Seth Godin has some great content, of course, about people picking themselves.

I have written previously about the transformation I went through when I realized the means of creative production were within reach upon first using MiniDV video technology and editing on an early iMac. Embracing the technology, I was effectively picking myself: because

Suddenly, I was in control, a one-man shop, a creative force! I was a child again, trying things out, self-congratulatory, experimental, churning, learning.

By producing content – where before I was just full of ideas – I was making art. I was a self-proclaimed artist. Modern art is about self-validation. It is not about raw talent. It is about applied thinking; a pinch of cultural doohickery; and a wish to converse and commune, to prompt and poke.

My friends thought I was weird. To try to include them, I started videoing them reciting this sentence:

I am an artist, you are an artist, we are all of us artists.

I wanted everyone to experience this existential shift. I had a plan for the art, but neither the wherewithal nor the network / community to actually ship it. I was (self) stymied.

In the last few posts, I drew a line of sight from modern art to social / network business. I will do so again.

Godin talks a lot about calling your work art; and about shipping your art too. His is the most coherent voice of social marketing / business. 15 years ago, I didn’t have the community to help me push me over the artist line.

With social / network business, that community is within reach, everywhere. I am in good company. I can pick myself, make art, and ship it. That feels good.

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