Artists leaving Instagram for CARA: Is it the right fit for me?

Artists are being hit with yet another hurdle: navigating the risks of sharing our artwork in the world of AI. When I recently heard the news that Meta is using artists’ posts to train generative AI, part of me wasn’t surprised. Nonetheless, I am still feeling confused, overwhelmed and nervous for what is to come. 

As these fears become heightened, many artists are kicking into fight or flight mode. Whether it is uploading (rightfully) angry posts condemning Meta’s actions, or leaving Instagram and Facebook altogether, artists are trying to take matters into their own hands. 

And for those looking to jump ship, Cara appears to be the lifeboat. 

But is it the right move for you? Let’s dig into the app a bit more, and discuss why I have ultimately decided that I won’t be making the switch (yet).

What is Cara and how is it different from other platforms?

Cara was launched in late 2022 by Jingna Zhang with the vision of creating a platform that respects and prioritizes the human factor of artistic creation. In order to achieve this, the app filters out and rejects AI-generated content from being uploaded on the platform. 

In addition to AI content filtering, Cara stands out on its features for artists looking to share their portfolio, and even for those seeking job opportunities. For example, users can customize their home feed content,  upload their portfolio separate from their regular feed, and view jobs posted on the job board. 

To view the full breakdown of Cara’s features on their website, click here. 

Is Cara the right fit for my art?

At first glance, I was excited for the possibility of using Cara as a new, AI-regulated platform for my art. After all, I have continued to see many other artists posting about their decision to join the app, so it must be a good fit for me too, right? 

Feeling empowered and inspired by these other artists, I decided to take the initial step and create a Cara profile. As I scrolled through the explore page, I saw a diverse array of beautiful art. However, the majority appeared to be digital works and hand painted/drawn animations geared towards the entertainment industry, from anime characters and mythological creatures to intergalactic landscapes and futuristic creations. 

As an artist not creating in this space, I felt like a bit of an outsider, but again—so many artists seem to be joining the app, so was I missing something? 

To do a little more digging, I navigated to Cara’s About page. In the first sentence, Cara states that it is “a social media and portfolio platform for artists.” I thought this sounded promising, and I started to feel validated that I could fit in on the platform. 

However, towards the bottom of the page, I came across the answer that told be exactly what I needed to know:

“For Cara’s beta launch, we will begin by supporting the entertainment art industry that has been heavily affected by the recent AI art stance taken by major industry art platforms.”

Why I won't be making the switch to Cara (for now)

As artists, we are not only physically creating artwork, but we often have to invest our time into bookkeeping, packaging, shipping, events, communications, content creation, social media management and more. That is why if you are going to invest your time into managing yet another social media platform, it should be one that already has the audience that you are looking to connect with actively present on it. 

To determine if Cara is the right fit for you, first ask yourself: is Cara likely to have the audience that will connect with you and your work already on it? 

Although the app does appear to be an incredible community for artists in the entertainment industry, as an artist not in that space, I don’t think Cara would have the right audience for my art at this time. While I will hold onto the profile I created in case the app does open up to more art mediums and industries in the future, I won’t plan on pouring my time and energy into it right now.

But that leaves me with the question: should I stay on Instagram? Stay tuned for my next blog post to hear my thoughts and overall decision!