Be yourself! – Interview mit Marcus John Henry Brown zu #meinweginsweb

Vorsicht! Das folgende Interview könnte Spuren britischen Humors enthalten und wurde passend dazu auch in englischer Sprache beantwortet. Wer meinen heutigen Interviewpartner schon mal (virtuell oder offline) erlebt hat, sollte das bereits kennen. 😉 Ich konnte es jedenfalls nicht über mich bringen, die folgenden Antworten durch eine Übersetzung zu verschandeln. 🙂 So here we go:

Bitte stelle Dich kurz vor (Name, Ort, Tätigkeit, Website, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, drei Hashtags)

Hello. My name is Marcus John Henry Brown. I live and work in Munich. I speak fluent German. I write fluent English. I run my own tiny little creative consultancy business for national and international clients who I sometimes take on very long walks.

Online you can find me here:

• Websites: http://www.marcusjohnhenrybrown.com, http://creativewalks.de
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marcusjhbrown
• Twitter: @MarcusJHBrown
• Google+: https://plus.google.com/+MarcusJohnHenryBrown
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/marcusjhbrown
• Hashtags: #satire #creativity #creativedirector

Seit wann bist Du online unterwegs, wann hast Du angefangen zu bloggen und wann bist Du dem ersten sozialen Netzwerk beigetreten? Wie bist Du dazu gekommen?

I started using the Internet back in 1993 and sold my first commercial website in 1994. I had hair back then. Do you know, I really can’t remember when I started using Facebook and it’s pointless looking because I deleted my first account. I know that my first twitter account was set up in 2007 – I can actually remember receiving an invite from a friend in London and thinking – “what the hell is this supposed to be?”. I started my first blog back in 2006, which was the start of a series of blogs that were created and subsequently deleted. I went through a phase of creating and deleting a series of fictional characters that only lived online so I’ve probably had around twenty or so blogs.

I started because I felt terribly lonely and bored. I felt lost. I am no longer lost, lonely or bored so I’ve kind of stopped blogging now.

Gab es Menschen, die Dich persönlich oder durch Ihre Veröffentlichungen bei Deinem Einstieg ins Social Web begleitet haben?

Sascha. Patrick. Tim. Beeker. Meike. William. Rob. Gavin. Claire. Lauren. Stefan. Fresh. Colman. Russell. Gregory. Wibke. David. Drew. And lot’s more. People from all over the world.  Gavin Heaton was the first person to comment on my first blog. Breitenbach has become something of the younger brother I never had.

Wie hat sich Dein Weg in Sachen digitale Kommunikation dann bis heute weiterentwickelt (nenne die wichtigsten Meilensteine)?

This is a difficult one to answer. I’ve actually been thinking about this single question for about a month and I would probably say that it’s developed into something more discreet and honest. I’ve stopped creating digital characters (although I have kind of developed a new one called RACHEL) and I never really talk about the work I do nor who I’m doing it for. I’ve stopped telling people how to do things – there are enough experts out there, many of which spend far too much time playing golf instead of focusing and honing their craft.  In terms of creative development I would probably have to say that my re:publica talk from 2014 was an important turning point for me as it set the level of quality for pretty much everything I’ve ever done since.

It feels that my commercial work and my artistic training are starting to converge and that feels really very good. I’m aiming for a different level and type of creative quality at the moment which seems to be differentiating myself from others.

Gibt es Fehler, die Du auf Deinem Weg gemacht hast und wie können andere diese vermeiden?

Over sharing my private life, posting too much, posting too much rubbish, thinking that everything is worth posting, thinking that my opinion is important, thinking that I am (or was) in anyway important. I have done all of these things in the past. I try not to do them anymore.

Welche Wege empfiehlst Du Einsteigern oder denen, die sich in Sachen digitale Kommunikation fortbilden wollen?

Don’t over share your life, don’t post too much, don’t post rubbish, don’t think everything is worth posting, don’t think you or your opinion is important. Don’t take advice from experts. Understand the fundamental legacies, histories and protagonists of the communications industry. Be yourself, unless you’re an arsehole – if your an arsehole try to be someone kinder.

Welches ist Dein bevorzugtes soziales Netzwerk und warum?

Der Pschorr am Viktualienmarkt. They have the best beer in Munich, excellent food and you can eavesdrop on wonderful conversations. It’s also a great place to take friends, business partners, clients and the family. It’s a wonderful place to have a chat. I quite like Twitter.

Welche aktuellen Entwicklungen in der digitalen Kommunikation findest Du besonders spannend?

I must admit that I’m rather excited by film but this is because of the wide range of talent out there – meaning there are a lot of people making a lot of money and cultural impact from really poor work; work that although is terrible seems to be reaching people and touching their hearts in some way. I’m not really bothered about whether the films are streamed on twitter, posted on YouTube or on Facebook. Channels don’t interest me. I’ll leave it up to the self proclaimed experts to explain content marketing or channel strategies to the world in their badly spell checked, self-published books.

Gibt es noch etwas, das Du den Lesern zum Thema Social Web oder digitale Kommunikation allgemein mitgeben möchtest?

Stop insisting that television is dead. Stop insisting that radio or print is dead. Stop insisting that anything is dead. Digital isn’t the answer to the question that nobody is yet to ask. Aim for quality: make sure photographs are in focus and make sure your videos are well lit. Use a proper microphone. Don’t be boring. Learn about the history of marketing and advertising. Learn about the history of art as well as the history of film. Learn to draw. Deconstruct adverts, books, poems, films and pieces of music. Talk to people. Talk to lots of people. Read a magazine you have never read before. Understand that you are not a journalist. Avoid envy – aim for admiration. Be kind to people. Don’t be an arsehole.

 Thanks a lot for your great answers, Marcus! 🙂

Foto © Raimund Verspohl

Als nächstes wird Benedikt Köhler von seinem Weg ins Web berichten.
Alle Interviews können nachgelesen werden unter
http://www.annetteschwindt.de/tag/meinweginsweb.