Sunshocked

I had three goals when I started Diligent Creative last October. The first was to pull non-profits closer to the bleeding edge of online strategy. The second was to provide a home for ethically-minded creative types. The third was an office. Yay for small victories.

For years, the growing prevalence of crowd-based production systems (like YouTube or Wikipedia) has forced us to consider the changing role of the expert. Is there still a place for a Shakespeare among the infinite monkeys and infinite typewriters? It seems, at last, society is coming to an answer.

It may have been a false alarm but for weeks I couldn’t find any hardback Moleskines anywhere and was convinced they had been discontinued. I was also convinced that, not unlike learning to siphon gasoline, I needed to adapt to my harsh new post-apocalyptic softback reality.

The internet is full of people reviewing Watchmen who manage to do so without spoilers. Not me. The following assumes that you have either read or will never read the original graphic novel and that you have either watched or will never watch the film.

I like electronic devices. I like books. One might expect that these facts would place me in the target audience for the new Kindle 2. So why does contemplation of the object leave me so “meh” inside?

While the nation wonders what our new president may accomplish in his first hundred days, here’s what I’ve been up to since I launched Diligent Creative back on October 1st.

Having realized the power of branding, the public health folks have set their sights on taking all logos off of cigarette packaging. A creative solution. Too bad logos and branding are not the same thing.

Popularized by Joseph Campbell in “The Hero with a Thousand Faces“, the concept of the Hero’s Journey or Monomyth suggests a hidden structure to the obstacles that every hero must face. Out of curiosity, how well does Barack Obama fare?

When we imagine a creative act, we picture a prologue of frustrated brainstorming followed by a sudden spark of unrestrained brilliance. Such a story fails to celebrate the vital evolution of ideas from continued effort over time.

This Wednesday I’ll be saying goodbye to my job of four years and striking out on my own. It should be a moment of exhilaration and celebration—except for the fact the U.S. financial market just cried Jenga! in the middle of my endeavor. Here are three reasons why I’m not crazy.