Tag: Twitter

  • Modern Day Grinch Ruins Christmas (Cartoon)

    Modern Day Grinch Ruins Christmas (Cartoon)

    Cartoon showing Dr Suess Grinch holding a list of Christmas songs and why they should be banned including Baby its cold outside."

    There are some modern day Grinches (and not the Dr Suess Grinch) who once again are trying to take away the spirit of Christmas and the holidays.  First we were told to stop saying “Merry Christmas” because it was insensitive to non Christians and then we were told to stop saying “Happy Holidays” because it was insensitive to Christians.   Well now this year the big debate is around songs like “Baby it’s Cold Outside” or “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” which apparently are trigger songs for rape and bullying.

    I agree that both of these things are terrible but unfortunately a one-sided viewpoint has gotten people arguing up a shitstorm about whether the songs mean what has been interpreted.    I can understand not wanting to listen to particular songs because you have a personal sensitivity to it or wanting to discuss rationally why the song may create issues for you.  But I cringe on all sides when the start off point is “I am offended, so ban this” or “I am offended, so you have to start/stop doing something”

    So give it up to the Grinch who instead of stealing Christmas from the Whos down in Whoville, has created a whole list of potentially offensive songs that he will tweet on twitter in hopes we will do the rest.

    I hope you have a Merry ChrismaKwanzikah.

  • Tooning Trump’s Tweets – Bayer

    Tooning Trump’s Tweets – Bayer

    1-19-17-Bearman-Cartoons-Trump-Tweets-Cartoon-Bayer Trump Cartoons

    Trump cartoons will be all the rage as the new President is sworn in.  Today is a milestone day in American Politics.  Sure, sure, we are going to swear in a new President, Donald J. Trump.  But more importantly he has inspired a new cartoon series from me.  “Tooning Trump’s Tweets”, is where I take the funniest source material I can find, President Trump’s ACTUAL tweets on twitter, and cartoon them.   No better Trump cartoons out there than that which comes from his own mouth (or fingers).

    So our inaugural (hehe) cartoon is based on a statement he made last week about all the new jobs he is bringing (or keeping) in the US.  This one about Bayer inspired the thoughts of them selling a crapload of aspirin for the next four years.   hmmm…maybe I should be buying stock in Bayer.

  • Is there a Correlation between Social Media Followers and Website Pageviews?

    Is there a Correlation between Social Media Followers and Website Pageviews?

    6-16-14-Social-Media-Lack-of-Engagement-Bearman-Cartoons

    Is there a correlation between the number of social media followers a person or brand has and the amount of visitors and pageviews that it generates on their websites?  The short answer – NO!  Well at least for me.

    Scott Jenkins and I were passing emails back and forth last week (I always think of Scott as Hodge from his former comic strip).  He was looking to potentially increase his presence on Google Plus and noticed my follower count there and wondered if that has increased my overall pageviews as my numbers have increased.   Honestly not so much because as Google Plus has increased, I have lost the pageviews I used to get from StumbleUpon and Digg (which are both dying a slow death).

    Average Daily Visitors

    People tend to assume that because I have a bunch of engagement on my site that it means I must have a ton of visitors.  Well I am about to reveal my numbers for the first time publicly.  When I was posting three times per week two years ago my average visitors was about 400 per day.   Now that I only post once a week, it is in the 200’s.    Here is how my numbers break down of where people are coming from to get to my site during May:

    Top-ChannelsAs you can see Social Media only accounts for about 16% of my total traffic with Search and Direct make up the majority.   Looking just at Social Media you can see the effects of referrals from this year compared to last year.

    Social-Media-Referrals

    Google and Reddit have increased while Stumbleupon, Facebook and Twitter have decreased.

    While Google Plus was the majority of visitors for May, it has more to do with that being my Charity Challenge month and a larger influx of support with links to my site than typically.

    So why waste time on Social Media?

    Simple answer is that different ones may give you things other than direct traffic.  The majority of the people who have converted to regular readers and commenters on my site, found me via Twitter (or me being social on other blogs).

    Reddit gives you a thick skin (haha).

    Google Plus has given me more commission work than I ever had directly on my blog  or via other social media/search efforts.  And here is the secondary benefit.  An additional outlet for people to see my work and another outsource for engagement.  I have several people who will engage with my posts on twitter or facebook but it is the exception versus the norm.

