@tehawesome

How the Tiny Owls fan page I run got a new cover photo

I run a fan page for Tiny Owls on Facebook. I created it in January 2009 (oh my god where has the time gone) and updated it for a year or so, then lost interest.

But in the last few months, people started Liking it again. I think some people searched for owls on Facebook, and found the page,  and Liked it, and then their friends saw that, and Liked it themselves, and so on. But I saw some activity, and that was unexpected after a few years of mostly ignoring it.

Then I got a message that was a little impatient! Someone asked me why I wasn’t updating the page. My initial reaction was to be a jerk back, but then I remembered that it’s hard to tell a person’s tone over the internet, so I assumed the best and responded kindly.

She attached a photo she made:

Here’s a closeup:

Okay this is cute but also I have no idea what’s going on with this owl picture she sent. I don’t understand that acronym (why “Whisper”? what does that mean?) but I don’t ever want to discourage someone from doing a thing they love. So I immediately opened photoshop and made my own:

I sent it over within minutes of her sending over her original:

She was not impressed. I even tried to explain the acronym with mine.

(the bottom says “Porkchops is the name of the owl”)

Then she kept sharing things she made. This person, who was just impatient with me, was now sharing art she made with me. We were now Art Friends.

Here are the images she made with Corel Paintshop Pro X7

Okay so she’s flipping them and adding a filter. But it’s bringing her joy, so. Keep it up, Marci.

She shared more but you get the idea.

Then she surprised me with a gift.

Awww snap, Marci. We’re Art Friends now. We ride or die together.

I guess if I learned anything here, it’s to remember to be patient. I saw her first message and thought, “excuse me, stranger, but i’ll run this tiny owls fan page however the heck i want,” but I paused, and I was friendly instead, and the end result was really sweet.

Also! There was a whole part of the conversation I didn’t take screenshots of, but after she shared some art, I replied with a gif of some 70s-looking guy saying “thank you,” but it wasn’t just some guy. It was Peter Tork from the Monkees. And Marci loved the Monkees so she was delighted by this. So she shared a Peter Tork song with me, and just. Goddamn. What a pleasant turn of events. Remember to be kind, folks.

Anyway. That’s how my Tiny Owls fan page got a new cover photo.