Last night HBO debuted the film Grey Gardens staring Drew Barrymore as Edith "Little Edie" Bouvier Beale and Jessica Lange as her mother Edith "Big Edie" Ewing Bouvier Beale.
Grey Gardens was a documentary by Albert and David Maysles about the reclusive Beales in 1975. Since then it was adapted for a Broadway musical with the book by Doug Wright, music by Scott Frankel and lyrics by Michael Korie. And last night it debuted as a film that looked into the Beale lives before, during and after the filming of the documentary.
Jeff Bridges (not the actor) an artist painted a portrait of "Little Edie" last year and posted it on his Flickr. For the first few months he received less than twenty views of his portrait. As of today it has been viewed over two hundred times since last night.
The power of search online married with the renewed interest in a subject can shoot a site skyhigh or give it a substantial boost in views. This works for a one time shot for a specific subject, but how do you keep them coming back? By creating compelling imagery and text. And to take advantage of that spurred interest as fast as you can. With the immediacy of the internet, that window is small and closes quickly. It is not a time for pondering or "I'll get to it after I read this book", it is time to jump on it ASAP.
Like Dodge Ball, if you don't think fast, you will be hit and have to wait on the sidelines. Another way of garnering traffic is to see what is coming up of general interest and start posting relevant articles that will come up in searches. It's all about foresight and being ready to take advantage of that fleeting moment of attention that the public will shine on you.
Image: © Jeff Bridges "Little Edie"
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Are you trying to game the system? ;)
As an illustrator with tons of my work posted online, you've given me food for thought. Must tag my illustrations.