one dude tracing- can we teach whoever runs the contest/social medias in general how to handle sharing art? Your facebook still has the original stolen art uploaded (with NO update whatsoever about the situation beyond 'yeah we know it's traced') and even more traced art (this one from an "artist" who ONLY traces) (and while credit WAS technically given on instagram, the original base owner was SELLING the base, not allowing it to be open for free use, meaning that whoever traced is getting all of the attention, while the artist who made the base is now out $47 and only gets a slight mention in the comments of the instagram post since none of the other social media accounts have the correction.)

I noticed that all of the social media content took a sharp downward spiral around the time GoGaia came out, so I'm assuming a new social media director was hired around that time- whoever it was, they should be fired. Your social medias are currently cluttered with crunchy jpg-quality memes (some literally from 2007), improperly tagged art (some of which is stolen, traced, or (in the past) incorrectly credited). Delete the stolen and traced art, stop using one mass-posting software and actually curate your social media accounts individually (if you're going to reupload other's art, it keeps credit from being incorrectly given- phrutcup doesn't even HAVE an instagram or a facebook, so the @s there lead to dead links), and for the love of god stop flooding what should be informative and inciting posts about your site with shitty memes.

EDIT: Under the spoiler, I've made a side-by-side comparison- The left is Gaia pre-GoGaia, the right is after. If I had never heard of Gaia before, the left would have immediately let me know that it was an anime-based social media site. The right just makes it look like a generic meme page, which technically gets social media likes and shares but... that's it. Nobody would know that an actual website was being advertised, which is the PURPOSE of social media.

[?!]

I don't have much else to say, since your post literally says it lol

They've always had issues with front-facing stuff, whether it's marketing -- advertising, PR, or anything else for that matter (literally anything that requires a lot of research lol). With this though, they're just digging more holes for themselves and ignoring it. Ignorance really must be bliss for them.

[Alpha Supernova]

I agree with this so much!! Their social media pages have gone to s**t. I don’t even follow their Facebook page anymore. I got sick and tired of memes there too.

I have one thing to add to this. I learned in another thread that whoever is in charge of the social media pages isn’t asking artists’ permission before posting and reposting their work. Some artists don’t want their work posted or reposted and whoever is in charge of social media, doesn’t seem to care because it keeps happening.

I can’t begin to tell you how unprofessional that is. This is a big issue that needs to stop.

O.o Oh, lord, their instagram is a mess now!! Those screenshots are very eye opening.

[starcell]

Yeaaaah noticed that as well, it’s crazy to me really. The before and after screenshots are super telling; actually do you mind if I include that in my thread? I talk pretty extensively about all their social media here: X I’ll quote you if you’d like?

[P0LYBIUS]

ST3PPY

Yeaaaah noticed that as well, it’s crazy to me really. The before and after screenshots are super telling; actually do you mind if I include that in my thread? I talk pretty extensively about all their social media here: X I’ll quote you if you’d like?

i dont mind at all!

/casually subs to your thread bc its a more concise version of my pre-coffee rant

[xShellshockedx]

Supported.

[Throttle Kitty]

Totally agree here, been saying basically the same for a while. Gaia has always had bad PR and social media representation but just like "Meh this is kind of boring and barely active" bad. Now it's like, actively causing issues and upsetting people left and right.

The AtS is a dumpster fire, the staff act so annoyed and dismissive of real questions they should just shut it down at this point

The artists have crossed the line into copying from small creators, meaning being an artist on Gaia now comes with the very real risk of the staff copying your work for their profit without compensation or credit

If they don't copy it, they'll outright use it for their own benefit without your permission. Again, without compensation, and often without proper credit.

Then they'll post some "edgy youth meme" about how tough not responding to simple y/s questions for months and months on end (if at all), not making customs for 3~4 years, and copying other artists is. Not to mention how mean all of us are for wanting them to do their jobs like they use too. Everyone knows the customer is always wrong, and they don't pay a company to receive service! They work their a** off at their own job they hate to give you free money because you posted a meme making fun of them! cat_rolleyes


So I guess my point is, they could do with a turn over of a lot of their staff. I've used this metaphor before. Gaia is like a battleship being piloted by kittens. Don't get me wrong, I hate talking bad about a bunch of kittens. I just would really, really like someone mature, professional, and qualified to be running this ship instead... instead of a bunch of mewling kittens who seem deeply upset and confused any time I ask them to do literally anything besides sit there and soak up undeserved attention.

