68 posts. About 130 pages of content. A royal pain in the butt. A gut-wrenching act of public intellectual immolation. The last 10 months of my blogging experience have indeed been interesting. When you have three kids, a busy spouse, a new house, 2 dogs (soon to be 10), 4 cats and all the things that come with them, one has to ask “What the hell are you thinking?” Why put in the effort and time and heartache when it doesn’t make any money?
Actually the math is pretty simple. I am investing in my network, contributing to my community of practice (in this case my community of practice is people who believe that talent is more valuable than capital and want to be part of the next phase of the creative age). And like anybody eager to participate in such a community, I have to pay to enter. And keep paying. I have to add value before any is given to me.
It is not a gift (as my several readers will so readily testify). It is not sacrifice. I do expect something in return. Information. Connections. Ego gratification. A reduction in the cost of the transactions in my community. An increase in the number of those transactions. A better world for my kids. All of those and more.
But the secret to participating in the creative economy (otherwise known as the network economy, or the economy of the community of practice) is that I have to pay in advance, before I ever get anything in return. And the market that I am paying (now there’s a concept for you – buying from your market) sits in silent witness to my authenticity, commitment and competence. Because each of the participants in my market is seeking the same things I am. Those customers can’t evaluate whether I am worth adding to their market if I am not trustworthy, consistent, and valuable. (In talent markets value gets discounted heavily for lying and flaking out.)
I am one guy, and this is the commitment I must make in order to pay my market, to play with my peers. Just imagine what you have to do as a company. Each node in an aggressively expanding network must become convinced that you will deliver value to them, now and in the future. This market is merciless. It is the coin of talent commerce.
It will be interesting to see whether companies are willing to invest in “paying their market,” or whether they will continue to believe that jobs are all the value they have to add.
I like your perspective. Great post!
Posted by: Jason Davis | October 31, 2005 at 11:41 AM
Agreed! Your philosophy is in-line with mine ... I like to tell people that technology should be a slave to community ... Keep the good stuff coming Jeff!
Thanks,
Jeremy Langhans
Posted by: Jeremy Langhans | November 01, 2005 at 03:19 PM
sow the seeds, pay the price, buy the toll tag...yep, good analogies and the right question...are company's willing to invest today for a community of future talent relationships? They will because it will become successful business practice. The frustration, the hurdle, the obstacle today is that the pigs feeding at the trough all wear the same choir robes...people like me. These messages must get to users who really matter...line managers. Good content - more who don't know need to read.
keep sowing -
Go Johnny Go!
Posted by: hank stringer | November 07, 2005 at 11:09 AM
Funny...I've thought about the "royal pain in the butt" versus "ego gratification" equation myself ; )
Posted by: Heather | November 14, 2005 at 07:52 PM
Hi!
I like this approach very much, especially when its about talent market and ethic issues.
One question - how does your networking pays off to you? Do you have any success stories to share?
Of have, pls DO SO :)
Warm regards,
Jelena
Posted by: Miss Cybernaut | July 16, 2007 at 06:53 AM