Despite my better judgment, I’m doing a very introspective post.  It could be because I’m up late thinking about work.  It’s more likely that something is bugging me.  ‘This will surely be one of those posts I contemplate deleting after it’s published but you have to tell the truth to get the truth so here it goes.

I am a marketer, and a pretty serious one.  I am a writer.  I emphasize getting a point across – one on one or in a group.  I am a speaker.  Clearly I like to talk people and I’m pretty good at it.

I am a singer and a songwriter.  I’ve released two albums and am finally back in the studio working on the third.  My albums have digital distribution and can be found online at iTunes, Napster, Amazon, and other marketplaces.  Yeah Madia does music and Madia [a.k.a. logan] does marketing.

I always thought people should pick something, and get good at it.  It wasn’t because I didn’t think people could be good at multiple things.  I did and I do!  I think that when we summarize people in our head, we can only fit one thing.  As people we define other people in a very small box.  I think most mental summaries are a word or two.   Mother.  Musician.  Marketer.  Writer.

We define people by the role we know them to play or the role that is most prominent – and because of that, I conformed to the idea that I have to be one thing now that I’m a grown up and can no longer pass for a college student.  (maybe a grad student…)  People told me I had to pick something.

So I’m coming out to multiple groups that I have worked very hard to keep separate.  Why?

• It’s bound to happen.
• I might as well control the message. (inner marketer)
• If we’re friends you’ll hopefully make my box a lil bigger.
• If we’re not friends, maybe you’ll resist putting others in a box.

If you’re a person of multiple talents, I think letting the walls down is good.  It shows you have multiple strengths and sometimes unique insights as a result of your multiple perspectives.  They told me to pick something… but I’m ignoring that advice.

I still don’t think business gets it.  Let me be more specific.  I’m not sure that some businesses get the implementation of digital media.  They don’t understand the commitment.  Today I thought of an analogy that made so much sense I had to break my rule of not getting carried away with multiple blog posts in a day.  Since I’ve just enabled comments – this is a big move for me.  To the point.

The wedding and the marriage.

The way a lot of businesses are still interacting with digital media reminds me of the couple all excited about the wedding.  They plan.  They budget the resources to pay vendors, florists, caterers, venues, etc… and after all that, they have their day. After the day – things tend to get a little tough.  Hence the divorce rate.  I always think to myself, maybe instead of the fancy centerpieces they should have sprung for marital counseling or preparation for the journey.

In the same ways people tend to focus on the wedding and not sustaining the marriage, businesses overemphasize their foray into digital media.  Look at us we’re blogging, podcasting and tweeting.  What businesses lack is the core strategy and expectation that they will have to experiment and customize these tools to accomplish the goals they’ve set.  The idea that you’d be able to start a blog and instantly build a following, master the feedback process, and strike chords with every post is not naivete, but a bad expectation to have in the first place.  It is very much like having a marriage and believing that every day is going to be filled with rainbows and sunshine.

I’m sure you could have a big wedding that kicks off a 60 year marriage but if I had to choose I’d pick a smaller wedding and a huge 50 year anniversary party.

Businesses should celebrate their successes in digital media, not their decision to participate.  Manage leadership expectations appropriately and continue to test and perfect your approach to accomplish the goals you created.  In this case – it takes commitment to celebrate.

NY Times Article

I’ve been moved to blog because I found an article about how even educated African Americans are having a tougher time getting employment than their counterparts. The article remains one of the NYT most popular, another sign that this topic is of some concern to many people. I’m going to share a few tips that should help all job seekers market themselves a little better.

Check out the NYT article here.

I do think that African Americans have a significant social barrier in society because there are several negative stereotypes associated with being black. Some may say that all stereotypes are negative but if people assume you’re smart and good with a computer because of your race… I think that’s evidence of a stereotype working FOR you. While most people that aren’t black choose to chalk this theory up to paranoia, I’ll spend my time trying to be helpful instead of debating that idea.

Let’s state the obvious. Unemployment in the U.S. is over 10% and everybody is looking for a job. I’m entertaining offers and I have a job… soooo that leads me to believe that a lot of jobs are getting a lot of applications. Also, in tough times you have people with multiple degrees taking jobs just to get their foot in the door or worse yet, bills paid and food on the table. It’s a competitive market out there and I think you have to make yourself stand out. Hence… marketing yourself in a recession.

So here are my thoughts:

1. Use your network.
   In business school they always talked about leverage. Well leveraging your personal network of friends, former colleagues & managers is an important piece. When you apply for a job online, you are one in a stack. It’s been proven over and over that people hire based on recommendation. If you have established yourself on social networks, use them. I’m not just talking LinkedIn. Why not update your status on FB or Twitter to include the job you’d like to do? Could you upload your resume to those sites? Of Course! Send a group message to all your friends, whatev! You’re on the hunt here for your next big thing!
2. Get out of the house.
   I love my apartment just as much as you do but you’re not going to find a job sitting at the computer on theladders.com all day. Soooo you might as well get out of the house. Heading to your nearest pub probably won’t be as useful. So be strategic. Check out what events are going on around your profession. There’s a Social Media Club that meets locally. If you’re a marketer, it might be worthwhile to hit up one of their events. Use professional associations to keep you plugged in to the profession while you’re waiting for a gig. My advice is to leave the resume in the car but start talking to people. If you don’t know them I wouldn’t start with Hi, I’m looking for a job. Just socialize and try to get some cards. If the topic comes up you can mention that you’re currently in the market for a new gig but focus on what you’ve done. Life is one big interview.

More later on this topic my friends. Unfortunately (or As luck would have it) I’ve got to head to work… after all I’d like to stay employed.

In the meantime, share thoughts and questions if you have ‘em and I’ll be sure to speak to those in the next post!

I am doing some really cool things with video that I’ll remember to blog about soon!