Anthony Mendez' Post-amp

What happens outside of my voiceover studio

Are we being overprotective?

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In my previous post, I spoke about idea killers. Now, since the news of Google vs Microsoft and Apple, I'm starting to wonder if we are being overprotective of our ideas and, more importantly, is it hurting innovation?

On Facebook, I read about people in the intellectual property business referring to patents as "hunting licenses." That seems like an accurate description when you take into account the existence of companies, called non-practicing entities, that exist solely for the purpose of filing patents and defending them (i.e., suing others that may not have done due diligence when launching a product or business or filing their own patents.) I got into the wrong business.

While I have entertained filing several patents on inventions I've thought up, the cost of - or at the very least the time invested into - filing those patents is extraordinary when you take into account the research required in order to avoid infringing on an existing patent. There's something wrong here.

At the 2009 PromaxBDA Conference in New York, I asked Mike Walsh whether he believes that we are being overprotective when it comes to intellectual property and, as a result, are we being left behind? His answer, in a nutshell, was "Yes." Mike specializes in the "digital future" and emerging markets. His presentation, on how working together other countries' consumers are leveraging their collective power, was almost foreshadowing our present economic state. Just look at how the US's GDP growth percentage pales in comparison now to other countries like China, India... even Peru!

I'm no financial expert, so I don't want to digress too far toward what has already been hashed and rehashed by current local news outlets. In a nutshell, I am concerned that if we don't start to come together and share ideas instead of clasping on to them so tightly (like we do now) the negative effects will reverberate well beyond creative.

Let's be clear. I'm not referring to giving away your marketing tactics or ideas on growing your business (although, to a degree, there is value in that.) I'm referring to innovation; Inventions or ideas that can help individuals or society as a whole. It's an "open source" mentality for creativity. Where do we begin to loosen the reigns for the sake of growth? Despite Google's litigation issues, I think Google+ is a big step in the right direction. The term social-network no longer applies. It's an idea-network.

-Anthony

Don't kill my ideas...

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create your own.

What is it about us that we thrive on building people (and their ideas) up and then, inevitably, tearing them down? Is it our nature? If it is, then our nature is one of insecurity. We have a pack mentality that, as advanced as we consider ourselves, is much closer to our animal nature. Look, I'm not a psychologist, sociologist, or any other "gist" for that matter, so I can't say with certainty why we do this. However, I can tell you that it makes me sad.

Ever since yesterday's news that Google+ is seeing a decline in users, the stones have begun to be cast. I have no interest in Google, other than using their services for both business and personal. But I can't help but think that some people were just waiting for this news and that those same people were all over G+ when it began, touting it's many advantages over its social-network predecessors. That's just one example of a great idea that the public will initially love and then yell, "I told you so" at it's first stumble.

I'll give you another example. A talented colleague, who has become a friend of mine, voice-over artist Donovan Corneetz, just recently signed with a new West Coast talent agency. While the congrats were plentiful, I'm sure the unsolicited advice (and "warnings" about agents) were just as numerous. It's a shame. When Donovan told me the news, I celebrated as if it were my own (if not more so.) Why? Because it's inspiring to see a fellow freelancer grow.

When it comes to ideas, it's the same. There are those that will be naysayers from the beginning. I like those people. You can always count on them for negativity and in being such consistent downers, you learn to not share your ideas and good news with them. The challenging ones are those that will tell you how great your idea or news is, and then - at the first sign of their perception of failure - will backpedal and withdraw their support. The few that remain supportive, those are your friends; Your allies. And you would do well to remain close to them.

With that said; When someone asks me how did I get my agents, I tell them that the best way to get an agent is not to need one. In the same way, Hugh MacLeod, author of "Ignore Everybody*," says, "The best way to get approval, is not to need it."

In short - and to borrow from another author (Russell Simmons) - "Do YOU."

-Anthony

*affiliate link

It's the experience not the soda

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Two dollars for 8.5 ounces of Coke? Heck yeah! Look at that bottle! I felt cool just walking around with it. I even let it hang out of my back pocket (after all the soda was gone) as I walked down the chilly streets of Manhattan this past February. It wasn't about the soda (I used to drink three 20-ounce bottles of Coca-Cola a day,) it was about the experience; How it made me feel and how it stimulated more than just one sense.

What is is about design that stimulates us? As a former architecture student, I can tell you that it's definitely about how it makes us feel. The best architects don't design homes. They create an experience by manipulating light and space. The walls are simply a product of the journey-by-design. In the same way, the experience we create can have a lasting impression on both our professional and personal relationships.

There have been no posts on this blog since November of last year. I was experiencing. I was living. I've made no secret of my intention to not discuss voice-over for voice-over discussion's sake. While I love the field that I work in, most of the discussions around that space don't create much of an experience for me. Instead, I enjoy electronics and how its technology impacts our entertainment. I enjoy entertainment and how its marketing impacts its inherent design (main titles, on-air promos, billboards, etc.) And I enjoy design itself and how the creatives behind it think and, in turn, make me think. Technology and design is what drives my consumption; My purchasing decisions (albeit emotional) revolve around how good those products make me feel (my wife provides the counter-balance or economic justification - in short, she has "veto power.")

So, there you have it. No holier-than-though blog post about how you should focus on the experience you create for your clients and buyers. Just one man's intention to slow down and enjoy those little things created by his fellow, creative, and technical man that bring a smile to his face after plugging them in or opening them up.

-Anthony

Are You Infected With "Yeah-But"

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Every year, millions of creative people encounter others (creative or not) afflicted with "Yeah, but." It's a virus that spreads from person to person. It's infected corporate environments. It's infected creative environments. It's even infected mommies and daddies at home. Yeah-but. Your best protection from acquiring yeah-but-edness is to distance yourself from those infected; family, friends, co-workers.

Be careful! People with Yeah-But will sometimes hide behind the mask of being realists (as if that's any better.) It's another limiting facade; so limiting, in fact, that it will sometimes kill the initial spark of your creative genius; an abortion of your ideas before those ideas have had the chance to come to full term and flourish.

At other times, you might be approached by Yeah-But people looking for advice. Looking for the answer to what ails them. Don't fall for it. Mid-sentence or, if you're lucky, mid-presentation, you will begin to hear the telltale signs of their affliction, "Yeah, but..."

No one goes to a concert and yells, "Yeah!!!!! Buuuuuut!!!"

Stop it! Try to notice if you've been infected. Listen for the words "Yeah, but" coming out of your mouth. Then take action to eliminate that phrase from your vocabulary. It will make for a much better performance! Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

-Anthony

P.S. The picture is of a Mariachi band playing "La Bamba" at my daughter's school for a Hispanic Heritage Month assembly. I'm sure that when Ritchie Valens wanted to record "La Bamba" he had to overcome "Yeah, but it's in Spanish" (or some other form of "yeah, but." I'm glad he did.)