Career

“… It’s nice to know that if I do post about my dogs or something, it’s not a total faux pas.”

That is from a comment left yesterday by Tzaddi, from ThriveWire, to my post I wonder what she’ll say? And I thought, yes. Dogs are a great example of what I’m trying to get at.

From the perspective of career, from the position of being a business or part of one, you would not think that tweets and status updates and blog posts about your dog would be appropriate and, strictly speaking, they are not. But …

As I tried to suggest yesterday, the seemingly trivial and inconsequential are a part of what humanizes what you put online because, online, life is no different than life offline and people aren’t any different either. The primary connection you make with people online is not what you put online, it is you.

And it is them.

Let’s go back to the dog and an example. I do occasional work with a guy and his company from Michigan, the Detroit area I believe. We met (online) through a mutual acquaintance about some potential writing work. He was looking for a writer. I was the writer he went with. Why?

The truth is, he could have gone with any writer. It’s not like we are in short supply. And no matter how big an ego I might have there is no getting around the fact that lots of people can write, lots of people can write as well as I do and many of those people can probably write better than I do. I am good but the reality of the world is that as good as you may be, there is always someone better. So why pick me?

Because, at a certain point, how good you are isn’t an issue. How comfortable someone feels working with you is. In this case, there was some sense of ease because someone he knew, the friend who introduced us, had given me a thumbs up. But what sealed the deal, in my opinion, was my dog.

We communicate primarily via email, though occasionally by phone. In our first phone contact, I had to apologize because my dog had started barking at something.

“You have a dog? What kind?”

He had a dog too. Since that call, almost all our communications make references, however briefly, to our dogs. Through the dogs he was able to get some sense, verbally by phone and in text via email, of who I was. And as minute as it may be, it was some degree of comfort. The way we communicate, about our dogs, gave him some sense of me as someone he could work with.

Walking with my dog in the park twice a day, I meet people and talk with them. They are people who would walk by me and that I would walk past with, at best, a nod of acknowledgement except … we have dogs. So we stop. Our dogs sniff each other. And we talk about our dogs and get to know each other. Because of my dog, I have friends I would not otherwise have.

Dogs are simply an example of the seemingly inconsequential elements of a life that opens doors, dismisses barriers and allows for people to communicate with ease. Another example? How about Star Trek? You wouldn’t believe the number of people I’ve gotten to know simply because we both like Star Trek.

Dogs and Star Trek. They have nothing to do with the work I do. But they do facilitate the relationships necessary to allow for the work.

So every so often I tweet, update and post about my dog, about Star Trek, and about a million every day mundane, banal, trivial things because it is who I am and being who you are is what lets people in. Taken to excess, yes, it definitely shuts down all those doors. But excluding it means they never open in the first place.

It may be digital but social media is about people and people don’t change. You have to have the skills to do the work but it’s who you are that gets you the work.

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The headline could also read, “You are what you tweet.” If you put something out there on the Internet — it’s out there on the Internet and anyone and everyone can find it and see it. And as far as the world is concerned, it’s who you are.

I bring this up because on one of the Twitter feeds I manage there is a young woman who has interesting, worthwhile tweets. But she also has the usual trivial tweets as most people do. The thing is, she often uses profanity. In fact, she uses it a lot.

I could write a long post about four-letter words and, who knows, maybe one day I will. To be brief, they don’t offend me. Having worked in radio for a while, there is little I haven’t heard. I also use those words myself. Sometimes with frequency.

Still, I often find them annoying, at least in writing. They seem to be wasted words. It’s kind of like, “I get it; you’re upset. Could you please get to the point?”

My real reason for this post, however, is this: when you use those words online, on Twitter and so on, do you ever think about who may see them? There are few people who haven’t heard them and, really, only a small percentage of people who are truly offended by them. I think at worst you would find people like me who find them tiresome and unimaginative.

But there are also people out there who could potentially employ you, or get involved in some way that is beneficial to your career or life generally. Maybe a web designer recommends me to others as a writer. Or maybe I suggest a designer to someone and that designer is you. There are a lot of business people and government people online, especially on Twitter, many of whom have the potential to be of benefit to you – jobs, recommendations, tips and so on.

The thing is, when it comes to this area of human activity — business and related matters — regardless of whether someone is fine with the language or not, there’s a good chance they’ll be a little uneasy with you because when you are working for or with them, to some degree you represent them and their business.

If the person they find in their Twitter stream has a foul mouth, odds are they’ll prefer not to take chances and so avoid you. While you may not need a job or recommendation or anything else right now, one day you will. Increasingly, who you are on the Internet will be the person the world sees you as. Whatever song and dance you do in an interview or in a resume will mean nothing compared to what is in your Twitter stream, on your Facebook pages or on your blog.

If they’re full of profanity, that’s who you will be seen as and, for most people and companies and governments, that’s a no-no because it means bad branding. They’ll avoid you.