    To be honest, I was of the belief that a social media platform should only serve to drive traffic to my site.  And for those that display ads it is a potential worry if people are engaging with you outside your site, you won’t make money.  But as I said I am doing better than display ad dollars (the majority of which is going to charity btw) and gaining another level of engagers who might in the future want to buy a t-shirt or book.

    And the data pans out.  Since July 2011 when I joined Google Plus, Beartoons.com had 495,971 pageviews.   In the same time my posts on G+ have had 8,652,696 views.  

    Posting Schedule

    This is what I do as a cartoonist.  If you can give up control it might work for others.  It varies a bit by social media but my posting schedule for Google Plus:

    Day 1 – Post a link and teaser to my site (at times I might reshare this later in the day for those who are in different time-zones)

    Day 2 or 3 – Post the actual cartoon on Google Plus.  I have tips on what I find is the best way to do it but that is for another post.  This step  is for those that prefer to engage without leaving G+.  But I make sure to put the link to my site in that post as well.

    Important:  I am getting bad at remembering at times on twitter or FB, but it is important to check your status at least daily so you can engage with those who comment.  I see a bunch of cartoonists who post a link, have people comment and then you don’t hear back from them for days if at all.

    So how does this play out to your own experiences??  Anyone want to confess what numbers they are getting on their own site and what they think helps/hurts?

     

  • When Blueheads meet Eggheads Cartoon

    When Blueheads meet Eggheads Cartoon

    When Google Plus Blue Heads meet up with Twitter EggheadsOn twitter when you don’t have a profile picture attached to your account the default image is an egg thus those without a picture are known as “eggheads”  On Google Plus those without a profile pic are called “Blueheads” since that is the image of what shows up.  So today’s cartoon is based on what I would imagine they talk about when they get together.  Lament the fact that no one is following them back.

    Based on my crack research, I have determined that people are 87% less likely to follow you back on either social media outlet if you don’t have a profile picture whether it be a real picture or a cartoon one.  OK I have no idea where the 87% comes from except that I am 87% less likely to circle someone back without a profile picture.

    It takes a short amount of time and it becomes a way of identifying you easily as I stream through my feeds.

    Sorry to anyone I typically visit their blog.  Been busy several weeks and hard to jump from blog to blog on tablet to comment but I have been lurking and if you post your links on G+ (for those who use it) I am more likely to see and easily respond there.  Hell it took me 5 days to respond to comments on my own site.

     

  • Is there a Social Media Posting Frequency Sweet Spot?

    Is there a Social Media Posting Frequency Sweet Spot?

    What is the Social Media Sweet Spot for Post Frequency by Bearman CartoonsFor those of you who use Social Media (be it Google Plus, Twitter, Facebook) is there a sweet spot for the number of posts a person should make in a day/week?   How much is so little you think they abandoned or at least aren’t interested?  How much is too much that you tend to ignore their posts and probably miss good things from them but can’t weed through all the noise?  How does resharing/retweeting posts factor?

    I have my own thoughts but want to hear from you.

  • Share This Post Or Else

    Share This Post Or Else

    99 percent of you will not reshare this post

    There is an interesting trend that I have been seeing lately on social media.  People trying to draw attention to good causes like Cancer/Bullying but while doing so, actually bullying others to share the post.

    Typically the post will finish with words like “Share this if you don’t support Bullying” or “99% of you won’t share this to fight Cancer”.  In both cases it causes those who don’t share to feel bad about their decision.  So if I don’t share it, then I a support Bullying or I don’t want to fight Cancer??  So the other day I decided to create a quick graphic that poked fun at these type of posts.  As you can see from above, there really is no content to share, but I included a reason why you should share nothing.

    99.9% of you will not reshare this.  I wonder how you look yourself in the mirror you soulless Jerk?

    Originally, when I posted it I was going to include an explanation.  But then I didn’t just to see the response.  Well if you want to gain attention on social media, create controversy.

    Initially the people in my circles got the joke and reshared it and commented.  While not doing much on Facebook, it started getting traction on Google Plus.  It seems the further out the information goes either the less people got the joke or more mad they were at me for posting it.

    Results:  830 plussed it, 684 shared it, and 415 commented on it.  By far the most attention any of my posts have ever received.   On average here is the breakdown of the comments.

