Instagram Influencer Spotlight On: Michael Garfield @michaelgarfield

1) Tell us a little about yourself. What are you doing now and where do you come from?

Right now I’m living in Austin, Texas and foolishly juggling careers as a gentleman scholar, podcaster, live performance painter, and guitar looping singer-songwriter. They all fit together, though – each offers a unique way to explore the natural world and to convey my curiosity and passion for discovery.

I was born in Los Angeles to a travel industry executive and the globe-trotting daughter of a jazz musician, and that pretty much set the tone for my life. Until the age of 22 I was completely devoted to studying dinosaurs, and then as soon as I had my degree my mind turned to bigger questions like the evolution of mind and language, what human beings will become, and whether we can talk to life on other worlds. Needless to say, I had to take my inquiries beyond the academic world…and for the last ten years I’ve made my living as an artist and “public thinker,” sharing what I learn and synthesize in many media.

At this very moment I’m preparing for a month-long tour of Australia in which I’ll paint, speak, and play music at two big music festivals, and play a few small concerts in between. Each stop will also feature conversations on my current favorite topic: looking at the history of life on Earth for insights into how to navigate this turbulent co-evolutionary dance between biology and technology.

I’m in the midst of writing a book (How To Live in the Future) AND hosting a podcast (Future Fossils) about the people that we might become, the world we might live in, and the challenges we’ll face to get there – so I’ll be working hard on both of those as well while I am on the road (which doesn’t stop when I get back to the US, but goes immediately on into a US festival tour season, and then back to Europe in the summer).

2) What are your topics of interest? What do you post on Instagram the most?

I’m fascinated by the growing international “visionary art” movement and how its depictions of non-ordinary states of consciousness might light the way for our species as we move into the undoubtedly trippy years to come. I’m also an evolutionary biologist by training and curious about the future from the perspective of natural history: What can evolutionary science teach us about our relationship with the machine? What will human life be like in a hundred or a thousand years? And I also love to shred the acoustic guitar with percussive fingerstyle techniques, so I sneak some of that in there as well.

3) How did your Instagram name come about?

“When a man loves a woman…” My IG handle is my own birth name, so it’s not a fancy story. That said, I almost legally changed my name until I learned the hidden (and unintended) significance: “Michael” means “Who is like God?” My middle name “Gregory” means “watchful.” And my last name originally meant a “triangular field” (a “gar” is apparently the tip of a spear). So my name is a question and answer: “Who is like God?” “The watchful triangular field” (aka, The Eye on the Pyramid). So I’m an esoteric mystery!

4) What are some apps you use to edit your photos? Share with us your photo-editing routine!

Now that I’ve upgraded my phone, I don’t use any second-party apps for normal photos – the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge has a spectacular camera with lots of pro features! That said, I do also use a Ricoh Theta and Samsung Gear 360 for 360º photography, and sometimes a GoPro, so I use those camera’s native control and viewing apps to edit those photos for IG.

5) Any Instagrammers whom you really like? Which Instagrammer inspires you the most?

I love to use IG for inspiration, so I tend to follow fellow artists (like @TheVACVVUM, @IKeepMoving, @HannahFaithYata, and then nature and science accounts like @NatGeo and NASA (also, @StaabStudios). One of my favorite instagrammers is @Android_Jones, for his complete embrace of high technology for advancing the global mission of Art. But I also love some humor channels like @TheOnion, @TheVeryNearFuture, @TSA (NOT the government agency’s actual account), and @ReggieWatts (even though a lot of his posts aren’t funny, he himself is worth following on every channel). Probably my favorite instagrammer right now is my homie @RandalRobertsArt, in part because he so generously shares frequent live video while he works and makes himself very accessible as a knowledge resource in that way, and in part because he’s so openly and vocally grateful for his audience in all his posts. I just feel GOOD when I see Randal’s posts, which accurately captures how I feel about him personally, so I think he wins in this regard.

6) If there’s one thing your fellow Instagrammers just gotta try now, what’s it gonna be?

If you’re a painter, take a picture of yourself with your finished works – I’ve noticed that the personal touch works wonders, as opposed to merely taking awesome pics for prints and publishing the painting out of context. People want to FEEL the art, to get a sense for what it’s like in person – plus, they love to see your smiling face, to see the human being that’s responsible for what you’ve made. Let folks know that you’re an actual person and not just an art robot (or for that matter a makeup robot, a jewelry robot, whatever). We’re all overwhelmed with people trying to sell us things these days, so the more you can put a human touch on it and be a little vulnerable, the more your audience will actually care about the life behind the social media account.

7) What’s your favorite part about being an influencer?

Inspiring people. I can’t think of any other decent reason to want influence. These are complicated times and we need all hands on deck, everyone engaged with their creative purpose…this is the influence I hope I have on you.

8) What are some of your top tips to brands for running campaigns? How do you maintain authenticity?

As a millennial that has extensively edited corporate pitch decks for marketing with authenticity to millennials, let me simply say that we can smell your fakeness from a mile away, and all of us vote with our wallets as the most empowered generation of consumers ever. If you can’t connect what you are selling with what I care about, you’ll fail. Don’t even try to sell me something I don’t want.

DO take the time to find the people who will actually want what you are selling. Then it will be easy for you to inspire them (NOT convince them, but INSPIRE them) to support you with their purchase or subscription.

I’m a huge fan of marketing “guru” Seth Godin, who stresses constantly that your actual product isn’t the good or service that you THINK you’re selling, but the experience that people have when interacting with you. If you want your audience to love and thank you for existing, make it easy for your fans and clients to connect with one another, form a tribe, build their alliances, connect in lateral and peer-to-peer ways that create a valuable network they have you to thank for. Your authenticity maintains itself when you engage with this community that you’ve facilitated. They’ll be sure to let you know when you’re off track.

9) What would your advice be on the importance of quality and original content?

Cover songs might get you heard, but original music keeps people listening. The same applies for all creative work: borrow in noticeable ways when it improves the quality of what YOU have to say, when it makes you more resonant.

Don’t speak at all if you’re just begging for attention. This is ESPECIALLY true if you’re running a marketing campaign. If your ad doesn’t benefit its viewers, you have failed. That’s the measure of quality: does it actually HELP anybody?

10) What do you like best about partnering with brands?

I only partner with brands I use and believe in, so my favorite part is getting to inform and educate my audience about the goods and services that make my life and work a little easier. When those brands offer me a slice of their own audience so I can offer expert testimony and tutorials, that’s also really nice. 🙂

Topics:

• Art
• Film, Music & Books
• Technology
• Travel

Country:

United States of America