Christopher Davis

I am a classical guitarist. I play art music on the guitar, and I’m not terribly interested in performing much else (outside of more art music-like fingerstyle).

But I will never put, “Christopher Davis, classical guitar,” on a program; I will never advertise my concert as, “Christopher Davis, classical guitarist.”

If it’s my mission to expand the audience for classical guitar, I owe it to that mission to attract unusual audiences. Avoiding the classical guitarist label avoids shutting down conversation about a concert before it starts. How many young people attend an orchestra concert? Not many. Most people are interested in guitar in general enjoy classical guitar at least a little bit. No one, however, knows they like classical guitar until they hear it. If I can get someone to come to a concert of art music by appealing to their general guitar affection, I’m a happy performer. I look at it as having the opportunity to share art music with an otherwise uninterested crowd. I don’t want to discourage them with a classical guitar label

The second reason I avoid the classical guitarist label is it makes more marketable as a teacher. I’m comfortably with just about any style of music. I don’t want to pigeonhole myself into one genre of teaching at this point in my career.

Today, on the radio, I heard this great commercial. First, it puts you as driving a car driving down the road following a truck full of pebbles. Then the focus shifted to the pebbles, all the same — except one. One brave pebble that, when the truck bounced, flew out. This pebble flew wonderfully until it lost momentum, and fell on your car. The windshield was damaged.

This was a particularly vivid story, really well done and well acted. Very convincing. And I thought to myself, “whatever auto-glass repair shop thought this up is amazing.”

Until the commercial turned into being about a brand of oil. Companies take note: if you’re going to tell me a story, try to make it relevant to your product. Thanks.

Some people matter more than others. Simple. Not surprising, but somewhat disturbing in our Utopian, everybody’s-special world.

But still, some people matter more than others. Like a brand that has build up trust and loyalty among its customers — brand equity — individuals can build up a sort of social equity. The individual version of brand equity.

How person is perceived by their tribe is social equity. Do people trust them?

Do people following me on twitter perceive the links and content I post as good? Does that increase my “standing” in their eyes? Does that mean my word carries more weight?

I think it does: if someone likes what I post and respects my opinion (whether agree or disagree with it) that’s an amazing thing. And it’s something that has to be cared for and developed.

As Gary Vaynerchuk says: the fact that one person is following you or friends with you or reads your blog is awesome. That’s one person that is truly interested in what you have to say, and that’s something to be thankful for.