Inspired By the Misfit Economy

Smugglers, Hackers and Hermits

Anonymous Gif

Back in 2015, I was at Social Media Week in London, learning how the social world communicates. Amongst the "How to Hashtag" and "Mastering Twitter for the Greater Good" seminars I was lucky enough to attend an amazing talk by subculture researcher  Alexa Clay.  

Check out the video, it's one of Alexa's talks about the misfit subculture - definitely worth a watch. She explains how we can learn from hermits, gangsters, agitators, hackers, con artists and copycats - innovators on the fringes of society who have actually inspired much of todays culture and biggest companies around.

"The misfits I am interested in are those who are actively trying to transform the cultures they are apart of - they are individuals who are often taking the road less travelled to make a dent in the world. It isn't that they are necessarily engaged in politics, but they are trying to transform society for the better and often using business or art or even gang culture as a tool for this, rather than going through traditional political channels." - Alexa Clay

 

Alexa Clay and the Misfit Economy

I love the way there is so much more to explore within these groups of innovators who are often over looked. These people are changing and affecting the world with ideas and passion .. not much $$$ - also a good point for all those who think they need a bundle of money to make their dreams come true or change their lives for the better.  

 

The Misfit Within

"Everyone has a little misfit inside! It might sound cheesy, but too often we approach our work lives feeling like we have to camouflage or conform to a role of who we are supposed to be. This sort of pretending is really draining. And it is partially why our workforces are so exhausted and under-motivated." - Alexa Clay, Forbes

Alexa adopts the character of the Amish Futurist as an alter ego. She uses this identity to explore new dialogs with people, using a different personality perspective like this inspired me to explore the different and often dormant character traits with myself. This idea, and that of finding the misfit within, helped me to explore these areas which never seemed to fit within the constructs of modern society and that I had decided were irrelevant or useless.