How your blogs, Twitter streams, Facebook pages and so on represent you goes beyond potentially naughty photos. It’s all your content, including words. Maybe words more than anything else. Despite images and video and all the other web developments, the Internet is still primarily a text medium.

You probably don’t care about how your friends see you – why should you? They’re your friends, they know who you are. The problem is, your friends aren’t the only people who see you online. Everyone else can too and all they have to go by is what they see and read.

So … who are you online?

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At this moment, the world is obsessed with the perceived financial calamity that keeps sending everything down, down, down … except, perhaps, consumer prices. There’s hand wringing, hair rending, tears a plenty and profanities shouted from rooftops. As a Simple Plan song (called Untitled) says, “How could this happen to me?”

Actually, it’s happening to just about everyone.

If you’re a writer, odds are you don’t get paid a lot (if you’re paid at all). And as the current mess evolves, you’re likely to see what little you do get go down, down, down. You’ll be considered an unnecessary expense. Reducing what you’re paid, or eliminating you altogether, will help reduce costs.

Maybe you shouldn’t write for a living. The problem writers have is that while you may get work, and even enough income to keep the creditors at bay, you often have to work your fingers numb and your eyes blind for a small return. Often, it will be writing (or editing) that you’re not really in love with – but, “Hey! It’s writing! And I’m getting paid! Kinda.”

This is a good way to arrive at that point where you hate writing. And the writing you do enjoy gets pushed aside. And soon you find yourself a keyboard slug with a calcified imagination. And you’ll be a misanthropic grump to boot.

I can’t speak for other writers but I do know that while I love writing (paid or not, I’m always writing), there are other things I love as well. There may also be jobs out there I’m unaware of that, were I to give them a try, I might like a whole bunch. And guess what? They pay better than writing and, when not on the job, I can do the writing I really do love with a lot more creativity and vitality than when I was a writing drudge.

I’m not saying you should take a job completely unrelated to writing and editing, but I am saying it’s worthwhile to think beyond them and see what else the world offers. There are more skills in writing (and editing) than stringing words together. For one thing, you’re probably a pretty damn good researcher. One of my favourite expressions is, “You are what you do.” If you’re a word lackey you’ll be a writer but you’ll be a poor one. You’ll find you’re passionless. A cog. A drone.

On a related note, you should read Seth’s post, Be careful of who you work for. As with what you do, and how you do it, defining you, he points out that who you work for will define you as well. And he’s bang on the money when he says there are oodles of books and sites for finding jobs, but few or none about choosing the right job.

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In a business context, the world of writing is amorphous: ill-defined (if defined at all). Murky. Obscure. In fact, although I refer to it as “business writing,” business really isn’t the correct word. But I can’t think of the right word because, in this context, it’s a wide variety of writing. Or so I’ve found.

The reasons for this are probably many but, as far as I’ve been able to tell, there’s an unarticulated notion in the world that any educated person should be able to write, so why would you need a writer? So businesses don’t have a writer/editor on salary because it’s an unnecessary cost. Besides, if the need arises, you can always contract out – at a minimal cost.

The reality, however, is very different, which a lot of businesses discover. Yes, a great many people can write but, unfortunately, not many can write well. And of the people who can “write,” in the sense that they can compose a coherent sentence, they find it really, really hard, anxiety riddled and hugely time consuming.

So, they look for a writer. Contract time. But, oops, since we tried to keep the cost down and paid very little for the job (because so many people out there are willing to write for almost nothing – supply and demand), we got what we paid for: a load of crap.

This discovery leaves many managers with a problem: We really do need a writer. The company doesn’t have writers on salary. What to do?

The answer probably explains my curious career: on contract, on salary as a union employee, on contract again, on salary as a manager, and on contract again. And all doing the same job: writing and editing. At no time when I was on salary was I listed as a writer/editor. When unionized I was a “voice systems operator.” As a manager, I don’t recall what I was listed as but it was something like, “Web marketing.” Some such thing.

While I refer to it vaguely as “business writing,” what I’ve done through the years was marketing writing (brochures, catalogues, travel guides), technical writing, copywriting (radio, TV), Web writing (text for various pages), business letters, responses to RFPs, even the editing of contracts (legal writing). Whatever came along, that’s the writing I did. And still do.

The easiest thing for me, and frankly for the companies I’ve worked for, is to be on salary. But because there is this hesitancy to actually have a writer on staff, everything gets muddled, a lot of time is wasted, and money is “saved” at great expense.

So perhaps it’s time we did some marketing/PR flim flam and we found a new word or phrase for writers. How about, Manager, Language Structure. Or maybe, Text Content Manager. Or, my personal favourite, Manager: Clarity and Meaning, Text Division.

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Many people suffer from physical and/or psychological problems because of work. These problems occur because they worry about work.

