Enough DIY Already: Hire Professionals
“Uggg… spiral text fly-ons! Nnnyyruurrghh!”
After 3.0 days, the short life of iSnack 2.0 is over.
As a professional product namer, I’ll admit to some pleasure from this proof that crowdsourcing from 48,000 punters still came up with something that feeble.
The whole episode highlights a dangerous trend in today’s society - the idea that anyone can do anything to a professional level. And the belief that DIY is a virtue.
DIY has its place, and that’s as a hobby on the weekend. I’m really bothered by TV shows that show you how to build your own staircase, or weave your own bedspreads out of shredded magazines.
It’s spitting in the eye of thousands of years of our ancestors and all their hard work. Why so?
Turning Our Backs On Evolution
In the cave days, everyone did everything. Then they invented division of labour and that’s what sets us apart from the animal kingdom.
The bread guy stuck to baking, and paid someone else for horse-shoeing, candle-making and teeth-pulling services. That gave humans the time and the focus to colonise the world and invent great things like jumbo jets, dental anaesthetics and hot water on tap.
DIY TV shows and Kraft Foods would have us go back to the Stone Age, rubbing sticks together and peeling our own animals for winter clothing.
Consider Hiring Professionals, Even If You’ve Got the Tools On Your Laptop
The whole 2.0 thing (the Web, not the spreadable snack) triggered another massive surge of Z-grade DIY. And sure, make your own videos and stick them on-line to amuse your family and friends, but don’t be under the impression that your stuff is good enough to show an audience as the opener for your sales conference.
If you’re doing association or scientific presentations, DIY graphics are OK because it’s usually done in the spirit of sharing information rather than selling a brand.
But if you’re a corporate presenter, spend some money and get some expert help. Get a professional designer to do you a unique template. Hire a presentation coach for a day. Bring in a creative producer for your conference.
The money you spend on this sort of thing repays itself many times over. If you get up in front of an audience feeling like you’ve got a competitive edge, the audience can really sense it. You’ll have them under your control, and isn’t that much better than scratching out your own primitive PowerPoint daubings like a damn Cro-Magnon presenter?
Tags: cave men, Cro-Magnon presenter, division of labour, DIY TV, iSnack 2.0, Kraft Foods, Web 2.0
Ian Whitworth believes passionately in the power of live communication, without the buzzwords and bullet points. He works as a creative director and principal of agency A Lizard Drinking. He is also one of the founders of audiovisual company Scene Change. Ian is an ex-professional presenter and long ago, ex-audiovisual technician. For non-presentation stuff, try @ianwhitworth. 
