Geeking Out! For Fun and

Brain Drippings

Geeking out!!

(For fun & profit)

“In today’s world of social media, audience building and the importance of know, like, and trust, “geeking out” can be both liberating and a great attractor. “

by Donald R Dodson

Firstly, what do we mean by “Geeking

out”? Does this mean obsessing over comic books, sci-fi or dressing in funny costumes? Maybe? But it can also mean being really into almost any hobby or diversion, you could be into stamp collecting, video games, rock climbing, or honestly even being a super fan of a sports team. It really comes down to something that you are really passionate about and publicly so.

So why should we geek out on our favorite thang and publicly, to boot? I mean surely the “hobby” of the business coach who loves Renaissance Faires, or the Rock-Climbing accountant have little bearing or benefit on business. Right?

In today’s world of social media, audience building and the importance of know, like, and trust, “geeking out” can be both liberating and a great attractor. People gravitate towards interesting people and personally, doing some of my geeky activities has been effective in attracting new clients and instilling trust. But how? Geeking out and sharing your love for your favorite hobby can bring a lot of positive benefits. Creating additional connections with an audience, lending some authenticity, and adding some dimension to your online presence, and of course showing your passion and happiness can be very inspiring and contagious. Lastly, you can bring a measure of authority and credibility from your hobby and the perceived virtues that are connected to it. Yeah, I am sure you might be shaking your head, so lets dig deeper.

Connection

Connection is probably one of the easiest to understand in terms of benefits through our hobby or the thing we’re geeking out on. We connect to similar audiences. We connect to folks who like what we like. So, if somebody expresses a desire in doing marathons or collecting stamps and they find people in their audience who do the same thing, well that creates a deeper more profound connection with that segment of their audience. It’s kind of like when you’re in a bar and you start talking to somebody and you find out they like the same sports team or the same band. You develop an instantly better connection with that person, and geeking out about the things you love is no different.

Authenticity

Authenticity so this one is also fairly straightforward in that by being who we are and letting our “freak flag fly”, we’re just being genuinely who we are. In this case it isn’t so much of a habit or attribute as much as it is an activity. Authenticity -- being “real” draws people to us because they see us as a more genuine person (weird hobbies and all). Remember, a great deal of what we seek to do when we’re being authentic is that we’re trying to connect to others. To let people see the human side of us. Oftentimes we buy or we purchase or get a service from somebody because we see them differently; the more we get to know them, the more we trust them, maybe even like them. In the arts especially we are often “buying the artist” as much as we are buying the art.

Passion and happiness

Adds Dimension

it makes them more “real”. Think about it, “The Rock” plays Dungeons and Dragons. Sure, it’s fairly out of character for a Professional wrestler and action star. It’s just something some kids and adults do, that he does, too. It makes him less like an unreachable character and more, well, human. We connect to those human things greatly. Its also why pet pictures are popular… everyone has or knows someone with a pet. Pets are cute. Hey! I have something in common with you! And if a hobby happens to be something that we’re into even better yet. So, authenticity along with the added dimension of other interests really helps support a brand very well. Let’s face it, if we’re geeking out about Dungeons and Dragons or the Renaissance Faire or stamp collecting, this is something we’re People see that I make these cool really passionate Related to authenticity is that the things we geek costumes and they see a lot of hard work, skill, and creativity. about. And when you are passionate about stuff you are often out on add some very happy about it additional dimension and get excited and to our character and to our presence online as well the audience will pick as in-person. They realize that you’re not a single up on that. I remember as a teacher I was told that faceted kind of person. You’re not just totally it’s OK to really be into your subject. If you are focused on Marketing, or all business, but you a history teacher and you really love history, and have another aspect to your life that you enjoy. show it, your students will pick up on that and When you have an interesting hobby -- something even if they’re not into history so much they’re that you are really passionate about and you know going to pick up on the fact that you’re excited. a lot about -- well it’s really fascinating and it just When we see someone excited about something, makes that person more interesting. Again, we we tend to get excited, too. It’s just human nature. like things that are different and interest us. Even That excitement, that passion can be contagious. if we aren’t personally interested in that hobby We start to take some of that on and share it and

“the things we geek out on add some additional dimension to our character and to our presence online as well as in-person.”.

“When we see someone excited about something, we tend to get excited, too. It’s just human nature.”

Photo Credits: Michael Crue, Randall Whiteford, Donald Dodson, Christian Levens

it becomes more interesting to us. Because if you think about it, if somebody is really into a hobby, then maybe there is something to it - or at the very least there’s something to that person that maybe we should pay more attention to. And, just being happy is a great thing for your attitude. Let’s face it, if you can share that with the world, you’re probably going to be even happier yet.

Authority and perceived Virtue.

Lastly, we can gain a good of good bit of authority if we can show through sharing, education or just some of the obvious aspects of our hobby what I call perceived virtues. If we think about a stamp collector, we might have the perception that they might be studious. That they do a lot of research and might be really knowledgeable about stamps, and you can transfer that virtue to whatever it is you do for a business. So, if you’re an accountant then those would obviously be virtues that would be beneficial to your brand. If you are a woodworker, that attention to detail, would be a virtue.

This is something I use to good effect in leatherwork and when I make costumes. People see that I make these cool costumes and they see a lot of hard work, skill, and creativity. All of which are positive qualities – virtues. They also see me speak on panels and discussion groups, too. it demonstrates the benefits of the hobby and creates a lot of authority when it comes to that specific area. There’s nothing wrong with taking advantage of that interest and letting people understand that connections.

Donald Dodson, owner of Dodson Designs, has been involved in artistic pursuits for as long as he can remember. Starting at age 16 as a sign painter assistant, and after high school, he pursued a career in graphic arts, finding his home in graphic design and web design. After an eight-

year stint as a teacher, Dodson, a combat veteran, longed to return to his passion for the arts and, at 49, started a full-time leather working business. He crafts handmade, creative custom leather goods and accessories near Lancaster, Pennsylvania.