Entering “Your Home Town”
I started blogging at the beginning of 2006. I created my “Facebook” page last September, the same month I created my “Linkedin” page. I now belong to several social networking sites including, “Twitter“, “Plaxo” and “Last.fm“.
Why? Well I think it was a combination of “web 2.0″ curiosity, a feeling of being somewhat isolated (there are four of us in the studio), and a need to have an active and stimulating social environment. What I hadn’t expected was that by being a member of these sites it would also give me a sense of stability—no matter where my friends and associates are, I can always find them “on-line”.
In the “real” world, my world—my New York City world—finding social stability is pretty hard to do. Friends and associates move, split-up, get divorced, get married, change jobs…phone numbers…favorite restaurants…
That didn’t happen in my home town, a small suburb just outside of Boston. And if it did, most of the people we knew stayed nearby. My parents and I would still see them at the grocery store, the hardware store, at temple during high holidays, at school functions, or at the town dump on Saturdays. (yes, the town dump—a source of innumerable go-cart parts.)
So why am I writing about this today? Well, it occurred to me that while the internet may be addressing society’s need for social stability—allowing each of us to create our own on-line community, our own home town—it’s also changing the context in which I do my work.
As a Graphic Designer, the medium and/or environment I use to project my client’s message—effectively and economically—is becoming smaller. My client’s audience, more homogeneous. The tools I have at my fingertips are limited to the software I own.
To be successful, I need to move back home (metaphorically of course!).
As Tip O’Neill said, “all politics is local”. Maybe now, the same can be said for Graphic Design.
Grab the Feed
Nice write-up. I get what you are saying, though I would say that as far as the designers environ for projecting your clients messages are improving. It may seem smaller, but there are just smaller groups, but more of them. Does that make sense? Anyway, I think that this can enhance the ability to get the message out there. The homogeneous nature of these communities grants you a group with complete fixed focus, if you will, and so you know what they are about and how to approach them. So I think that it can benefit the designer as well.
As for tools, open source keeps improving the playing field for the broke, so keep checking for new developments there.
Just a thought…
Excellent article, Andy. You’re putting words on a feeling I’ve come to have since I moved to another country: my old blog feels like a home now more than ever, my Twitter account was created to keep in touch with friends in an informal way. As far as I’m concerned, my “online life” feels more stable and predictible than the tangible one. And I know this stability helped me overcome a few difficult and troubled periods.
Rob… I agree. Challenge for Graphic Designers is to understand those communities given how each can be so different. Thanks for your comments. – A
Thanks for the link to this at Twitter, enjoyed the blog. As a film composer, I too know the need for broadening my “brand” over the web, while still trying to maintain a local reach for my clients.
Rob Gokee´s last blog post..The Creative Process Part 1
Nice article, I have been really experiencing the benefits of being a part of a design community that i mostly interact with through social media, I have found it very helpful. I like the Home Town analogy.
Thanks again for the good read
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I totally agree – I have the same thing having moved to a small town in Germany. I know people here, of course, but they’re not the same crowd I might have bumped into and hung out with in, say, Sydney or London. In fact I’d say that for me the online contact keeps me sane when I’m working as a lone consultant/freelancer – if I stick on the Last.fm or Blip.fm feed to some of my friends’ companies in London, fire up Twitter, it’s almost like being there with them, just without the smell.
Andy Polaine´s last blog post..Apostrophe
Cool Andrew!! Sounds like you are doing great. I forwarded it to my husband who is also a designer. My love to your family.
Mitternacht, Rob, Aaron, & Andy… Lovely and interesting comments. Thanks so much for your feedback. – A
I work in the same environment. At home or in an office with one other agent selling real estate. The networking through the internet is sometimes the only conversations I have in a 24 hour period! Nice job Andy.
Good thought Robin! hadn’t considered how it may affect other industries.
Andy, amazingly thought provoking article! I sat down and read this a few times before it was published and now reading it over again-along with all the comments, it’s even better! Thank you for taking the time to write an article for FYC.
I can really relate to everything here Andy, more for reasons that are somewhat personal to go into on a blog post. But nevertheless, the online social crowd can almost become the surrogate or foster friends/family that you may struggle to find time for in ‘out of work hours’.
Since they are there with you pretty much every step of the way. Literally just a few presses and you have potentially 100’s of people to chat and communicate with.
It’s simply astonishing really when you really sit back and think about it.
As Adelle said, a very thought provoking post and it’s one subject that has been on my mind for some time now. Glad you have expressed these thoughts…
Graham
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Graham…
Thanks for being part of the conversation. I know you’ve done a lot to facilitate communications within the on-line community—all very much appreciated.
having grown up just down the road from you (alright, just down rte 9 from you), i know what you’re talking about. for a long time after i moved to nyc i felt deprived of the sense of community and continuity that living in a stable environment provided. that began to change when i had a child and really changed when we started the new shul. now i’m finding all this “social networking” to be a real manifestation of globalization in the very best sense. as the world gets smaller, my world gets bigger.
Thanks for your thoughts. That’s real wicked pissa of yah. ;-)
Thanks Robin, I didn’t even realize that
This is a great post
Great thoughts there. Technology can be both and blessing and a nightmare at times but people certainly have no choice but to adapt to it and grow with it. facebook, linkdin and all of those networking sites are great ways to stay connected and I would definitely recommend them. They really allow you to stay in touch when it’s sometimes hard to do so, but sometimes you do have to go where your job is so hopefully you are successful where you are now. Good luck and keep posting!