[Twisted LadyTwisted Lady]

It's really gotten embarrassing. Their insta just reeks of "out of touch 40-something trying desperately to relate to the kids" and it's not a good look. They're an actual business and should be playing up their own material that they've created over almost two decades; god knows they have years of art just going to waste from old Monthly Collectibles and Chance Items. Instead they're just posting cringy weeb memes and art they swiped from independent artists. I look at these posts and just wonder "Do these artists know you're reposting their pictures? Do you have permission to have that on their page, even with their name included?"

[Zeetheus]

Oh, huh, so I wasn't imagining the jarring tonal shift that made me unfollow the Gaia Twitter? I remember there were suddenly some strange memes being posted that didn't seem to fit Gaia's style, and I believe the last straw was the art reposting?

I wish I remembered when it started, but yeah, that change was a yikes from me. I strongly preferred it back when it seemed like it was run by someone who actually liked Gaia and knew what the site was about and retweeted my Megami Natsube coloring contest entry.

EDIT: I think I would pin down my personal dissonance (on their Twitter at least) to January 1st 2020, as the account had never used generic memes quite like this before. It used images from Gaia to promo things on the Gaia website, or use cute reaction memes only when replying to people, but I don't think I've seen the account grab memes and try to spin them into a Gaia ad before this, and it was extremely weird.

EDIT 2: I decided to grab two examples to maybe illustrate my point better.

[ScarredRavens]

I've said this before and I'll say this again. Their social media is embarrassing as a company. I've asked about who runs their social media because their "memes" are either cringy or downright offensive. Jak has stated that their official social media both does not reflect them as company and is tongue in cheek. link to ATS where Jak answers about their social media.
I hope that this thread gains some traction because it needs to change.

[Shallotte]

In my opinion, If a user is caught tracing and submits it to the contest- they should definitely be banned from entering it again.

They probably should've caught that first one themselves. It was really obvious someone drew over a photo. The technique in that painting didn't reflect someone that could draw hyper realism like that.

But as for the Chibi one, it should've been taken down the second it was identified as a trace.

[P0LYBIUS]

update: got this lovely reply from cindy. reposting it + my reply here so people can't jump to 'omg derailing thread!1!' (even though the thread is ALREADY in cb)

[NPC] Cindy Donovinh

Hi there!

Many thanks for your comments, and although this thread deals with the Gaia Art Contest and your feedback is more connected with the situation in Gaia Social Media, I would anyway like to provide my comments.

As for the situation with tracing, I can tell you that for me personally it's very difficult to tell if an artist used a base or not. If other users notice that and point out that a work was traced, I always address their concerns and take actions, otherwise I assume that by default we are all honest here, unless proven otherwise. This is my approach. (bolded for emphasis- P)

As for the situation with Gaia Social Media. We LOVE to share artwork by artists from the Gaia community, new and upcoming releases and community news, and we share updates on anime, manga, gaming, and cosplay to keep the community in the know. AND, none of this content gets as many likes and shares as the memes. So what the memes actually provide, based on the way the Facebook algorithms work, is greater ‘reach’ to the posts that we share from Gaian artists and the community.

If you’d like to see fewer memes on our social channels, the best way to make that happen is by liking, commenting on, and sharing the Gaia related posts, and getting everyone you know to do the same.

Hope this helps

P0LYBIUS

x

"As for the situation with tracing, I can tell you that for me personally it's very difficult to tell if an artist used a base or not. If other users notice that and point out that a work was traced, I always address their concerns and take actions, otherwise I assume that by default we are all honest here, unless proven otherwise. This is my approach."

thanks, npc cindy donovanh, who runs the art contest! what a lovely and informative response that didn't brush me off! /s

delete the stolen art. i've done all the work and linked it for you. if you can't take 10 minutes to use a reverse google image search or have some means of verification (have the artist include WIP shots with their entry? check their social media accounts to see if they've ONLY EVER TRACED in the past? don't rely on art that others make to gain you social media clout?) then there really shouldn't be an art "contest" at all (so far i've only ever seen artists compensated in virual coins for this site- if you can't credit artists properly, then you can't even pretend to pay them in exposure).

but hey! with the meme thing, i love that you mentioned sharing, liking, and commenting on gaia-related posts! i'll make sure to do that with this post from may of last year, related to a contest for an app that STILL hasn't produced anything useful! (also /s, since i don't want to share anything from your page right now since- again- i don't share from shitty meme pages, regardless of how good their content from over a year ago was).

