5. Why am I writing online articles?
The unfortunate answer may be because everybody else does
I’m currently unbusy, or to put it another way in-between jobs, or to frame it in a way that coincides with reality — unemployed :-O
It is through choice, after working for 10 years non-stop since finishing university I wanted a break. I quit my job, went travelling, made a permanent move to Amsterdam, travelled some more. Now almost a year later I’m getting rather bored!
I’ve decided to go back to work, but everything moves at a glacial pace here in the Netherlands. In fact I imagine the Netherlands will be flooded by melting glaciers before some HR departments get back to me. So what do I do in the mean time?
I have to keep my mind active somehow and I like to think I have two half decent traits:
- I learn new things quickly
- I generate a lot of novel ideas.
Pretty much any subject can spark my interest enough to start hours of research and reading. I’ve always been enthused by things that are new or change my opinion of a subject. Once I’m interested and have a decent level of knowledge about a subject thats when the ideas start flowing. I’ve now gotten to the point where my girlfriend’s eyes glaze over every time I start a conversation with the words “I’ve been thinking about…”
She knows that what follows is a medley of facts, ideas, business plans, talking points, powerpoint slides and optimism. At first she used to get excited with me (she still does sometimes when I have an exceptional idea), but she likes to ground me in reality these days. Mainly the reality that I’m great at creating ideas, but I’m not a completer-finisher. In fact I’m usually starting with tomorrow’s idea before I have even finished a project timetable for the first idea.
It’s odd that I struggle in my private life to complete things, since I’m so good at seeing projects through to completion when working for an employer. Although, it doesn’t take a psychologist or a green-grocer to tell me that there is generally no pressing motivation to finish these personal mini-projects, therefore I give up easily when another idea comes along.
The downfalls of my private life aside, I’d like to start committing some of my ideas down on paper (or the virtual equivalent) so that there is at least a semblance of a record for potential employers. I tend to avoid self promotion online, which is a major issue when finding a new job in digital because “everybody has an online profile” and they all want “an industry opinion leader”. Which basically means the person with the biggest network that can sell themselves regardless of talent.
Unfortunately, I don’t buy into that bollocks and I like my privacy thank you very much. Hopefully these articles, essays, weird imaginings will help to back up wanky statements on my CV like “I’m a creative ideas person” and “I’m always creating innovative new business models”. But I’m highly resistant to the idea of going on a full self-promotionalist jaunt so that everybody can see how great I am. I work hard for an employer and bring huge amounts of value, but they don’t get access to my private life or to use it to enhance their brand. That is my red line and one that I will not cross.
However, despite my cynicism, I think it’s time that I start imparting some of the knowledge I’ve gained and created over the last 10 years.
I’d like to think that these articles will be a record for me to look back on when I’m old and remind me of how I used to be. But in reality I’ll probably be deeply embarrassed by these meagre attempts to make a mark on other peoples world view. I know this because the last time I wrote anything for myself (instead of for an employer) was 10 years ago. I look back on those writings now and think… what a load of horse shit.
I have a hope that at least a few people will find my articles useful or interesting, if not then at least it’s given me something to do in my unbusy period. This is currently my 5th article. I’ve been numbering them and will continue to do so. I think that way you can see a progression of ideas, writing style, personality, weirdness, cynicism and any other metric by which you wish to judge writing.
I’d like to get to 99. No particular reason, it feels like a decent number. Although that deeply depends on my motivation. I imagine that could take a dive once I eventually get a job.
We live in hope…
