When I announced in my last post that I’d got a new business card – deputy site editor of NHS local – I made a mistake.
Do you know that feeling of having told a half-truth? It’s not about telling a lie. It’s about settling for less than the truth deserves, neglecting to tell the most important part of a story.
The truth – the full truth – is that many months before I had an NHS local business card, I had another one beautifully designed by lower case design, which said: “Jo Ind – Writer” on it.
When I left the Birmingham Post and became self-employed earlier this year, I was asking myself who I am and what I do.
I could have tried to sell myself as a journalist, editor, teacher, manager, consultant, social-media-thingy because I am all of those things but it seemed to me that what I am, at heart, is a writer. Everything else I do comes out of that.
That was the simple – and deeply truthful – message that I put on my business cards.
But for some reason I didn’t share that at the time. I shared my position at Maverick TV instead.
Well, I am deputy site editor with NHS local and do you know what? I thoroughly enjoy it.
But before that I was a writer. And when I am old and grey (perhaps I should say older and greyer) I will still be writer.
That is what I am and that is what I need to say.
That’s all.
(Clearly I’m not a photographer. But I’m getting Photoshop next week, so I hope to learn how to improve the images on my blog very soon.)
Who am I and What do I do? have been difficult questions for me to answer for a long time! On my twitter and facebook bio I fudge it by just saying ‘I make noises, pictures, words, websites, and enamelled things’ – I started off as a composer and performer of music (after spending 10 years studying and teaching at Birmingham Conservatoire), decided I wanted to be a journalist as I was moving out of working in music and did the city & guilds courses, and shortly after that ended up getting a job as a web developer; now although I still work ‘on teh interwebs’, I’m not really a *developer* anymore (having been passed by in the technology department), I’m more strategy / management. And for the last year I’ve been making jewellery as well!
So basically what I am is a communicator – and I communicate in multiple media. Sounds a bit pretentious, I know, but I can’t think of a better self-description of what I do!
Communicator sounds entirely accurate to me and very understandable. But yes, putting “Simon Gray – communicator” on a business card would seem a bit obtuse.
What about artist? That’s what a communicator is. Could you put “multi-media artist” on your business cards?
maybe i could be a mixed media artist ?!
That is a very good idea. Now make some mixed media business cards and let me have a peek. 🙂