Design Pepper

This isn’t Joshua. I’ll explain everything.

I’d always dreamed of writing for websites.  Here’s how my job dropped out of the clouds (since perfunctory introduction posts are rarely read, I’m having some fun with this one. It’s partially true).

I got a letter from the registrar at my college telling me I couldn’t return because I hadn’t attended any classes for an entire year. It was true. I took much greater joy in helping other students with their projects than I did in working on my own. I drank a lot of tea and did a lot of writing. I had a lot of participation in the educational process, but no points to show for it. So they made me homeless.

I learned a lot during my years as a homeless man on the streets of Boston, Ma. In the USA .  As I drank fiji water out of a bottle wrapped in a paper bag to maintain the stereotype, I thought about things. Sometimes I thought about why I was wearing two pairs of pants. Most of the time, I worked on signs (You don’t have to believe me. I was never homeless, in fact. Keep reading).

Signs? Yep.

I made signs that played up on existing stereotypes to initiate a conversation:

• Homeless.
• Boozer
• Lazy
• Smelly

You know, things I figured people were thinking about me. I sat outside different types of restaurants and soon sorted their patrons into two types: Long-thought, and short-thought.

The people walking into the fancy restaurant  have reservations and are planning to spend a large quantity of money over the course of a few hours. They are already in “long thought” mode. They barely see me.

But the people walking into McDonald’s are a different sort. Not because they don’t go to fancy restaurants, but because they are in “short thought” mode. Walk in the door, pick a number, pick a size, grab the food and drink, leave. They are people in-motion. That motion also meant that they engage things more fully albeit for less time.

I noted this and I made my signs accordingly (For the record, wax-coated produce boxes make great signs. Rain doesn’t bother them at all!).

• I Love Reptiles: They don’t have homes and go for days without food, too.
• I’ll drink when I have a house to drink in.
• I’m working to make you believe I want to.
• Don’t have a bathroom to bathe in either? Use Old Spice.

One day this past October, Joshua was visiting my favorite hangout and noticed my sign. He said he liked it and wondered if I’d thought of writing for websites. Little did he know that his offer to help me get a job without an address and set me up with some freelance work would change my life. So I’m working at a pizza shop that pays cash. I have a deal with my neighbor to get free internet for the laptop a client bought me after receiving three rounds of drafts COD on heavy stock cardboard. As I now have the hang of editing and creating copy, Joshua asked me to help him with Design Pepper.

My life is made beautiful by the crazy people around me and my passion is helping them share their ideas in a way that’s smart and simple to understand. Much of what you write, most of what I write, and none of the code Joshua writes will be seen by people in the same “short thought” mode as those McDonald’s customers.How do we present ideas in a way that grabs their attention while remaining on-target with our presentation? A bit of genius and a lot of work.

Obviously, I don’t want to be homeless again. I’m here to work!

At the end of the day, it’s about finding ways to engage visitors with your product and content to the point where they’ll know your name. The ones who knew my name always gave me money and made a lasting difference in my life!

That’s what I’m here for. That’s what gets me up in the morning. I do like peppers. I drink a lot of tea. That’s all true.

Seth

Update: Some have expressed concern that this post was written and published in poor taste and that it pokes fun at those unfortunate enough to be without a home. Please know that readers who really have been homeless took the time to contact me and share how funny they found this post to be. It’s okay to have some fun with something as boring as an intro post. No, jobs don’t drop out of clouds. No, people don’t skip class for an entire year. No, I didn’t wear two pairs of  pants. I wasn’t  homeless, but you’d do well to think about the long-thought/short-thought idea. How are you reaching out to your customers?

Photo credit: Moriza