You open the fridge to find Chinese leftovers from last week’s midnight hunger. The only thing left to drink is water from your Brita filter which is more than half empty. The freezer contains a pint of ice cream — Yes some hope! But you open the lid to find that chocolate treat is almost gone except for a few measly bites. You wonder to yourself: why didn’t I finish those last few bites the other day? You were probably too worried about the diet that you just started last week. Even though a few bites wouldn’t have made that much of a difference. Why not finish and get it over with? Unfinished work just feels so…well, unfinished. Then the ice cream is left to become freezer burned and thrown out a few weeks later. 

Lugging yourself over to your desk and opening up your Mac Book, you are reminded of your hunger from the Apple logo. Your stomach gurgles as you check your favorite sites: Facebook, Dribbble, Forrst, Twitter, maybe even CrowdBooster to see the latest social media stats. You realize that you dropped five followers last night, but gained two this morning. You also notice that have you haven’t been getting enough responses to your blog. There are not any new followers and you begin to feel like your relationship with your community is becoming stale. Or should I say, low in the pint?

“Your digital cookie jar could be low and you just need some new ingredients!”

Maybe there is that one ingredient that you are afraid to include. It may add a little spice or some zing to the taste or it could completely curdle.  But it’s possible that if you never add that extra pinch you may never know what could have been. I am referring to throwing yourself out there on a whim. Taking all the work you can get, being more creative than you ever have before and not caring what people think.  Posting and commenting on design sites and only “Talking” isn’t going to get you as far as actually “Doing.” I’d rather be known as a designer who did something meaningful than someone who just talked. It’s possible that if we zip lock our lips and figure out what ingredient works best for each of us, we’ll be even more successful. 

Social media and design communities should never hinder you – they should enhance who you are as a designer. 

And don’t forget, to be yourself!