Anna Akbari!

     Today we had a presentation from Anna Akbari, a sociologist and designer of the personal image. She began her presentation with an interesting question about authenticity, namely whether there even is such a thing, and if so, whether or not authenticity is relevant in today's world.
     Akbari argues that because we all wear masks all the time (when dealing with different people, say at home or at work), all of the masks are authentic because they come from ourselves, the authentic original. "Appearance is authentic", meaning that if you appear a certain way, to the world around you, that is who you are, authentically. Our 'backstage' and 'front-stage' lives are dictated by how the world sees us, even if it's just during a glance in the mirror in the morning to see how we look. The emphasis of Akbari's presentation was not on how we see ourselves but on how the world sees us, which is far more important when 'pimping' oneself.
     It is easy to draw the conclusion that Akbari is suggesting that part of the foundation of presenting yourself the way you want the world to see you is by misleading your audience. This is not true, as completely misleading your audience is not only kind of childish, it's difficult to maintain, BUT it is true that part of our lives is spent misleading others, at least some of the time.The idea is to lead your audience the way you want them to go, skirting completely misleading them and instead putting your best self forward. The pace to start is by picking something that you feel defines you, then building a concrete personality around that. "Feel free to play around with your possible self".
     Akbari then went on to talk about "transcending your biological self", as well as how one is to do that. Like changing your name to make it catchier, transcending your biological self is all about not letting who you are on paper define who you are out in the world. Some tips for doing that are:

• If you plan to have multiple persona, manage them properly. Always know which persona works where, and where is isn't okay to project a certain image. As in, don't act the way you act in a bar with your friends.. at a job interview.
• Track your own image! While you're physically somewhere else, your image is out in the world working for you at all times. With the internet being as easily accessible as it is, chances are, someone is always looking at the image you've created elsewhere. Be aware of that.
• Think about the different directions your identities can branch off in. This connects back to the idea of having "T-shaped' skills in the workplace. If you can paint, draw, and act, don't limit yourself to one thing. Look for opportunities to combine what you do. Anna uses her flair for fashion and her knowledge of sociology, for example, to run a wardrobe consultant service called Closet Catharsis.
• Lastly, consider creating an avatar on Second Life or something similar, as it will give you a chance to test out being exactly who you want to be, even if it's a different race or sex. It's a unique opportunity to test drive a different personality. 

     Akbari began to wrap up her presentation with the steps necessary for pimping yourself. This includes creating a timeline of your intellectual lineage (where did you go to school?) as well as your professional pedigree (where have you worked/what are you qualified to do?), learning to think, write, and speak extremely well, and combining all of that with strategic self presentation. This is what gets people hired in the working world. She also stresses the importance of networking, and mentions that a personality can be entirely augmented by developing an entrepreneurial spirit. This doesn't mean you have to make your own business fresh out of college, but it does mean that you should know to use what you already have to make a place for yourself in the world.

So:
Identity is fluid,
Creativity trumps biography,
Authenticity is irrelevant,
Design is embodied (design who you are),
and Live a networked life. 


I plan to "go forth and pimp" myself.