Actually, I believe all blogs are bespoke, by definition.
Hugh Macleod is on a bit of a tear these days, mining the notion that the Internet allows, enables and hey … even pushes people to do what they do and do it well … and in the process establish global microbrands.
He’s helped Thomas Mahon, a prototypical English bespoke tailor, establish a blog that gives us a delightful look into the training-meets-talent-and-art world of a highly skilled craftsman passionately in love with his craft. No finer use for a blog, in my mind.
Hugh also mentions “greenlighting”, in an adjacent post, and asserts that blogging is the constant energy source for greenlighting your future.
The only light is the greenlight
Had this thought about blogging:
Your blog is what you want it to be. Make a difference, or not. The ball is your court. This isn’t Hollywood or Madison Avenue- there’s no evil executive/gatekeeper to blame, if things don’t go your way.
In the blogosphere, the only light is the greenlight. Some people can handle it, some people it utterly terrifies.
One of the definitions of “bespoke” (as an adjective, from Websters.com
1. Custom-made. Said especially of clothes.
2. Making or selling custom-made clothes: a bespoke tailor
Your blog is, by definition, custom made … for you, by you … it can’t be otherwwise. It also gives you the greenlight to hold forth on that which interests you, or motivates you … or not, as the case may be.
So, to deepen the story a little bit … I find Thomas Mahon’s blog delightful in that it conveys for me his own delight, passion, rigor, joy in exercisong, demonstrating and explaining his craft. He’s authentic about it … I got the sense his words are as measured as his cutting or sewing will certainly be. And in telling and showing his story, I suspect he’s got a good shot at beginning to establish a “global microbrand”, as Hugh puts it.
I’d like to contrast this with a very personal, and close to the bone, example of another road, not taken if you will. My brother is an industrial designer … a very good one, in my opinion. He’s very well trained, clever, creative (innovative, in fact) hard working and in his own way empassioned by his craft. He designs swimming goggles – the high-end, fancy, really comfortable and effective ones you can buy from Nike, Tyr, Adidas and so on.
It’s a very small, niche world, with only a couple of designers and not tons of work. It’s complex design … many curves, various materials that have to perform well, somewhat complicated optics, and so on …
In an effort to encourage my brother, and let his particular genius blossom, I’ve encouraged him a number of times to create a digital portfolio of his designs, along with some good solid honest copy – and put it up on a web site – so that he might come to the attention of more than the two or three people that now know of his talents and industriousness. This would be pretty easy, and of course fits with the ongoing spread of the “wirearchical” dynamics wherein knowledge and capability meet interconnectedness and cheap ubiquitous reach.
Even better than a web site with a digital gallery of goggle designs would be a blog with jpgs of various designs, along with commentary about design philosophy, creative challenges, goofy marketing decisions, etc.
Of course.
So, one night about 4 or 5 months ago, whilst my brother and I were indulging in our favourite reality-enhancing libation, I managed to boil this all down into an elevator pitch that worked for him .. at that particular moment. So, I set up for him a blog, and even showed him how to post … not only that but I came up with a GREAT name for his blog … The Goggleblog.
He “got it”, and then realized that for it to be effective, he’d have to get clear on some of the message , he’d have to find his voice, make some decisions about the blog’s architecture, links, other features and so on.
So … there it sits.
I’ve surmised that he isn’t into greenlighting his future … nor do his clothes fit him particularly well. It’s not his thing at the moment.
One of the nice thing about blogs, the Internet and the relationship with self, motivation and talent that a world of wirearchy affords is … when the passion returns or takes some other shape than the one it (for example) inhabits in my brother at the moment, the Net, blogs and the ability to use them to tell stories about goggles, design and life as he sees it will still be there.
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