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Welcome friends! Lovely to have you here. So where exactly is "here"? And what on earth is a ThinkerBelle? "Here" is a blog space on all things that interest this little strategist, namely design, social media and technology. I like to think that "ThinkerBelle" (my strategist persona) lives at the intersection of these three domains. I hope you enjoy this space, please comment and don't be a stranger. I appreciate you being here. Follow me in the tweetverse if you like @thaz7.
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Here’s to the Crazy Ones…
Today we lost a hero, a visionary, an incredible mind.
Steve Jobs has always been an enigma. He changed the way we work (otherwise our entire lives could have been as disappointing as Lotus Notes). He’s changed the way we connect. He gave us what we needed before we knew we needed it. While he was never known to “crack” what we generally refer to as ’social media,’ he gaves us the means to do it. He was the most incredible strategic and creative mind our generation has ever known.
I’m looking at my social feeds this evening and am completely awestruck at the impact he has had on the creative community. Yes, I used to work at Chiat/Day, the home of Apple advertising and it has an enormous impact on many of my friends lives (and my own)–regardless if we worked on it or not. But it’s bigger than just Chiat. Our advertising world has been shaped by the innovation of Jobs and Apple. We could not do what we do without his technology. We would not be building apps, creating our digital experiences and amazing broadcast spots, playing with Instagram, sharing our lives the way we do without his vision.
He changed the game of advertising — with a little help from his agency of course. He had the guts to take the risk. Buy work that wasn’t conventional (hello, 1984?) The Think Different ad got me into advertising. On my toughest days early in my career, it KEPT me in advertising. It gave me hope that one day, maybe I could help make something that would make me feel the way that did. That’s what good advertising does: grabs you in a way you’d never expect, hugs your heart and makes you want a piece of whatever they “got” at any cost. So here’s to the crazy ones.
Beyond just what he helped create, was the attitude and the swagger that he brought to the world of technology. Before Apple, one could argue that technology was looked down upon many as just another “nerdy pursuit.” Technology was for “them” not “us.” Apple made technology desirable. Who wanted to be a suit PC when you could be the smart-assed Mac?
While the physical manifestation of the “Mac” persona may be true-yes, many of us wear our funky sneakers and tote our iPhones as if they were actually attached to our bodies–what’s beneath the surface is probably even more fundamentally true. We all live to be the pirates. We want to have strong opinions, bold ideas, a don’t f*ck with me attitude and perseverance to survive even the worst moments. We want to be curious and live in a world of wonderment. One where anything and everything is possible…
My favorite part of his Stanford address is this. I’ve read it several times this evening and to be honest, it’s inspiring me in this moment to follow my heart.
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
Stay hungry. Stay foolish.
Rest in Peace Mr. Jobs. And thank you.
– Steve Jobs narrating the timelessly incredible Think Different ad:
