In my neighborhood, for the past few months, just about any time you would see me in
my home / home office, you would see my new favorite sweater. It’s a beautiful red
Merino wool zip-up from Icebreaker in New Zealand that is the most comfy thing
you can possible imagine. Originally bought from REI to keep me warm in the
mountains while snowshoeing, it’s become my regular companion pretty much everywhere
around the abode.
As pointed out to me by my wife, my regular reliance on it also
gives me a vaguely Mr. Rogers vibe. (That’s his famous red sweater, not mine,
on display at The Smithsonian.)
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Credit: Randomduck http://www.flickr.com/photos/rudiriet
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While this comparison might concern you, I don’t mind it.
One, you could say I look like Snuffleupagus, it wouldn't stop me from wearing my favorite sweater. (Did I mention I love this sweater?) Also, from a practical standpoint, the
more I wear it, the less it costs per hour. Icebreaker Merino wool ain’t cheap.
Two, when I was a kid I loved Mr. Rogers. It was only as an
adult that I fully appreciated how creepy some of those puppets were, but that’s
another story. As a kid is where this story begins.
When I was around six years old, I wrote a letter to Mr. Rogers
telling him how much I enjoyed his show. It was, to my memory, a fairly long letter for a six-year-old, requiring some effort. Then I realized I didn’t have his address. I
thought of sending it to his neighborhood, but I was also fairly pragmatic at
six, and realized that probably wouldn’t be good enough. So the letter never
got mailed. Not sure why I’ve always remembered that…I suppose I am not a big
fan of wasted effort. I am, however, a fan of letting people know when I appreciate
them and their work.
Fast forward to 2009.
Seeing it displayed in an airport
bookstore, I read Chip Conley’s book Peak: How Great Companies Get Their Mojo
from Maslow. The book was fantastic. I have read a copious amount of books over
the years, but this was the first time I was moved enough to want to go the Mr.
Rogers note-of-appreciation route. So, I hit Chip’s website, and sent him a note
of appreciation through the feedback page. About 12 hours later, I was surprised and
pleased to receive a gracious email back from Chip, who was on his iPhone in
Bangkok. Chip has also been gracious enough to stay in touch since. Too bad Mr
Rogers didn’t have email.
But that whole process was oh-so-2009 in the neighborhood.
Fast forward again to the last week of 2011.
While on Twitter, I saw a
Tweet from someone I follow about a new Amazon single from Umair Haque called Betterness: Economics for Humans. I
downloaded a sample and was very impressed. Thus, I downloaded the whole book, read it
in about an hour...and was extremely impressed. When I checked out Umair on
Twitter, he happened to be in the midst of a chat session. I joined it, was able to communicate directly with him, and he was as well gracious in
appreciation of my readership. We've also had further exchanges since.
In reflecting on the progression of both commerce and communication listed above, I was struck by the stark change in the "neighborhood". (More so
from 2009 to now than the previous!)
In 2009, it took going to a bookstore, purchasing a physical
book, later hitting a website to communicate with the author, and getting a
static email back some time later. Weeks. Physical movement. Transportation.
In 2011, it was a span of no more than 90 minutes from first
becoming aware of the book, to downloading it, to communication directly with
the author.
All while sitting in my
house.
And, of course, wearing my red sweater.
Fred Rogers passed in 2003. That was the year Time proclaimed, believe it or not, the camera phone one of the Best Inventions of The Year.
Mr. Rogers would never have believed what has happened to the
neighborhood.
That was going to be the end of the article. Then, after hitting Publish at 1am on a Sunday...
...I had a quick Twitter exchange with Seattle news anchor and social celeb Lily Jang about the dream of a Seahawks-Texans Super Bowl.
I won't go into detail about my concomitant-to-Mr Rogers-70's-era affinity for solid newscasters starting all the way back with Bill Beutel and Roger Grimsby on the "original" Eyewitness News in New York City.
But suffice to say, another great example of the new neighborhood.
