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In times of crisis, being “interesting” represents a valuable asset. People want to be with those who are interesting; they want to hire those who are interesting; they want to keep those who are interesting.

For this reason (actually... for much more) it is important to become... interesting; it is important to invest in the “I”; to invest in the “I” brand.

Although most of the time I don't have the patience to do so and to be, by pure common sense, what I've learned comes down to two principles:

    • To be interesting, you have to be interested. It is important to find what is interesting in everything, learn to notice things, learn to listen. If we find that a certain person (or thing) is interesting, it is likely that he returns by finding us equally interesting.

  • *Interesting people are good to share. ** (This is the principle of Twitter!) We can't be interested in someone who doesn't tell us anything. Being good at sharing is not the same as talking, talking and talking. It means that we share our ideas, that we let people play with them and that we're good at talking about them without having to talk about ourselves.

For all this, there is no way to be interesting. There's too many. And many do not involve technology, the Internet, social networks, or Twitter. They involve attitude. Consciousness. Clairvoyance. Work.

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This post could stick around. But as “work” and “method” are part of any recipe, I share (cof! cof!) one of the many visions of how to become “2.0 interesting”:

      • Take a daily photo (learn to look).** Post it on Flickr or Picasa. Of course, you always have to carry a camera. But today... it could be a phone. The important thing is that the act of walking with a camera requires a careful look so that one can take “that” photograph. In fact, the important thing is to learn to look. This allows us to better perceive the world. Keep them on. By publishing the photo on a website like Flickr, or any other website, we are sharing, in public and that forces us to think about what we photograph;
    • Start a Blog, create a Twitter and/or Facebook account (learn to share).* A simple step. One sentence a week (actually, one sentence is little). Maybe a sentence a day. The important thing is to start. After we do, we mean/write more. We can criticize the banal content of a Blog, the lost time on Twitter, the futility of Facebook games, but in the end, the important thing is that when we start to be attentive to more things, we start to search more, we start to register more and... we become more connected;
    • *Create a notepad (learn to register).**Can be on PC. OneNote. Evernote. Email. Anything. It may even be on paper (it looks cooler!). Whether we like it or not, there is a charm in analog linked to content and culture. Have one Moleskine... helps and looks good (I have one but I confess that... I use it rarely);
      • Every week, read a magazine, or blog, that you have never read (learning to learn).** How many “interesting” people do you know who only understand a lot about a subject? When these people are very “useful” and not “interesting”. Interesting people are interested in all sorts of things. And that means they explore all kinds of subjects, go to places they don't expect to like, and when they do, they find out what's good and interesting. Magazines and blogs are a good starting point;

  • ** Collect something (learn to know).** Anything. Sites. Videos. Pictures. Smells. But... become a "smart." Specialize! It develops a passion! Learn how to communicate this passion without fear (and without scaring them!:). Find other people who share the same passion. Find out how to be useful in this community. And... figure out how to be a leader in your tribe!

    • *Once a week, it records a conversation from (or with) another person (learn to listen). ** Objective: learning to listen. Discover small parts of others' lives. You understand your concerns and your standards. Take notes (subtly and without notice! Try not to be beaten:));
    • *Once a week, write a minimum of 50 words about anything (learn to share 2). Plastic arts, music, cinema, video or television. Anything. Having a point of view on some topic helps to develop creative thinking. Artistic themes help. It is important to know how to express opinions on matters that we do not dominate. And this improves with practice and sharing what we write;
      • Do anything (learn to do).** Build something. A drawing, Lego, Origami, cakes, a special dinner, anything. The most important thing is to be able to do something that allows you to get away from day to day, get out of your head. Ideally, do something that doesn't have a clue how to do it. Assume you're gonna start by hurting, by screwing up. Learn to miss, fail, and learn. People like people who can do things. Share what you do. If you lack ideas, Make Magazine It's a good starting point;

  • ** Read and read (learn to learn 2). ** Always. Very. Everything. Books, newspapers, magazine articles. See what your friends and acquaintances are reading (FaceBookShelf is a good starting point). In a way, all books are interesting for different reasons. They mainly illustrate examples of people who are interested in topics that many find uninteresting and that some fall in love;

    • ♪ Show up ♪ Show up as much as you can at conferences, openings, launches.

I've already said this on the Blog but I think the theme justifies the repetition:

“ Those who do not appear, disappear!”