One Problem With Creative Types

July 27, 2006 · Comments

I’m cranky this morning. It’s all my fault, really. I get really excited about my vision, and then I get frustrated when I don’t communicate it especially well, or when I can’t execute it appropriately due to scale and time issues.

I’m maddest when people aren’t the mirror of my enthusiasm.

But this is silly. How could anyone be as excited about my idea as me? For the most part, the people involved with the idea are looking at me nervously, wondering what the hell I’m up to, how this might muck up the things they’re already doing, and why they should bother creating.

Steve Garfield reminded me of this set of numbers (as they relate to new media):

1% of people create.
10% of people consume.
90% of people don’t even know we’re there.

Of those, the one that upsets me the most is 1%. We have these amazing tools. Hell, this BLOG is something we didn’t have a short while back. But now, with audio and video podcasts, we can reach out even further, beyond the walls of the computer, and really contribute to the world around us in a way that blogs started to cover, but that podcasting finishes.

First off, I’m frustrated that the word “podcast” was ever coined. Great work, Apple. Now, the entire universe things you MUST own an Apple iPod to consume podcasts. It’s just downloadable media. You can watch or listen on your computer. The stats say you do. 60% of all podcasts are consumed on the home computer.

Take video. I don’t own an video iPod. I watch that all at my desktop. For audio, sure, I have a Nano, and they’re nice players, but I don’t need it to listen. I could burn them to CDs. I could download them to a USB drive and play them when I get to work. But whatever. That’s a tangent.

I received some criticism 3rd hand. I saw it on another site. It was valid and just. I wasn’t really 100% in my game during that particular segment, but it still bugs me. It bugs me because I want to be at August 2007, when I’ve got 30 shows launched, all with wonderfully talented people. Maybe you haven’t been able to quit your day jobs, but you’re getting side money from GNM. Real money. I want to have dedicated and passionate executive producers curating the fine work of a community just aching to get out and tell the stories of things they love. I mean, this guy is planning a podcast about dead bugs. That’s what I’m talking about.

I’m worried, too. Doing something with lots of people means that THEY have to be powerful, THEY have to be in charge of their creativity. THEY will choose to quit or stay or whatever they choose. I’ve not yet been an employer in my life. I’ve been a manager, but that’s different. That’s not this. Is it?

Creative types are crazy dreamers, and yet, we’re the ones who move things. We spark ideas. But are we ENGINES?

I think so. Warhol thought so. He had The Factory. I have the Grasshopper Factory. I think we can be engines of creativity. But it’s all a matter of people being passionate and sustainably so.

Some days, my email box is full. Today, it’s been a trickle. Maybe I just view silence as the lack of passion? Maybe I’m just finally about to crash after weeks of 4 hours of disrupted sleep.

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  • You know, just *reading* your blog exhausts me! After reading this entry, I wanted to suggest you lay off the caffeine and BREATHE. You have the passion. You have the focus. With that, things will fall into place. Just relax.
  • Don't view silence as a lack of passion - view it as all these crazy creative types being so consumed with doing whatever they're passionate about that they just didn't have time to email today... We're all still out here! =)

    I have more to say about creativity and engines and motivation, but I have to go to work now (doing something I'm passionate about!) More later...
  • Hang in there, Chris.

    Sleep is a wonderful cure to many ills. (Wish I could get more!)
  • I think it's 10% leave comments or contribute, but I'd have to go Google the survey to be sure. And 90% are lean back consumers. Something like that.
  • Chris,
    I'm guilty. I'm one of the ones not emailing you! But the other commenters are right; stuff happens, people get distracted by their own crises, and you should just keep at it and not worry about what we think anyway.
    I am still interested in GNM and I'll still check in, more so as my local chaos subsides.
  • Jon
    "Creative types are crazy dreamers, and yet, we’re the ones who move things. We spark ideas. But are we ENGINES?"

    This part resonated so well with me it makes me twitch involuntarily. "Are we ENGINES?" echoes in my head.

    It's so true: my personal experience is that everything creative is fits and starts. Sometimes the afterburner kicks on and you cover A LOT of ground but most of the time it's a slow (and often self-indulgent) crawl. One of the biggest challenges I've met with is just finding a good, steady, productive pace.

    The other thing about those bursts of creative energy is that they are often, by their very nature, raw and snarling and blind. That can get messy. It's not exactly a methodical process being an active volcano of big, fat ideas, is it? So it's really no surprise that you run into obstacles when you try to make those ideas reality. I mean, I don't like characterizing people as being dumb, on the whole, (in fact, I detest such snobbery) but it's true that sometimes ideas will just buzz right overhead or even spook the herd.

    Nothing kills an idea faster than being the only one who likes it/gets it/even wants to understand it. Next thing you know, the afterburner jets are cold again and you're back to doodling cartoons of robots blowing up kittens in the margins of some chinese restaurant menu.

    For what it's worth, the only thing I've figured out that works for me is aping the high-endurance creative types, peeking into their work habits and hoping some of it rubs off. Also, forcing myself into some kind of structure seems to help. Lastly, not giving a crap about how the outside world weighs in on my genius.

    Anyway, you've got all of that going with GNM, so if you were to actually solicit advice from me it would be (to quote dubya): "Stay the course." You've got a good thing going and no shortage of ingenuity to propel it.

    -Jon
  • Ahh yes, the email day, I know that feeling. One day your inbox is flooded with great ideas, comments, and inquiries. Everything is flowing, feeling good, moving forward. Then, everything stalls. Clients are nowhere to be found. Partners are missing. The second sock of a pair has been eatin by the dryer.

    Those numbers for creators/consumers/ignoramuses are staggering. Only 1%. I guess it depends on what "creation" means. If you include myspace blogs I'd imagine that number would jump up pretty high. But, obviously, I don't consider that true creation.

    Well, you have a new subscriber. I won't be able to make it to podcamp, but im interested to see what comes of GNM. Love the logo!
  • My advice for what it's worth...

    Take a break, don't check email, concentrate on creating. We are all still here, we are waiting for the next phases of gnm to reveal themselves.

    Now go create...
  • Dave
    Yup, I'm with you guys 100% Podast/shod-smast... what a stupid name (which stuck). Maybe we can come up with our own name?
    And Chris, some days, I too, affix my mood to how many emails I get coming in. It is tough to realize that not everyone has a BlackBerry or 24/7 access to email... let alone time to respond!
    Perhaps all the people you'd expect to be emailing are busy creating... yet not reporting on it (yet)!
  • Tim
    Chris:

    I understand your frustration. I am in job transition and have been busy sending out resumes. It is frustrating when I don't get the response I wish I had. I'm frustrated that, 12 years into my marketing/advertising profession, I still need to prove myself as if I just graduated from college. But I'm also determined to keep busy and stay proactive on my hunt, despite my eagerness to get the emails and phone calls that I want.

    I also agree with you about the iPod name. As a guy who's 37 and watched the disappearance of vinyl while working at a "record store" in 1989, I haven't embraced the whole mp3 thing as fast as most people. Right now I'm still very much into CDs for my music. And when I do finally get myself an mp3 player, I'm sure it won't be an iPod. With my dialup connection, it would feel like a lifetime to download all that music. I still live dangerously---I'll go out and buy a CD even if I've only heard 1 or 2 songs.

    BTW, I really enjoy your Blog. You definately have a lot of great things to say. Keep up the great work!

    Tim
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