gapingvoid: "cartoons drawn on the back of business cards"

Nice metaphor, Hugh. Much better than "Unique Selling Proposition" or even "Value Proposition", both of which can lead people down the wrong track in defining what they really have to offer. And "currency" implies exchange, a give-and-take interaction, rather than a "here's what I'm about". It's much more positive and forward-going.

But the double-edge of "currency" is that you need someone (or lots of someones) with whom to exchange that currency. It's not enough to just "be" . . . which may be fodder for another post on how to propagate one's Unique Currency.

Cheers!

Would unique currency be another term for branding of the personality? Which I suppose makes a brand a Microbrand? And throw in the Web, and then you're global.

Crudely put, to sell yourself?

How much does the "uniqueness" of currency depend on the distance between the areas from which other parts of the hybrid are made?

Does Stormhoek benefit most because you're working through your marketing experience and spanning the fairly large gap to wine-making?

Will advertising benefit as much when Eric is spanning the fairly narrow gap from his experience in TV?

Would Eric's currency be intrinsically more unique if he chose a target further off, like selling briar pipes or designing menus for chic restaurants?

Or is uniqueness grown on something else entirely?

Ultimately Hugh, I think your artwork will hang on the walls of great museums because it is still your most unique currency.

I think a lot about what my unique currency is for the long term. And more and more I think it ultimately will be a product that I think of that is based on all of the experience to date.

Because in the end effect, it would be nice to be able to retire one day and know that whatever it is I created is still providing value to people while i am off dancing on a beach somewhere.

Hugh - love you to bits. Stop being an arse, Talk straight.

Dennis, love you to bits. Stop being an arse. You know exactly what I'm talking about ;-)

Hey BL ;-)

Jeremy, the "uniqueness" depends on how many other people are doing/not doing it, and for what reasons.

This makes perfect sense. And it's about finding a way to cross pollinate and cross learn all the things we experience throughout a career/life and make it *the* thing.

You know, the secret to life? The *one* thing that expresses the sum of all that you've become in a way that is just you and nobody else.

For Hugh, it's the card *and* the writing style, *and* the Stormoek, *and* the commentary on a tech conference -- they all radiate Hugh, loud and clear.

What is it for you?

Yes, a function of personal experience,... AND love. The way you love is the way you portray yourself, and that is unique for every individual. Love for yourself and then for everyone else you interact with. Just like you integrate a function in Math to add up all the area it covers, you integrate your love to find out the value you bring to the table...

That´s how ¨The Love Mark Backlash¨ will begin Hugh... ;-)

Hugh,
Something is either unique (one of a kind) or it is not - 'rather unique' does not exist. Similarly, 'quite unique' and 'very unique' don't work, but are widely used descriptions nowadays, particularly in the media. I like your stuff a lot and don't mean to sound like an anal pedant, but plenty of good creative work is let down by sloppy use of language.
Cheers,
Simon

Simon, if not sounding like an anal pendant was your intention, you failed ;-)

Some thoughts from here, too, Hugh : wandering
between the links of this page ( http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?id=1306&s=news ), I bumped into the, presumably, "Best Food and Wine Store" category in South Africa's e-commerce.
To my shock, Stormhoek was not even mentioned on the list of local wineries at wine-selling sites...
Do you think this is the ultimate level of global microbrand, anonymous at home even when well known
outside ?
I'd like to here what you think.

Daniel

Hugh, of course that's what uniqueness depends on ... that's how it's defined. But how is it attained?

The guy you're making fun of above has a point - you sort of suggested a gradient of uniqueness. You described something as "more unique". I'm not caring about any definitional failure - but is more unique just fewer others for better reasons?

Or is it better hybrids? Slicker mixes?

You're pointing at something worth understanding. You might be highlighting something most people don't consider so explicitly. You might have a point here that's worth far more than the few paragraphs you've given it until now.

You said you've been thinking a lot - how deep does "a lot" actually go?

I appreciate the unique currency concept.

In Canada we minted a $3 coin. Most Canadians don't even know about it and it is a good way to win a cheap bar bet. I carry the coin in my pocket...it was probably more valuable in its plastic minted numbered case but I believe it needs to be in circulation.

We also have a 3-headed quarter in Canada. If you flip a coin it always comes up heads.

Your currency work, 500 word manifesto collection, and business card art are rich resources.

Thanks.

Hey Jeremy, "a lot" starts kicking in once it starts turning into action, as opposed to just yappin' on about it.

There's a famous fictional line from a stereotypical French bureaucrat:

"Well, your idea may work in practice, however sadly it doesn't work in theory."

Welcome to the blogosphere ;-)

Stormhoek is not anonymous at home, Daniel. At least, not in SA wine circles.

Secondly, Stormhoek is mainly export market, not domestic. We don't really market it in SA.

Techtonic's lack of mojo is not my problem ;-)