I had heard about Gary Vaynerchuk through a comment posting on an article I wrote in March. Curiosity led me to Googling his name quite a few times, following him on Twitter and watching a few episodes of his Wine Library show, but hadn’t heard any of his lectures.
In the midst of a major creative rut for me this week, something rather celestial shipped me over to the vanguard’s personal website. I clicked on a video of his SXSW 2011 talk and expanded my screen into full view. For the next hour, I was sucked into to the HQ video display on my iPad.
There was a passion in his voice that you just don’t hear everyday. The ideas that Gary shared with the swarming audience before him had accents of revolution and the means to cause a strong and meaningful cultural shakedown. It gave me this sort of hope that more would catch on to the realization that “We are living in the beginning of the humanization of business” – an idea that is far-fetched for a cut-throat society. But this notion will require us to transform our thinking as we daily handle ourselves as people, as well as extensions of our own personal brands and companies. Thus, giving us the urgency to be authentic and compassionate in our interactions IRL, along with in our daily digital dealings – whether personal or professional.
Vaynerchuk is as spearheading and successful as he is because of an unabashed sensibility of “giving first and worrying about it later.” After watching this talk, it gave me the confirmation that through all the forms of communication and information accessible to us during this Digital Age, we have more opportunity than ever to be champions of social good. To care and think of our neighbors, audience, customers, and friends, before acting for our own personal gains.
If you’re into branding, business, digital or innovation and have an hour to spend watching this video this weekend, do it. You won’t regret it. And if you have seen this talk or one of the many other lectures from Vaynerchuk, I’m really curious to know what are your thoughts on his concepts of the ‘Thank You Economy’?
Resources:
Gary Vaynerchuk
Vayner Media
Thank You Economy
The Humanity of Social Media