Commerce is a natural part of human life but over time it has become increasingly unnatural. As commerce advanced, it was determined that being human was a detriment to business. Business-as-usual became the isolation of an enterprise from its very foundation and lifeblood, its workers and customers. Humans became demographics to be talked at, not with.
Business forgot that markets are conversations between humans.
Worker and customers, be passive and don’t you dare talk back
Mass. What a concept. It’s the great antithesis to the values of a Cultural Creative. Mass encourages conformity, homogeneity, rules, protection and mindless action.
Mass production. Mass marketing. Mass media. Make it cheap and make it generic. Make it for everyone.
If you’ve been paying close attention, you may have noticed that Mass isn’t what it used to be.
Living and livelihood
Our voices are shaped by what we do – our craft – as it is what we most like to talk about. On the web we can meet and talk globally with others who value our passion, our talent, our business.
The internet changed Mass forever. It provided an easy way for humans to globally express their own ideas and creativity. Our voice, our Self, as a digital representation. Our unique Self communicated through programming code that is visual poetry.
The internet shattered the ideals of Mass as it was evident through our many web expressions that we, as humans, were anything but all the same. As more of us come online more of us are connecting with the soul of business, the craftsmanship that once went into the products and services we purchase. We once again have the ability to communicate with the creators, with the people and personalities behind the things we buy.
The ability to connect with a human voice is a million times more effective than any television ad. And that reality is changing the way we buy and sell.
Craft, connection and community
The internet is a giant bazaar where producers and markets can interact and respond directly with each other. Just like the marketplace used to be the heart of a town, the internet has become the heart of commerce. For it is here that we can now go to look, listen and marvel, to buy and be amused. Most importantly, it is here that we can go to meet each other and talk — about the things that matter to us personally.
Connecting as humans, not enterprises, using substantive, personalized communications, has blurred the line between business and personal. It is no longer about what you would like people to believe, it’s about what is really going on. It’s about being authentic and being human. It’s about enjoying your work, being yourself and the market that will arise because of it. It’s about business-as-unusual.
photo credit: whistler1984
Other articles that might tickle your fancy:
- Acting Bigger Than You Are
- Marketing to Innerpreneurs & Cultural Creatives
- All the World is a Stage
- Enough About Me, What About You?
- Prosperity is a Venn Diagram Away
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