I've been spending a lot of time with trainers and tech forum members on the web lately, because they have a lot to teach about the tools for making the movies and podcasts I'm aching to dig into. Except for just a few ornery souls, the computer savvy form an exceedingly helpful community, often giving away valuable expertise for free.
This approach defies the supply & demand model of Capitalism, where a product in limited supply, desired by many, can and often does command a hefty price. Here's a little insight from a self proclaimed nerd, Craig Newmark, the founder of Craigslist. He talks about nerd values in a 2008 Think interview:
Q: You’ve said you’ve built a business based on “nerd values.” What are nerd values? And what would our country be like right now if we had leaders who embraced them?
A: The comment about nerd values is a facetious reference to a real phenomenon that my fellow nerds [and I have witnessed], that people will pay us money to exercise our skills—in my case, computer programming. Once we make a comfortable living there’s not much point in making more [money] and at that point it’s more satisfying to devote time to community service. That’s the spirit I think was embodied in occasional civic generations in American history—one that we’re seeing now among 18- to 30-year-olds in response to the Obama campaign. If more people embraced nerd values, we’d be helping each other out a lot more with things.
In case you're wondering, I don't know why Newmark is wielding a sledgehammer in the photo. His tool set tends to persuade in subtler ways. But I have noticed a certain generosity in many creative people, though of course there's always the artist who can't get enough gold or glory to fill up the vaulted ego. My guess is, the act of creativity is so rewarding in itself, the serious artist values space and time to be creative far above the glitzy baubles of the pseudo-rich. You know, the billionaires who never seem to get enough bullion to satisfy their needs.
What's your experience with nerd and/or artist values?
Photo credit: David Sifry/Flickr
