"Oh, it's a small marketing firm in The Loop..."

How many times have you heard this answer mumbled at a bar, a party, a very sad networking event, or just about any other location in the city? If you live in Chicago, it's an all too familiar encounter. Thus, here is what you might think about these people upon hearing about their choice of profession (the negative and positive)...

Negative:

A bunch of brainwashing, money sucking, commercial junkies that only care about gaining your dollar and diving into the human mind to spread the most unsophisticated of messages to a large portion of the population, dumbing down the world one client at a time. Sure this might be an extreme, but it's good to provide a far reaching end of the spectrum.

Positive:

A group spreading the word of clients, big and small, to tell a story allowing the masses to interpret and create meaning based on the product, in order to create an informed or educated opinion about said product. A necessary business service for today's modern companies

Wherever you stand, you can't deny that marketing and advertising is something that has evolved from simple, straight forward ads of buying and selling opportunities, (starting all the way back in the early 1700's, with modern market research not coming around for another 200 years) toward grabbing our emotions by the face, staring right through our eyes, and into our pathos (and wallets). 

So why is this the topic of the day?(great question) This is something that EVERYONE is bombarded with on a daily basis, sometimes knowingly but also unknowingly. This is probably what makes people uncomfortable about the subject, so I believe the best way to fight those feelings about the industry (that isn't going anywhere, since the Chicago marketing industry has nearly doubled since 2005) is to become more educated. 

Talk about commercials, ask about the process, dive deeper into client and product messages. One of my favorite websites to help provide perspective is Adweek. Their facebook page has some of, what I think is, the most informative posts on ads and marketing tactics around. So the next time you're at the bar and you find yourself faced with that well acquainted response to, "So where do you work", bunker down, buy the next round, and dive in.

B (update: my beard is still growing...)

Millennials - Oh Great These Guys Again...

**I have mentioned this population a handful of times already, so let me give you my definition of "millennials" in the context of this blog: anyone born in the late 80's to the mid/late 90's from the US - I concentrate on this window simply because this is the group of people who I've had the most interaction with (18yo's-28yo's) so it's important to keep this in mind**

We are an interesting group of people. For a portion of us, there was usually a nice, large, comfy, (metaphorical) pillow under our butts for most of our lives. Whatever we did there was usually a positive result for everyone regardless of the outcome of our effort - public league soccer (everyone got a medal), birthday parties (everyone got a gift bag), punishments for your sibling knocking over a lamp (you got a spanking because you were just as guilty for being in the room). The idea of spreading fairness. 

Now many people might criticize the parents or guardians who brought us up this way, but lets be honest, wouldn't you do that same thing for your kid? Can you really say you wouldn't try to give them the best possible upbringing that was better than your own? Providing them with their own "pillow" to grow up with and shading them from the realities of unfair life with a little fairness sprinkled over the things we can control. Whether that's encouragement in minimal growth, or a monetary reward that they can relish until its been out grown...like an Easy-Bake Oven (yes I owned one)! I would genuinely enjoy seeing the revitalization of The Easy-Bake Oven that comes with its own virtual British chef, personalized with a heathy dose of Ina Garten for reassurance and a touch of Gordon Ramsey for the authenticity of a kitchen and life...but I digress.

First, we need to get in touch with ourselves so these non-existent kids even have a chance, and in order to do that, I believe we all need to check a couple items off our own lists: 1) Fail - in the words of Johnny Tsunami, "Go big or go home", 2) Move - literally move from where you live to somewhere you don't have much of a connection because you might not later, 3) Burn the metaphorical pillow - in other words become self-dependent, and that can be in any sense of the term. Whether that means financially, how you identify yourself based on experience, or any other way that works best with you.

I am in the midst of all three of these, and I think what lies ahead is something good, and it smells like artificial brownie mix that's made from a light bulb.

B

(A good neck line is one of the most important aspects to a respectable beard. Follow the natural curve of the jaw line // not too low, and definitely not too high)

A Formal Introduction

Well here you are. You've found yourself at what seems like just another millennial's blog that is here to grace the internet with my pictures of various facial hair adventures, thoughts, perspectives, and day-to-day stories about what fills my time. Sometimes mundane, other times significant. Either way, I'm here to do my best in shedding light on an honest life of a 23 year old.

In the following "diaries" you will see a few pictures of my face, along with a few other Chicago significant scenes and general interests, but most importantly my most powerful daily ideas that what many young people might sift through on a frequent basis, but don't necessarily want to share it themselves.

I'm looking forward sharing this with you as I've thought about it for along time.

B (mildly scruffed)