advertising and other stuff. no, really.



Monday, November 8, 2010

Doing something every day.












Some might consider it played out to do one thing every day for a year and then document it, but there’s still value in it. I’ve covered that theme here from time to time, because I like how repetition becomes something bigger when you stop to look back. Len Kendall’s and Daniel Honigman’s  3six5project is one such example. I dug it from the first time he explained it to me, so I joined in. Initially, it featured bloggers taking one day of the year and writing 400 words for that day, but it’s grown into something bigger.

What it became was more than a glorified dear diary assignment as people started revealing some very personal stuff. Along the way, prominent names from the advertising and marketing spaces joined in, even catching the attention of NBC’s Ann Curry who submitted a piece. It’s now going to be a featured panel at SXSW in addition to the project’s next phase in 2011.

To that end, they’re looking for editors, so I figured I’d throw my name into the mix. One month straight of yelling at writers to get their stuff in on time. Of course, art directors push deadlines just as much as they do, so I’m choosing months from later in 2011 (say, between August – October).

I get time to prepare – they get an editor ready to kill babies. That smells like win-win in my book. I’d also summon a few friends into the mix who are good with an editor’s knife and familiar with the daily grind that writing can be, like AdVerve cohort in crime Angela Natividad, Ben Kunz, or Bob Knorpp.

(280 words for a 365 limit... not a bad edit.)

3 comments:

Cynthia said...

Smart choice in Angela.

Sounds like some kind of wonderful.

You'll be a great editor.

Chris Havranek said...

Seeing as I went to an art school I've seen more of these projects begin than there are days of the year, but I'm hard pressed to remember witnessing any actually come to fruition. I have to hand it to the people who have the motivation and organization to do anything 365 times without missing a beat, its tough.

I'm looking forward to reading the upcoming articles from this project.

Anonymous said...

@CM - Thanks. Any chance to spank writers, I'm in.

@CH - Definitely check out this year’s collection.