progeekery

Promoting Professional Geekery #49 – Be A Role Model

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(For more Promoting Professional Geekery, see this Roundup of past columns.)

It’s time to share your progeeky successes with people.  You need to tell people how you made it

Why would you do this, beyond sharing your own awesomeness?  That’s simple:

  1. You’ll be a role model, which I’ve noted is very important.  When people see someone and know they’re successful, they find it easier to emulate them.
  2. You’ll be inspirational.  People need to see being a professional geek can work.
  3. You’ll be educational.  If you can give detailed descriptions of what you did right and how you did it, people can learn.
  4. You’ll be a reminder that success is possible.  Believe me, people need that.

What format? So what’s the best way to do it?  That kind of depends on what’s best for you.  Among these columns I’ve suggested the value of blogs, books, guides, etc.  The best thing I’ve found is to:

  1. Pick a format that makes it work.  What method works best to share your success stories?
  2. Pick a format that works for you.  After all some methods just aren’t for you.
  3. Pick a format that reaches people.  This is one reason I like blogs is they’re around for a long time if you pay your server bills.

How should I do it?  This is actually simple – make sure you share your success story in ways that people can actually follow in your footsteps and apply your lessons.  This means:

  1. List how you did it, what you did, what you did wrong, and what you did right.  Let them see your path so they can duplicate it.
  2. Always, always include cause-and-effect when possible so people see how (and what) results should follow.
  3. Include resources you used so people no what to use.
  4. Include “Takeaways” and “To dos” to inspire people to action.

What about my ego?  If you’re worried you look like an egomaniac, then make sure your work keeps the audience in mind first.  Ask how you help them, what you can do for them, how this can pay off for them. It puts them in he foreground, your ego in the background, and you can stop worrying.

I’m sure you’ve got plenty of successes to share.  Get to it!

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach for professional and potentially professional geeks, fans, and otaku. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/

 

 

 

 

 

Promoting Professional Geekery #39: Help Out Parents

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(For more Promoting Professional Geekery, see this Roundup of past columns.)

If you’re the parent of a future progeek, or a progeek with kids, you know the kind of concerns you have. That concern for your child’s future, that concern about how to shape their lives, or the concern you have no idea what the hell your kids are talking about.

It’s hard enough being a parent in changing times, but support for progeeky parents and parents of progeeks isn’t exactly forthcoming. Trust me, I’ve seen it.

So if you want to help out professional geeks – help out the parents of the next generation guide their children or at least understand what’s going on.

What you can do depends on your skills, knowledge, and what you’re willing to provide:

  • If you’re culturally knowledgeable, you can explain things to parents – the significance of anime, terms, etc.
  • If you’re in a profession or know about one, you can explain it to parents and give them an idea of their offspring’s future.
  • If you’ve got a good understanding about the economy, employment trends, etc. you can impart wisdom to concerned parents, allay their fears, or reinforce them (which, sometimes, you have to do).

Want to find the best way to help – ask what you can provide the parents don’t have (or know they have). Then provide it. Even comforting words make a difference.

The next question is how you provide it. That also depends on your inclinations – and what you’re able to provide:

  • Conventions are excellent opportunities to reach parents who are in attendance, or in attendance with their children.
  • Blogs and sites are useful to reach parents. Just remember you want to do stuff that’ll help you reach people. Consider anything you post you a personal/geek blog could be something to do at a parenting site.
  • One-on-ones. If you know geek parents/parents of geeks you can help out personally.

When helping out parents, you have to also gauge your level of commitment. How much can you say and how long will it take to say it? You could find yourself involved in a deep project . . .

. . . which may be what you wanted. Parenting is certainly a deep project as it is.

– Steven Savage

Promoting Professional Geekery #37 – Be Con Event Support

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(For more Promoting Professional Geekery, see this Roundup of past columns.)

Several of my promoting Professional Geekery are about how you can encourage Progeekery at a con, from doing a presentation to doing a career track.  There’s more you can do.

You can be “Event Support.”

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