Facebook jewellery

[Kevin Murray]

I'm interested if anyone has thoughts about the affect of Facebook on jewellery. As you know, it is a ubiquitous platform, now attracting something like a half a billion users.

Built into it are various virtual currencies for building relationships, such as a 'poke', liking comments, 'friending' people and sharing nominal resources in game applications like Farmville.

Some might say that Facebook is replacing the other currencies of friendship, including jewellery like pins and bracelets.

But are there clever ways for jewellers to use Facebook? There's been some recent research on brooches that can register when someone has 'poked' you. To many, Facebook demeans the concept of friend by making it so easy to have hundreds of friends, but few who could ever be relied on. Can that lead people to turn to jewellery as a hard currency to confirm real friendships?

Your gems of wisdom will be most welcome!

[Kevin Murray]

Facebook seems to contain a whole suite of virtual goods that you can give friends. Besides a poke, you can answer quizzes on their behalf or help them out with resources on the game applications like Farmville.

I've yet to see a form of exchange that can translate into something outside Facebook. Is this possible? Could jewellers develop a Facebook app so that you can send someone a friendship token in the post? Or is Facebook a reality that is sufficient to itself?

[Cate Salter]

hmmm....Sounds to me like its time you set up a facebook broach application Kevin. I will be checking my facebook page - virtual craft, I like it.

[Marianne GASSIER]

hello ! :-)
I think we all know that FB "friendship" is a way of speaking ....
I personnally "made" a group of jewellers, and it's quite pleasant as we know about new works of each other, exhibitions, and it makes jewellers that didn't know each other before to meet new ones (persons, & works ...)
used in this way, I quite appreciate it ....
persons who "know" me go as well to my jewelry blog (http://bijoucontemporain.unblog.fr/) than to my FB page as I "link" very often to my "new discoveries" in jewelry ! :-)

[Kevin Murray]

HI Marianne

What do you mean by 'made' a group of jewellers? Was this a FB group?

I've just opened an account on FB to test out the applications and see if there are any that have a jewellery dimension. I'm reluctant to use them on my own profile as they seem to grow tentacles into your soul - only for the experienced. I'll let you know how it goes.

Kevin

[Marianne GASSIER]

in fact "made a group" is simply "asking for friendship" ONLY to jewelers or related with jewelry (galleries, museums, schools, workshops...) but, at least for me, not ALL about jewelry but "only" contemporary jewelry, the ones I appreciate & talk about on my blog ............ you can also create a "group" or "list" for your mails : like this when an exhibition can interest everybody you send to the "list" or "group" ....

[P Gurgel Segrillo]

Hi, I've have a website www.gurgel-segrillo.com and use Facebook for several years... but didn't want to plug my work as a contemporary jewellery designer-maker too much, felt a bit uncomfortable with it as mine was a personal profile... even so, as I work with jewellery full-time and love it, it was unavoidable not to mention, got a few much-appreciated commissions...Nooo Farmville for me, thanks, only app I use is Spare-a-Click.

But I have recently created an 'artist' page Gurgel-Segrillo and being it a page, not a profile, it's quite different (no pokes :-) and I am getting wonderful feedback, which I love, as I do not sell from my workshop, all through galleries... it is so nice to read people's comments and ideas.

Of course, as anything else it involves work- one must keep the page 'alive' in order to attract and keep interest.

I can also 'Like' other pages to connect with other makers, with galleries, museums etc and get info via the newsfeed- that's how I've found about kiti and caboodle. Last but not least, I've already got some FB orders, too. yay!

[Kevin Murray]

Thank you Ms Gurgel-Segrillo. I'm pleased it worked for you. I haven't quite worked out how Spare-a-Click works and what it's business model is. I wonder if FB orders are different to orders from other venues, like galleries.

[P Gurgel Segrillo]

Hello there! yes, FB orders are different in that I 'see' the person commissioning work, have some interaction with him/her, even more than with my website orders... But the love and care I pour into making the pieces is the same however the order comes in plus I am hugely grateful to be able to make my living through something I adore.

Because I mainly sell through galleries, I have no contact with the customer. To the question why not opening an outlet of some kind: 'oh, no, selling is another art' has been my answer. I admire, respect and value their work immensely, but it is lovely to get more direct feedback, being it when ordering or not even. Just the simple comments on my FB page Gurgel-Segrillo (see, I read a lot about SEO recently :-) do feed me with encouragement, as it is not easy.

As I am having a major headache with one particular gallery, started reading everything I could find about selling art/crafts and was surprised to know that the usual deal with gallery representation for Art includes that the gallery should disclose the buyer's contact details (of course, right? for future exhibitions, in order to track the painting, sculpture...). Well, does anyone here have this service offered by the galleries representing them in jewellery, I'd be curious to know? sorry, going off the subject :-) 

As for Spare a Click 'is a community of volunteers that click together through Care2 to help sponsor children around the world.' Maybe, check it out: it is a FB app with a great cause.

Last but not least: thank you for Liking my page: my rather innocent (or lame?) vendetta is to get more 'Likes' than the said gallery that is trying to sting me. Getting close ;-)

 

 

[Kevin Murray]

That does seem a positive feature of this medium, putting makers in contact with their buyers. It will be interesting to see if jewellers begin to craft their online provide to enhance that aspect of their work.