THE LOST CREATIVE GENERATION

Hello folks. A cold and wet morning in Nairobi. Speaking of which, I will probably sound a bit cold when I say that I have noticed a complete lack of basic work ethic especially with the new emerging generation of local creatives.

I am young at heart, but do confess that I have been in this industry for a while. During this time I have seen changes from old school photography techniques to the emergence of the Internet in agencies. So what's my bother? Well, my bother is how creative studios nowadays have lost the breed of creative which used to concentrate on nothing but ideas and what has emerged is a lesser breed that concentrates more on adding friends on facebook and chatting on g-mail.

Do not get me wrong and think that I have personal beef, but the net is becoming more of a burden than an asset when it comes to producing work. If you think I am alone, check out the IT policies in Kenyas most successful ad agencies. Guys can only log onto social sites before 8.30am, between 1and 2pm and after 5.30pm, the result? Well it speaks for itself doesn't it? Creatives are left with exposure to sites that will add value to their concentration and work harder rather than developing a new addiction that takes away crucial work time.

Being a good creative is not just about throwing the first idea that comes into your mind and feeling like you own the world, being a good creative is not just about looking the part with torn jeans or having great social skills. Creativity is not just a laid back 9-5. A good creative takes time to craft his work, a good creative takes time to research the brand she works on, a good creative challenges his or herself to be better, a good creative tries to find out what her competition is doing and tries to get the better of them. The secret to those dudes we all see winning Cannes lions is the mad hours they put in and igniting all they can from a little spark. IT'S TAKES HARD WORK!

Is facebook, twitter and gmail a good thing? Well of course it is. Its just that there is a right time for everything. Now, you may argue that one needs social media at work to ease off and take a break, but I hardly see a living example of that in my experience. So do I support the Creative Directors who have banned certain sites during working hours? 100% yes.

The other argument of course is that its all a matter of planning time well. Show me a young Kenyan creative who can do this.

Hey, that's just my opinion.