As for the shares thing... I already commented on this. Shares, likes, and comments don't equal site revenue, which is what the sole purpose of a social media site for a business should garner. Congrats, you got 700 shares on a funny meme- did those 700 users then come to gaia? Did they get that they were sharing a business' page, or did they just go 'haha funny meme' and then never look at your page again?

[Throttle Kitty]

P0LYBIUS

update: got this lovely reply from cindy. reposting it + my reply here so people can't jump to 'omg derailing thread!1!' (even though the thread is ALREADY in cb)

[NPC] Cindy Donovinh

Hi there!

Many thanks for your comments, and although this thread deals with the Gaia Art Contest and your feedback is more connected with the situation in Gaia Social Media, I would anyway like to provide my comments.

As for the situation with tracing, I can tell you that for me personally it's very difficult to tell if an artist used a base or not. If other users notice that and point out that a work was traced, I always address their concerns and take actions, otherwise I assume that by default we are all honest here, unless proven otherwise. This is my approach. (bolded for emphasis- P)

As for the situation with Gaia Social Media. We LOVE to share artwork by artists from the Gaia community, new and upcoming releases and community news, and we share updates on anime, manga, gaming, and cosplay to keep the community in the know. AND, none of this content gets as many likes and shares as the memes. So what the memes actually provide, based on the way the Facebook algorithms work, is greater ‘reach’ to the posts that we share from Gaian artists and the community.

If you’d like to see fewer memes on our social channels, the best way to make that happen is by liking, commenting on, and sharing the Gaia related posts, and getting everyone you know to do the same.

Hope this helps

P0LYBIUS

x

"As for the situation with tracing, I can tell you that for me personally it's very difficult to tell if an artist used a base or not. If other users notice that and point out that a work was traced, I always address their concerns and take actions, otherwise I assume that by default we are all honest here, unless proven otherwise. This is my approach."

thanks, npc cindy donovanh, who runs the art contest! what a lovely and informative response that didn't brush me off! /s

delete the stolen art. i've done all the work and linked it for you. if you can't take 10 minutes to use a reverse google image search or have some means of verification (have the artist include WIP shots with their entry? check their social media accounts to see if they've ONLY EVER TRACED in the past? don't rely on art that others make to gain you social media clout?) then there really shouldn't be an art "contest" at all (so far i've only ever seen artists compensated in virual coins for this site- if you can't credit artists properly, then you can't even pretend to pay them in exposure).

but hey! with the meme thing, i love that you mentioned sharing, liking, and commenting on gaia-related posts! i'll make sure to do that with this post from may of last year, related to a contest for an app that STILL hasn't produced anything useful! (also /s, since i don't want to share anything from your page right now since- again- i don't share from shitty meme pages, regardless of how good their content from over a year ago was).

As for the shares thing... I already commented on this. Shares, likes, and comments don't equal site revenue, which is what the sole purpose of a social media site for a business should garner. Congrats, you got 700 shares on a funny meme- did those 700 users then come to gaia? Did they get that they were sharing a business' page, or did they just go 'haha funny meme' and then never look at your page again?

So not only did they dismiss your actual main complaint about what could amount to an actual violation of the law on the part of the staff.... but they suggested your response to the social media being bad... is to like it more?

What sort of crazy silly fairy land nonsense is this? That's pushed so far backwards into dismissive they are actively telling you to pat them on the back and reward them for doing a bad job.

what is even going on

[?!]

[NPC] Cindy Donovinh

🤡🤡🤡

not only are you wrong about the instagram posts, you're downright ignorant about the issues that have been raised with the Art on Gaia. The amount of incompetency in a job is astounding, oh my lord.

haha yes post le funnee meme so people can shitpost it elsewhere and move on to the next, awesome advertising guys!!!!!!

it's no longer funny, it's just sad.

[Brule Latte]

I stopped following because some of the commenters are hateful people. why Would I want the hateful Gaians to know who I really am?