It’s understandable. No work? No payday. No payday? No home. No recreational drugs. No betting on NFL games.

You can see why people might worry.

It’s important to work in order to keep the daily steamboat of life going down the river. Perhaps more importantly, work (meaning the pay) means survival and, in this extravagantly leisurely Western culture we’ve constructed, a degree of comfort. (Football pools! Drugs! Sex with strangers who will sleep with you for a few free drinks, although sober they wouldn’t sleep with you even if it meant a cure for cancer.)

Most of the hoo-hah surrounding work, and by this I mean the physical and psychological issues, the worry of work, arise from thinking that what we do for work matters a damn. It doesn’t. For the vast majority of us, drunk monkeys on mescaline could be doing our jobs and no one would notice.

This is why computers and, previously, mechanical technologies replaced so many jobs. We’re not that necessary and we bitch and moan so much. And we break down at the drop of a hat.

Computers and machines don’t bitch and moan. And they don’t require dental plans.

I think we all can achieve a much higher degree of happiness – a lot less worry about work – If we accept that drunk monkeys on mescaline could be doing our jobs. Then? Well, who gives a rat’s rectum about the job? I go in. I do my work. I go home.

I get a pay cheque!

High times! Football pools and recreational drugs! Sex with strangers who … well, you know.

I think if we all accept that who we are and what we do are only remarkable by the astonishing degree to which we are so utterly unimportant, we can all achieve a state almost like Nirvana.

No more worry!

It’s not that hard to do. We’re not ending world poverty. Most of us are essentially shoveling shit through a spreadsheet. How could that be considered important?

Realize that what we do doesn’t matter. What’s to worry?

Think of the money to be saved on medical bills. Say “Adios!” to the therapist!

Another reason computers and other machines have taken over so many jobs? Computers and machines don’t talk about their jobs or their bosses all the time. No need to worry about inviting them to a party and having them bore all your guests to tears.

By the way, if you’re any kind of medical professional you should consider relocating to a place like India or China. A whole whack of jobs have been relocated over there, so there is a huge and growing population of new workers and that means physical and psychological problems because, of course, they’re all worrying about their jobs!

Some final thoughts? Don’t worry; be happy. Sure, it’s a cliché. But writing is work and I’m trying to pad. If I don’t fill my word quota, I could be replaced by a drunk monkey on mescaline!

When we end up going to the great unemployment line in the sky, none of us will be remembered for doing a good job. We’ll be remembered for getting naked at the annual Christmas party and goosing our boss’ wife.

The only work worth doing is the work that feels like play.

If I haven’t mentioned this, or if it isn’t abundantly obvious yet, as I write this I am playing!

Tag! You’re it!

(Note: this item is subtitled, “It’s only work if you don’t like it.“)

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While there is a natural inclination when something like an old year ends to look back and review, my memory is so poor I usually make a schmozzle of it. I recall imperfectly and forget largely. So I tend to refrain from reviewing.  (Aside … see my update mention below re: Seth’s blog.)

Still, I do remember a few writing related things from 2004. For example, a study was released showing fewer people are reading now. And another study showed increasing numbers of people wanting to write. (Sorry, I’ve no idea where those links are now.)

Phrased differently, it would seem buckets of people have something to say. But there aren’t many of us who want to listen. Perhaps this would make for a good resolution for all of us as we go into the new year: less talking, more listening.

2004 also continued with the wild proliferation of blogs. People are blogging all over the place, part of which is business people with something to say. Some of us want to do blog even though we don’t have anything to say — it’s  just fun to chatter. Though when you think about it, this isn’t really true. People who chatter but seem to be saying nothing are usually saying, in a roundabout way, “Hey! I’m here! Could someone please notice me? This world is a lonely place, you know.”

Again, in 2005 maybe we could all notice and listen a bit more than we normally do.

As far as my own writing goes, I think the most interesting and significant part of the year we’re leaving behind is this blog, Writelife.

Despite falling off in the last part of the year, I’ve managed to be fairly consistent with posting and I’ve also managed to be focused — well, relative to how focused I normally am, which is all over the map. For the most part, I’ve managed to keep this to writing, marketing, blogs and business. However, I am considering expanding that a bit in 2005. We’ll see.

And that’s pretty much that for my blogging in 2004. My blogging will whisk into 2005 sometime tomorrow, lingering effects of festive celebrations permitting.

Having made a poor job of passing along Christmas greetings, let me make amends by wishing everyone a great and giggly 2005. May we all lighten up a bit and move on. There’s too much fun and joy to be had to waste time on anger and resentment.

The jokes work better too.

UPDATE:

I had to mention News from Australia on Seth Godin’s blog. This directly relates to my closing comment and New Year greeting. And it relates to what I hope will be my next post. Be sure to read this, particularly the part about the Australian dentist. This is how we should conduct our lives and careers.

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