Are You comfortable?
Comfort zones are fantastic but they make people less creative and innovative in what they do whether at work or at home. More and more I am meeting people who seem unsure of The Internet [social media] and that has brought me to consider my thoughts and passions and experiences of the past 29 years.
As a performance artist I worked specifically as a ‘living sculpture’ [1986 - 2001]standing practically motionless up to 8 hours a day on a plinth, on the street, in corporate circles, galleries, shop windows, hotels, nightclubs wherever. What relevance has this to social media? Everything, as the whole performance is about engaging, creating interaction, reaction and participation but above all audience analysis. I didn’t just stand there I had to work out what to do with who and when and where to make the whole crowd work with and for me. Just like anything on the internet where people are involved they won’t just come to you through Google, better to specifically find those you want to talk to and save time and money. But as you know people don’t [some people] seem to like this and so become aggressive.
Back to performing I literally put myself on a pedestal to be knocked down the idea wasn’t for support and applause but to see what people did when confronted with something outside of their everyday life no make up no cistume just a 3 piece suit and skiing goggles. Most applaud and support those unsure turn gradually violent verbally and physically. Not all got to me as the self censorship of my audience overruled the minority who were negative again this can relate to online activity.
Recently I have seen and noticed more people worried about what to do online; usually it falls back to being out of their comfort zones and having to consider relearning skills. That is something I have constantly done since 1981 as everything changes and we should with it, the internet will never sit still. Linked In won’t sit still neither will Twitter or Facebook that’s why we need to be flexible and share information not be competitive hiding the crown jewels becasue someone else will be sharing them. Instead learn to collaborate and move forward.
So yes beware some people will be out to trip you up, simply because they are uncomfortable. Trust those that are around you and connected to you. The engaging relationships will last and won’t go away, what I have learned over the past 29 years does work simply because I have focused on people and understanding their needs not mine.
