"Brainwashed"

In Seth Godin’s article “Brainwashed: Seven Ways to Reinvent Yourself”, he talks about how our methods of bringing people up in society haven’t evolved to keep up with how technology has changed our society. With the explosion of Web 2.0, it is not only possible, but easy, to connect and communicate with people worldwide. This changes the way our society changes economically by giving power back to the individual by giving the individual the opportunity to be heard at the click of a button.

Godin then goes on to suggest 7 ways for us to adapt to this change, two of which, "Connect" and "Acknowledging the Lizard", spoke to me. In Connect, Godin advises us to take advantage of the ease of communication and build connections with people. I believe that this is good advice because much of what determines success in the media industry relies on who knows you and what you can do, and who they know that could use someone like you. It’s like real life 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon. If Kevin bacon has a job that you want, and you know the right people, you have the opportunity to get your foot in the door.

I feel that this blog is a direct connection between me and the work that I have done and will do. It’s an online, easily-available, dynamic, and interactive tool that shows people who I am much better than any resume ever could and would. It’s basically evidence of what I can do. It’s easy to get to and readily available so that if I have a connection with someone that knows me and likes me, I can get them to look at it and they can see what I can do.

In the section on "Acknowledging the Lizard", Godin suggests that the way we were raised reinforces an instinctual fear of criticism in us that has every potential to kill our creative selves. It kills our freedom of expression. There’s a reason nobody starts belting their favorite song at the top of their lungs on the subway on the way to work. We’re afraid of what other people would think and say about us. Godin says that if we are aware of this fear, if we Acknowledge the Lizard, then we can work around it. If we know we’re afraid then we can overcome our fear and show people what we’re good at. That’s what I intend to do with this blog. I intend to show people what I can do. If somebody thinks it’s a horrible affront to creativity, then so be it. There’s every chance, out of the 9 billion people on the planet, that someone else who has a connection may see it and think that it’s brilliant.