The thing is, we're all in the marketing communications game, to some extent, for better or worse. Unless we have nothing more to say and nothing to sell.

I, for one, vigorously resisted the path I'm on today all through my twenties. "I'm not giving my talent to the man," I used to enjoy saying. Then, at 29, I realized as a writer, I could either sell my work to the literary establishment in New York, to the hacks in Hollywood, the press, or go in to advertising. Once I saw how interrelated the four choices are, I stopped thinking about it in black and white terms.

So what would you do, Johnnie?

Good points, David and Aleah.

This morning's post was a bit abrupt, I couldn't quite put my finger on what I was thinking and I think once in a while it's interesting to post stuff that's a bit half-formed.

There's no getting away from marketing. I think the practice of it devoid from a personal enthusiasm for what's being sold, that's dull.

There's a lot about the branding business I don't like. I think what I'm driving at is that more and more I'm interested in supporting great conversations and collaborations. What some of us call "open source" marketing is fun. Old style marketing, with its positioning statements etc seems kinda dull these days.

That didn't answer my question. :-) If you weren't doing the marketing thing - as in being a representative of marketing as a profession - what would you do?

Oh, I thought your question was rhetorical, my mistake. The answer's fairly easy though, as I find myself getting much more involved in facilitation work these days; this I find endlessly challenging (and in a good way).

My point of open source marketing is that it has more of the kind of open-ended quality that good facilitation embraces.

Facilitation work is exactly what the doctor ordered! Your work could have a huge impact on the ad biz, should you choose to focus there.

The hard part, it seems to me, is seeing where the business needs to go, wanting it to go NOW, and then realizing it's going to take time, commitment and tons of energy.

You're fine Johnnie. As Nietzsche once wrote: "One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star."

P.S. Chaos is my best friend!