Kindergarten Turkey Drawings

Lately, I have been reading a lot about branding. The concept is much easier to implement for a company than for a multidimensional human being. I am reminded of the Thanksgiving Day pictures we drew in Kindergarten. We traced our hands, and the fingers magically became the feathers of the tail. And yes, I colored each feather differently. I loved to color — really, really loved to color. So, I used each feather to explore some color of crayon or create some pattern I had in my head. And yes, my mother got a call from the school. She reassured them that I knew what colors the feathers were supposed to be but I just loved to color.

Now, I find myself with a number of blogs. This blog is intended to represent my professional persona. My first blog, Kata Chimes In, is now dedicated to the side of me that is nourished by books. Along the way, I began to read some of the Pulitzer Prize winning novels and have posted my progress in that blog, administered by someone else. The tender side of my personality wanted its own blog, so I began Kata’s Cadence, dedicated to poetry, prayer, blessings, and affirmations. Occasionally one of those posts will bounce around the internet. Lastly, A Slice of Now is dedicated to my play with visual art. I now color with Photoshop. The multiple blogs are a way for me to sort out the different sides of myself and appeal to different audiences. The layouts are as mismatched as my kindergarten turkey feathers.

Almost all of us are complex creatures, with multiple sides to our personalities. What is becoming confusing in today’s world is that the sides are no longer so clearly delineated. What is a hobby one day can become a career the next. We bundle and rebundle our skills and interests. How do you brand yourself, when you are really a collection of selves?

Bite-sized Services

I have always loved art and craft fairs. Early on, I noticed that almost all the artists had at least a few items at a low price-point, even those artists whose work ran well into the thousands —or tens of thousands—of dollars. I was awake well into the early hours of this morning brainstorming services that I could post on the website Fiverr, which prices all services at five dollars. I have mixed feelings about the concept. On one hand, there is some danger it undervalues people’s work. On the other hand, it provides a fun opportunity to take a very small idea and develop it as a bite-sized service, just like the greeting cards some of the watercolorists sell at the art fairs. This morning I launched my first mini-service, an offer to proofread people’s family Christmas letters.

An Idea Herder Is Born

I have decided that I am an Idea Herder. This deserves a new blog. What is an idea herder? I’m not entirely sure, but I have some ideas. Today I am herding my ideas about idea herding.