THE WORK BECOMES A PLAYGROUND
THU
Something happened today.
I realized SOAPSzone is a playground.
That word could sound unserious, which is exactly why I liked it.
The work is serious. The stories can involve money, unfair systems, drivers losing income, customers getting trapped in policies, privacy, fraud, all sorts of things that matter.
But the place where I make the work does not have to feel like a courtroom all the time.
It can be a playground.
Try something.
Build a plugin because a problem annoyed you.
Make a cartoon because a phrase made you laugh.
Create a category called D Boys because three artificial-intelligence brothers modeled after an old sitcom somehow became useful for explaining different thinking styles.
See what happens.
Play is not the opposite of serious work.
Sometimes play is how serious work stays alive.
I think we confuse solemnity with commitment. If you care deeply, you are supposed to furrow your brow. If the subject matters, the process should look important.
Why?
Some of my best thinking happens while laughing.
Some of my best technical ideas come from, Wouldn’t it be funny if…
Some of the clearest explanations arrive because D2 looks at something complicated and says, Why the hell are we doing all that?
Play creates permission to touch the thing without immediately needing it to justify itself.
That is discovery again.
The playground has rules. You do not hurt people. You do not pretend facts are facts when they are guesses. You do not publish recklessly. Serious about the work.
Completely unserious about ourselves.
That may be one of the healthiest combinations I have found.
