Which would you choose?
Learn Create Share 28: sketchnote lettering, paradox thinking and backlinking may be broken
Which would be easier to market? Last year's smartphone or an classic flip phone?
It might seem obvious at first, the smartphone has better specs and can do more. It's the easier to sell. While all those points are true, in reality last years smartphone isn't competing against a flip phone, it's competing against all the other smartphones including this years new models. The flip phone, on the other hand, is an oddity. It has distinct features which include its lack of features. It is very easy to tell people why they should want that phone.
Of course, more people will buy smartphones, (and it would be easier to sell a smartphone to a random person in the street) but perhaps enough people will buy the flip phone.
What's this got to do with creativity?
It's easy to think that we should try to be the latest smartphone and have the best features that appeal to most people, but most of us are flip phones. We have "flaws" that put many people off but are great for some people. This is like "niche" marketing but I see some differences. Niche marketing is a deliberate choice to position a product to appeal to a certain group, what I'm talking about is embracing who we are and feeling comfortable with not being the next must read author. Jeff Goins cleverly put it "You're one in a million, but as there are 7 billion other people in the world, that means there are 7000 other people like you."
Inspired by Omar sharing “No more guilty pleasures."
Creative Challenge: Outside my window
As I sit here on Friday afternoon at my in-laws, there doesn't seem to be a lot going on outside. But that's not really the case. A little closer inspection reveals the house lights flicking on as the darkness decends, the kids heading home from the shared playground, the tree now bare of leaves after completing its autumnal ritual.
Any of these could be inspiration for a picture, a song, or some writing.
Take a look outside your window and create something.
Share your creation in the community.
Links
Mike Rhode's Sketchnote lettering workshop
Mike Rhode is one of my favourite people on the internet and he is holding a sketchnote lettering workshop. I love Mike's style of text and if you to steal some of his approach, sign up for his workshop.
The power of paradoxical thinking
F Scott Fitzgerald once said "The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function". According to this BBC article, he was right.
Backlinking is not very useful - often even harmful
I've been interested in note taking systems and ZettleKasten recently. The title might be slightly misleading but the points and considerations are not. If you are using one of these cross reference and linking note taking systems, you should consider Christian's points.
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See you next week.