Why This Matters More Than You Think

People still don’t seem to understand why a middle aged Writing Professor would care so much about YouTube, personal branding, social media, content creation, and livestreaming on Facebook. 

Why do I dedicate so much time and energy to creating content on a weekly (sometimes daily) basis?

“What’s the big deal Professor Nez?” they ask with stupefied incredulity. Even my own friends and family sometimes scoff at the idea of me setting time aside to conduct a livestream on my Facebook business page about the bombshell Instagram just dropped on the entire media industry by launching, what essentially amounts to, a brand new television network available for everyone on the internet. 

Any of you creators relate to that? 

It’s the same type of dismissiveness I see in the hallways and byways of the various higher education institutions I teach at. Not by the students mind you, but by the very purveyors of knowledge — the ones who hold the responsibility of evolving with the zeitgeist and therefore should be acclimating to the world they live in, not the world they came from. 

Communication Is Everything

I’m a big believer in this. Without communication we are nothing but rocks, dust, the passing wind. 

You can have Einstein’s brain in your cranium, fertile with universe changing principles, applications and concepts — but without the ability to effectively communicate those innovative discoveries, what do you have? A funny haircut and a bunch of ideas that will never see the light of day.

Where are we without communication dear reader? Please tell me. And I’m not talking about communication like some banal college credit course you’re forced to take to get your Associates degree. 

No, dear reader, please don’t misunderstand me. Think about this seriously please. How can you get the career of your dreams without the ability to communicate your purpose effectively? 

How can you marry the woman of your dreams without the ability to communicate all your love and worth? 

How do movements start, revolutions of the mind and spirit, without a leader who is able to communicate from the podium all the visionary ideals that galvanize the hungry masses? 

Ideas Are Nothing In Themselves

Where would this wonderful country, proud country, the best country in the world be without our brilliant forefathers and their ability to communicate this land’s glorious credo? 

Thomas Jefferson is, in my humble opinion, one of the greatest, if not the greatest, commander of the English language that ever lived. 

Yes dear reader, I know Shakespeare wrote in English too, I did not forget. 

One document, the document, the Declaration of Independence, one page — built everything you see around you in these Unites States. Without that document, filled with poetic majesty and purpose, one could arguably conceive that this new country would have never been. 

Where would this great republic be without the ability to communicate those ideals to their overlords and citizens? 

Nothing hurts more in life than being misunderstood. And I would submit that misunderstanding is the greatest disease mankind has ever faced. Beyond all this, on a human level — why does it always feel good to talk about things? 

It does doesn’t it dear reader? 

Whenever you find yourself stammering, blistered by one of life’s right hooks, shivering, trembling, dissonant — nothing seems to help more, feel more real and warm, than talking to a friendly face who understands. 

I know this: my favorite time of my entire day is when the kids go to sleep around 8pm and my wife and I are alone. 

We grab a refreshing beverage, go out on the back patio, underneath the cool California evening and we just share time together. We talk about our day, or sometimes just share some silence, and believe me dear reader, sometimes the greatest communication is done in silence. 

This is the most precious moment of my entire day. I don’t feel right if we ever miss these moments. 

So, wait a minute Professor Nez, what’s this have to do with all your livestreaming, vlogging, podcasting, and branding stuff on social media? 

Everything. 

The major forms of communication that are taking place in today’s world is on the internet, on our mobile devices, on social media. The statistics and data are all there. Never mind the stats, all one needs to do is look around and see what behavior reflects so clearly. What is everyone doing every time you go out? 

Misunderstanding is the greatest disease mankind has ever faced.

Exactly. You nailed it. Looking at their phones. On their laptops in coffeehouses, wearing their ear buds zoned in on a podcast, listening to an audio book, their favorite playlist; they are consuming content at breakneck speed and volume. 

All one needs to do is understand how communications is taking place in the modern world. If you look into it, research it, analyze it, pay attention — you will uncover that Twitter is more powerful than a company email. LinkedIn is more powerful than a resume, and e-commerce is trouncing brick and mortar (Ever heard of Amazon?) And Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and Netflix are more powerful than Radio, Print, Television and the Telephone. 

Now, we can judge this as so many people already do. Most of my colleagues at the university judge it, which is why our schools are failing. 

But if you really want to affect change, if you really want to communicate with audiences that matter, reach them on a tangible level, you need to adapt to the times you’re living in. 

And this is it folks. Like it or not, your resistance to this Digital Era is nothing short of futile. It’s not going anywhere. And I love it. 

I mean seriously dear reader, do you know how absolutely thrilling it is to execute a livestream on my YouTube channel or any other platform, and have someone from Guam join my broadcast or Australia, somebody I never would have ever met in a trillion years had it not been for this unbelievable technology — can you even grasp the surreality of that, the immensity of that? 

I just love it.

What technology has done to modern culture is taken communications across the globe at scale. 

This is the modern state of Communications. This is how people are communicating. And if you want to reach these people, influence these people, sell to these people, young and old — you need to learn how to communicate through this medium. 

What kind of a Communications and Writing Professor would I be if I didn’t recognize this evolution in my field?

Thank you for reading this, I truly appreciate you taking the time. If you’re interested, here is the livestream I mentioned above about the announcement of IGTV. It is a monstrous news in the world of Digital Media. Enjoy! 

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