I came across a conversation taking place on Twitter the other day between two people in my network, the piece I happened upon centered on how the current trend for ‘Celebrity’ had led to a culture of people wanting everything without paying their dues.

nonsense celebrity culture not helped.- everyone wants something for nothing /no work/ no talent

Whilst I might not necessarily agree with the generalisation “everyone”, the trend of instant celebrity and expecting instant success is becoming more prevelant.

So where does the Chicken Ding come into it?

Chicken ding to me represents the instant gratification, convenience culture that has developed over the last couple of decades. When I were lad, it was very rare to have anything other than a meal that had been prepared by my Mom. Study involved reading books, finding information by using indexes, going to the library. To become a famous group or artist (my perception atleast) meant building a fan base, putting in the hard work on the circuit and getting noticed.

Fast forward a few years… I’m 21 don’t you know

Today, if I was to do a quick trawl around the families that I know it is more than likely that a large proportion of the meals will have a large content of pre-prepared items. Study can be done at home without a book in sight, Google (or other search engines) provides more information than you might care to shake a stick at in microseconds and YouTube/MySpace & other sites provide the means by which some bizarre act can be propelled to stardom in the blink of an eye.

Expectancy

Reflecting on the ‘tweet’ above and the conversation that ensued, I have to say that my view is that our modern thirst for convenience, for instant answers and instant gratification has lead to a society that expects instant success without having to put in the groundwork.

Pay the price

Ultimately, lasting success requires hard work, persistance; It requires people to continue to learn, develop and adapt to continually changing requirements. It still requires you to build relationships, networks and supporters. The pace has quickened but the fundamentals are still the same. For me there are very few exceptions. The surprise & delight/stand-out of today, becomes a differentiator tomorrow, which becomes the ticket of entry the day after. Those artists, organisations and people who have truly attainded lasting success have grasped this concept and continually evolve and adapt; they work hard and pay the price for their success. What do you think?


chicken ding
Creative Commons License photo credit: Nancee_art