That INDIE Dude.

That’s me - Alex Linebrink.

I built this site partially because I was bored - I needed something to do. Another part was to show off - I wanted people to see that I can design, write, and engage this new connected world with ease, passion, and expertise.

The biggest reason, though, was to give back to the world and inspire others to live in the best way possible - giving back in the process.

Philosophically, I’m a holist. To me, everything is connected - everything and everyone. I know that when one person benefits, we all benefit. When one suffers, we all suffer. However you look at it, the world can’t really become the best world possible until it is the best world possible for everyone and everything in it. Call it Karma, “What goes around comes around”, good PR, or whatever else. The truth is this: the internet and other connected technologies have made it so that everyone is potentially connected.

The power of “word of mouth” has returned, and it is here to stay.

If you are part of a company trying to sell a subpar product through a high-powered advertising campaign, word-of-mouth is your worst enemy. Within minutes bad reviews can show up on e-mails, blogs, text messages, and twitters all around the world. Word-of-mouth becomes the all-seeing transparent eyeball that will expose you for all that you are. In today’s world, you can’t fake your way through life. The only option is to be real - either through honest living, or humiliating exposure.

On the other hand, if you live gracefully - always paying attention to the needs of the people and world around you, word-of-mouth can be your best friend. Just as quickly as it condemned the twisted business man it can put you up on the highest pedestal. Word-of-mouth can make you rich beyond your wildest dreams in opportunities, friends, and whatever else you could desire.

In response to the old saying “you can’t please everyone”, I once heard an extremely wise man say, “why not?”

I couldn’t agree more.

Even if we can’t please everyone, we should at least try - and that isn’t saying much. If I’m really living the way I should be - graciously, honestly - there is no reason I should have to worry about not pleasing someone. The problems in pleasing others only come about when we’re faking our way through things. Only then do others expect things out of us that we can’t give. If I’m not trying to be someone that I’m really not, then I won’t have people looking for something that doesn’t just flow naturally. Sure it takes effort to keep up sometimes. If you’re living honestly, though, then people aren’t looking for anything more than the things you do best, so it becomes some of the most enjoyable effort possible.

So why “indie”?

Because the term deserves some bigger uses - it has some serious potential. Indie has arisen in pop culture as the anti-fake. Be it movies, music, art, or whatever else, indie is about going against the mainstream. When the rest of the culture has been about fitting in with the latest fashions or fads, indie has been about making new fashions or fads. When everyone else is worried what others think about their looks or actions, the indies are busy changing the world to meet their tastes.

To be indie is to be independent.

To be indie is to be real.

To be indie is to be you.

So what can you expect to see here?

The byline is “Design, marketing, and living the indie life.”

Design - That’s my area. I’ve done web and graphics design for a while now, and I keep pretty close tabs on the industry. I have a little expertise to give from that field, and I’ll do my best to keep it fresh. Remember also the “holism” thing. If everything is connected, then it means design is important everywhere. My main areas are digital graphics and web design, but expect to see more than that pop up in conversation from time to time.

Marketing - I’m trying to do the indie thing and play my role in pioneering an extremely important field of marketing: social marketing. This is word of mouth - but so much more. If everyone is connected, then everyone is in community. Social marketing is about building a community around an idea - be it a brand, a phrase, an person … whatever. It’s about taking that idea and making it a common ground that people can meet at and connect through. Those ideas - the ones that stick with people and become common interests - are the ideas that go viral. And don’t think of that as a bad thing - in marketing, an idea that spreads like wildfire - like a virus - is the best kind. My contention, though, is that this isn’t about the ad campaigns anymore. Now, marketing is finally about being real and relevant to your community.

Living the Indie Life - this is the catchall. I’m a 20-something recent college grad who has no idea what 10 days from now is going to look like, let alone 10 years. This part of the site is about figuring out how to maintain that indie life and not fall into the flock of sheep. This is how to keep living outside of the social norms in a way that is making the world a better place for all of us. Living the indie life isn’t about being different for different-sake. It is about being YOU, for your sake and all of our sake. If this world is to ever become the best world possible, we all need YOU to be the best YOU possible - living a life of passion, purpose, and honesty.

Those are the topics. You’ll see them daily, right here. Blog posts on the latest news and ideas floating around; an audio podcast for when some added emphasis is needed, or an interview with someone living the indie life to the full is in order; and periodic videos and pictures to make sure things don’t get dull.

If you have any thoughts, PLEASE drop me a line or leave a comment on one of the posts. I’m always pumped to hear from someone else living the indie life.

If you like the idea, tell your friends; grow the community; make this one of those viral meeting places. Who knows - with enough people living the indie life at the same time, we just might change the world.

-A

P.S. This post will stay in infamy at the “About” page until I feel like changing it, just in case you want to take a gander or point someone else here.

Tags: be real, design, indie, social marketing

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 4th, 2008 at 1:25 am and is filed under Indie Life, design, favorites, marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.