Initially, I want to share with you my perspectives, creative background and the source of my creative musings. So, sit back, read on and get to know me.
There are so any things going on in the interactive, broadcast and new media platforms that it is near impossible to keep up with it all. In this blog I want to cover new trends, insights, unusual uses, weird stories and more.
I have a unique background in the creative arts and creative services industries and, believe me, I have just about done it all. But, still, there is much more to do, see and contemplate.
Oddly enough, what precipitated my invite to join this blog was my “blog-defense” of a gent who I produced some large websites for last fall and winter. I've had numerous friends and business associates who have commented that they thought I might be a good candidate to help keep a blog fire burning. Go figure.
The aforementioned experience was hands-down, the most chilling, challenging and disheartening that I had experienced to date. Insane and sophomoric budgets and schedules had been pre-created and I inherited them. Ah, the joys of being a producer. Moreover, the account team struggled to get solid creative and budget approvals from the client and when they did, they were attached to a cocked bear trap that had my name on it. Oh, joy.
I could see the agency was “on fire” the moment I stepped across the threshold and sure enough, they lost several big pieces of business shortly after my free-lance gig was over.
Now, some of the account people, in my humble opinion, would reach for and over-use their “YES” button with the client and this tendency was used way too quickly and way too often. In my book, client services is not a game show nor is it a game of who can jump the highest when the client calls. Anyway, it quickly exposed their inexperience. And like those psychological research tests from the 60’s where one person sat on one side of the screen with a device that delivered an adjustable electrical shock anonymously to a person on the other side of the screen, before long, the voltage was turned all the way up and the person getting shocked was crying for Mama, a bottle of Cuervo and a case of Heineken.
This over-use of stimuli certainly led the person getting the shock on a life-long journey to find the person who had been twisting the dial, so that they could reciprocate that joyous experience.
Me on the other hand, I am not interested in vengeance, I just wanted to build some cool sites, develop good relationships with my co-workers and go home. Oh yeah, and maybe be offered a nice cool glass of Kool-Aid and thus get off the ranks of the under-employed.
As I joked with my wife when I called to tell her which train I was on, “Is their cold liquor in the house?”
But, I am digressing.
I first began blogging when I came to the defense of a co-worker due to of some nasty, back-handed, hiding-behind-the-screen goading from those vile internet stalkers known as, “Forum Trolls”. You know, the ugly, don’t-have-a-life entities who bait people on the net so that the word exchange eventually turns to the “dark-side” and profanity and flame throwing begins? These sad folks have spent much too much time alone in their basement bedrooms behind the furnace. Oddly enough, this pitiful soul had a strange first name that smacked of a nickname created by the lad’s ex-girlfriend for his sub-standard libido.
Anyway, as I said in the beginning, there is so much information spewing forth about the web from countless corporate and personal orifices that there are a plethora of topics to engage in. So, like a man about to take part in a hot dog eating contest, I intend to dive in with vigor.
And, like Columbo, in his rumpled trench coat, I will dig into the digital matrix and try to extract some thought provoking and interesting fare to share with my readers and also unearth creative innuendos that we can dust off and ponder together.
My attitude is this; I am never wrong and I am never right … I just am.
Now, a little bit more about my background. I am a Renaissance kinda guy. I have worked as a creative director, producer, writer, designer, voice-over talent, composer, musician, actor, songwriter, photographer, production representative and creative jack-of-all-trades. I have worked in traditional broadcast, print and radio media and have been involved in 100’s of live-action commercials, animation, special-effects, music videos, infomercials, in-store movies and video productions. I have also been involved in trade show production, non-traditional event, POP, POS and experiential projects, And, finally, for the past 15+ years, I have been involved in many kinds of interactive and new media including auto-stereoscopic 3D digital display, creative software creation, websites of all shapes and sizes, email campaigns, banner ads, chat sites, interactive game creation and numerous hybrid combos of all of these media.
What fun!
My creative toes have dipped into many different types of media, mainly because of my desire and engrained curiosity for all kinds of creative media creation and how the creative process integrates and inter-connects with all of them. I am also drawn to the spiritual side of creativity because somehow I feel it is connected to the Creator of all things and I think He is someone worth knowing and hanging out with. So, I work hard to recognize when I am in left-brain mode and when I am in right-brain mode and I’m learning more and more how to control this ability
I’ve produced and composed songs for use on TV shows, films and hundreds of commercials. I have acted in commercials, feature films and TV shows. I am a published novelist and creative writer. I am also a professional scriptwriter. I was recently added to “The A-List” of Chicago-born producer/writer/entertainers at The Chicago Actor.com website. I am a member of the Jamuse Internet Advisory Board. I also belong to SAG, AFTRA, AFM, WGA, X3D and The Nashville Songwriters Association International. And I am also a nifty benefit auctioneer.
Finally, I was recently inducted into The Kansas Music Hall Of Fame with the likes of Pat Metheny, Martina McBride, Melissa Etheridge and others. I am also an award-winning ASCAP songwriter and publisher and I’ve produced 14 CDs of original songs and instrumental compositions.
For 10 years back in the 1970’s, I toured the country as a professional entertainer and worked as an “opening act” for the likes of; The Jefferson Airplane, Jethro Tull, BB King, John Denver, Steve Martin, The Dead, Poco, George Carlin, Brewer & Shipley, The Dead, Big Brother, PGE, Dan Hicks and many, many others.
Boy, do I have some stories to tell.
I teach songwriting, help writers burst through writer’s block, I love speaking to groups and I dream of being able to play golf while I can still swing a club.
Bottom line is this; I have numerous perspectives that I can draw from when I share a musing in this blog. I am also a born storyteller and troubadour, so I will try to make my blogs colorful, thought provoking and fun, sorta like a long road trip without the show tunes.
After all, the key to success on the web is giving people a reason to come back and visit, right?
I hope you enjoy the ride.
Chet Nichols
http://www.chetnichols.net
PS I will always leave an instructional link at the end of my blog …. Here is the first:
http://currentconfig.com/archives/000083.html
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