It has only been 5 days. I have missed you, and yet been relieved not to HAVE to post anything (though granted it was my own idea to participate in NaBloPoMo). So much and so little has happened during our time apart!
I've been temporarily laid off my part time gig due to lack of funding. (so has everyone else, I haven't been singled out). Due to "the economy" as they say. It should pick up in January, there's lots of promising promises being made that I believe. So I'm not worried really. Just knowing I should make ends meet in the meantime, but without the same fire under my butt that not believing would ignite.
I also have some leads on some temporary part time work to fill in the gap, but none of that has really started quite yet, so I'm floating in limbo this week, not really getting anything done at all, not even my homework, and I'm very, very far behind in that. ARGH. Been visiting and talking and planning and having meals with people, which is very good, because I'm also alone. So I guess that's not nothing.
The sink totally backed up today, made a mess of making dinner for my brother and his gf. Embarrassing, but they seemed to take it well. I prattled on a lot, a little nervous, wanting them to be happy and comfortable. I managed to ask some questions towards the end, I hope I did alright. So silly, isn't she supposed to be the one nervous to meet me? Maybe she was. They are super cute together in any case, and the food was tasty, so yeah. It was an "extra Thanksgiving" theme, because I personally did not get enough Thanksgiving, because it was a potluck and I didn't bring home any leftovers other than stuffing.
G's friends and family have been chatting with me a lot more lately, wanting updates about him in Dubai. I honestly don't know much more than they do, but I AM impressed at how well my minimal Spanish is holding up so far with them. I was worried I'd totally lose it after focussing on music stuff to the exclusion of Spanish, but so much of it is still there. Thank goodness.
It's been rattling around, several people now have told me that I should write a book (maybe a whitepaper?) about about music social marketing and/or to start a service for musicians to help them with it. The thing I haven't figured out yet, is that a huge part of it is BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS. And I can't do that for them, can I?
I mean, I guess big companies have evangelist/mouthpiece/marketing people, and if being a musician is running a small business, no reason they couldn't have someone doing that part for them, but it would be a delicate balance - how transparent would it be? Ghostwriting? Just a representative, openly doing the work/gatekeeping? Depends on the artist? Some like the social networking, some hate the idea of even turning on a computer. I have the patience to coach people through this stuff, but it's only as useful as you use it... You have to actively participate in the community to build a community. I can set up your accounts and show you around, but you oughta be the one maintaining them right?
The tricks are (and this is not necessarily the order of priority):
1. To get them to understand WHAT the tools are - explaining things (what's a widget? Twitter wha'?) from the ground up is tricky, need to find the common denominator things they DO know and build from there.
2. To get them to understand WHY the tools are useful and important (do I really have to do ANOTHER online thing?)
3. To get them over their fear/confusion/frustration with the internet/computers/technology in general (I just want to play my guitar!)
My brother suggests that I do my book with cartoons, people like comic books and they're more likely to pay attention. :-)
Writing a book is NOT ever something I thought I would ever, ever do. Books are what other people do. Books take too long to write. I want to write songs. Right? Hrm.
3 comments:
The "how to build relationships" aspect is THE key question in all marketing today. Marketing is basically a conversation between the marketer and customers about the product, the problem it solves, and the story of the interplay between the two. So, the product, from the perspective of marketing, is a social object that serves as the catalyst for the story.
The main yardstick of success in marketing is how well that conversation is being managed. Social networks, blogs, and other Web 2.0 things help make the conversation more two-way. Though musicians that perform live also have the even more important opportunity of actually meeting and interacting with their audience face-to-face, which is the most powerful and fundamental form of interaction. All others are shadows of that.
The main point is that, unless you just want to make music and throw it out into the void to be heard or not heard, music as a profession means that you have to get out and talk to people, and fortunately we have all these wonderful modern tools to help with that which we can leverage to escape the old models of the delivery and promotion of recorded and live music.
So I guess then that making that point, of the conversation or personal involvement, is the opening, and the rest is just details of how to do it.
just thinking out loud...
Yes yes! Thank you for putting words to it!!
Something I think so many of us forge/don't realise is that life online is really meant to support and strengthen the relationships/connections/experiences of offline life. :)
maybe write it as an e-book and sell it online?
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