In his book We Are All Weird, Seth Godin says we are moving from the culture of mass (think Mad Men marketing to Mrs. Average Housewife) to the culture of weird (people with enough means to be whoever they want to be). He sees four forces driving this:
- Amplified creation: Anything you create can be spread anywhere in a very short amount of time. There are no longer any middle-man barriers between you and your public.
- Wealth enough to do what we want (and we want to be weird). “Standing out takes time, money, and confidence. More of us have all three now.”
- New marketing techniques that are better at reaching the weird. Marketers are finding there is no more profit to be found in encouraging and supporting your weirdness than in trying to force you into a mass mold.
- The power of connected tribes: we are no longer alone. No matter what our weirdness, we can find others who love it too. Those who are good at connecting tribe members will reap rewards.
What is your “weird”? How has the new connectivity encouraged it and allowed it to flourish? What are you able to do now with your life that would have been inconceivable ten years ago?
