Stereotype-Fu: Bring Them Along

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Well I guess I wasn't done with my stereotype-fu columns was I?

If you're dealing with geek stereotyping on the job or career-wise (and I will go on about related issues Friday), there's many strategies I've detailed.

Another one I'd like to suggest is this – invite your stereotyper to experience just how neat what you're a fan or geek of IS.  In short, find a way to invite them along.

Take them to a film, lend them a DVD or a game or a book, invite them to have lunch with you at a local convention.  Get an appropriate "crossover" gift (give a baseball fan a DVD of "Princess 9" to show them anime, or a mystery fan a "Surrogates" graphic novel to introduce them to comics and sci-fi).  Show them how neat it is.

I think people are often afraid to be inclusive when the stereotypes come out – they don't want to be judged, they don't want to be humiliated, and they probably worry the stereotyper MIGHT be right.

Well forget that.  You've got enough common sense to know what they may or may not understand.

This has two advantages:
* First, you do something FOR the person.  This helps you connect with them and develops a bond period.
* Second, you get a chance to show them things are different and help them understand and appreciate you and what you care about.
* Third, the deliberate inviting-of people can help break many stereotypes applied to fans and geeks (which are often images of fans being antisocial).

Next time you're stereotyped in your career, invite people along for the ride.  Build some bridges and show people just how interesting what care about is – and make some friends!

– Steven Savage

News of the Day 11/23/2009

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Career:
Long commutes can be bad for your health – I'd also note they're just annoying and time-wasting too.

Economics/Geekonomics:
Surprise, some big backs don't have as much capital as you'd hope. Author notes that a double-dip recession, in these conditions, could end up with a depression. I'm not sure he's right there, but I think this condition could mean a double-dip lasts a bloody long time.

Anime and Manga:
Funimation's latest hire hints at more co-productions in the future – With some helpful list of other distributors who did co-productions. If Funimation is making moves in this direction, I get the impression their current business models are safe enough for a bit of experimenting – or that co-productions and the like look feasible.

Media:
Lots of shake-ups at Disney – Hint at an aggressive series of changes, new marketing attempts, and in general, lots of changes that may not all go over well. As Disney goes so goes the world – and as Disney fails, so do people avoid doing similar things.

MediaBistro launches a site to connect freelancers – You KNOW what to do.

Movies:
The Success of New Moon an indicator of the power of the female filmgoer from our friends at EconomPicData. New Moon cleaned up at the box office, with distinctive gender demographics. I wonder if this information is going into people's calculations when assessing audiences . . .

Social Media:
No, Twitter is not for sale – Look we're back to the Twitter-is-in-trouble side of news coverage . . .

Writing:
A few tips on getting organized.

Video Games:
Zynga's Farmville also has a standalone site – So try and Keep up, the social game company's games now have one that runs standalone on a site (which is good business sense). This gives them many more opportunities for establishing presence, synergy, and other cross-game things (like currency). I wonder if they may keep 'working backwards' to separate apps . . . also remember they're hiring – here in Silicon Valley they're announcing it on BILLBOARDS.

– Steven Savage

Challenge – The History Game

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One of the important things about careers is that things change.  Your vision for yourself and what you want to do has to deal with time, technology, and more – at times within a few years.

At the same time, being aware of the history of what you do with your life is critically important.  Industries, jobs, personal callings, etc. do not spring fully-formed from nothing.  They have histories, often long histories, and understanding these is vital to your success and happiness.  You can't create a blockbuster movie without understanding the early blockbusters (Jaws, Star wars, etc.), you won't be a successful sports writer if you ignore the successes of the past.

So your challenge this week is to play the history game.

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