Reinvention = Inspiration

I attended a seminar last night on social media. The course did cover much material I had heard before--blogging, SEO marketing--although it is never time poorly spent to hear a new take on these older concepts. What struck me most from this group was the demographic. Over half were recently laid off journalists on the print side. No surprising when you consider recent events. There were also quite a few recently laid off corporate types. The average age in the room was probably 50, which made me feel quite spry.

It got me thinking--reinvention is the buzz word of our times. If you are not out learning new skills, attending seminars, loading up on brain fuel, you will cease to be relevant. This has never been more true. I talked to one former newspaper reporter of a major market daily during a break who told me he isn't sure he wants to blog, but he now knows that if he wants to stay on top of the industry, he must. He's never had to before--he had his newspaper brand backing him up. Now, he has to establish his own brand. I wasn't sure if he was nervous or excited about what lies ahead--probably a little bit of both--but taking action of some kind is one certainty.

In a later post, Innovative Journalists is going to have it's Top 5 steps to reinvention. The first? Admitting you must and trusting you will be rewarded.