    • 30% – Got the Implication of the Post or thought it was Funny
    • 30% – Didn’t get it or were not sure why I posted it
    • 25% – Were pissed at me
    • 10% – Added comments like “hi” or other stupid stuff that didn’t have anything to do with the post.
    • 5% – My Comments

    Two of my favorite comments were: “If you went away for any reason, like passing away, I’ll not cry for you” and “This is Google Plus not Facebook.  Go Fuck Yourself”

    Several people made the Facebook comment and yet when I went to their profile, many of them posted the same crap that you find on Facebook.  Which made it more humorous.

    So please, in the future, encourage, ask, plead, etc people to share your posts but don’t make them feel bad if they don’t.

     

  • Social Media Pariah

    Social Media Pariah Cartoon by Bearman Cartoons

    I have said before that as an artist, it can be frustrating to spend several hours on a piece of work that gets ignored or little attention on social media but I can toss up a picture of my cat and it get tons of attention.   So today’s cartoon is another homage to that.

    I asked my google plus followers “what trending topic that consistently pops up do you just not get?”  Of course I got many but the ones that popped up most were “Cats, Justin Bieber, and Dr. Who.”   I get cats and honestly that is the only social media aspect that my wife is remotely interested in and I am guilty of giving into her demands to post our cats on occasion   Luckily for me the people I follow are not Justin Bieber obsessed however I constantly see his name as a trending topic.   Dr. Who is the one I don’t get the fan love about.  I watched it as a kid when we didn’t have cable and it was the only thing on the 5 channels we got.  I even tried it again as an adult.  Just can’t get into it.

    What about you?  Any trending topics you find consistently on social media that you don’t get?   Oh and first person to name the character on the wanted poster wins…..NOTHING.

  • Gangnam Style Takes over Justin Bieber

    Bearman-Cartoon-Justin Bieber Gangnam Style

    So Korean pop sensation PSY’s video for his song Gangnam Style has just surpassed Justin Bieber’s Baby video as the most watched on YouTube.   Now I am not a Justin Bieber hater like most.  In fact if you look at the stats, he has more unlikes on his YouTube video than likes.   I think he has talent.  But with many celebrities, I think sometimes they screw up royally when trying to remain relevant.

    That is why the caption “Gangnam Takes Over Bieber” is a double entendre.  Obviously the first way to look at it is PSY’s video taking over Bieber’s.  But with the second you have to fully understand what Gangnam Style means.  It mocks people that are posers.  Those who act like something they are not.   Well it seems for all his success, it isn’t enough for Justin.  Now he has resorted to stunts like this.

    According to the Huffington Post Article, he tweeted this shirtless pic to his followers. Seriously? Not only do you have to try and show your “sex appeal” but really you had to pull your pants down too? Interesting strategy.

    Well good news for Bieber is that he and PSY have the same manager so maybe there will be a forthcoming collaberation.

  • Social Media Copywrong

    Editorial Cartoon Social Media Stealing

    Today’s cartoon was inspired by some conversations I have been seeing more and more from cartoonists and graphic designers bemoaning the practice of companies who crowdsource graphic work.   The process of crowdsourcing is where a company invites anyone and everyone to submit graphic/cartoon work but only choose one or a limited number of people to win.  And even then there may or not be a monetary prize.   Personally I don’t have a problem with the contests except when (and it is becoming all too frequent) when the contest rules state that any submissions become the property of the sponsoring company.  BS!!!

    However, some of my same friends who will be irate over crowdsourcing don’t seem to have any issues with illegally downloading music, tv shows, or movies.   It becomes a larger group when you include some others that I follow on social media.   Some complain when someone posts something they found/made without attribution to the original poster.   I am in full agreement with that complaint provided that you aren’t yourself in the practice of stealing content from someone else.

    Know your meme is a great site to find out the history behind certain memes that suddenly become popular on social media.

    Those of you who are artists/designers, what are your thoughts on crowdsourcing design work?

     

  • Social Media and Cats

    Editorial Cartoon: Social Media and Cats

    And the Caption Contest Winner is – ME!! And all of you who agreed with me that cats getting attention on social media is the bane of existence for someone posting something they actually spent time on.

    And the inspiration was this picture of our cats, playing on the ipad with their favorite app Games for Cats.