Following up on last week's discussion of how many geeky jobs basically are publishing, I want to follow up with a second truth about fan/geek jobs.
Guess what? You're not just dealing with product, or art, or games. You're producing culture.
Yes. You're defining our future and our culture if you working the usual geek/nerd/fan fields.
Think about what you may do as a progeek:
- You make video games played by millions of people.
- You edit or even write fiction that influences others.
- You work on movies or television seen and reseen for years.
- You provide the technology that drives and defines peoples lives.
- You may report and write on any – or all – of the above.
Yes. In short, those of us in the most geektastic professions, these information-driven ones, are defining the culture of the country and in some cases the world. Right now your game, your novel, your art, has probably made a change in some people's lives.
Terrifying isn't it?
Geek-types, fanboys, fangirls, as I've said repeatedly are people who deal in information. We work in information based jobs, it's production, editing, and transmission.
So yes, in your ideal job you may be defining and creating culture. In fact now, you may be doing the same thing even in a job or career you're not happy in.
Think about it.
Because as you wonder what to do next, what you want to do, what your ideal job is, remember you probably want to create and work with culture. That may make your life clearer, make your training clearer – and give you a lot to think about.
– Steven Savage