A wonderful article in Sunday's New York Times, by @AnnMahNet, captures the essence of the art of artisanship. In France, recognition of specialists' savoir-faire is public as individuals are awarded title of Un des Meilleurs Ouvriers de France, by the Ministry of Labor. The title is a source of pride as well as a responsibility to assure continuance of tradtional metiers.
I was struck by a quote from the Master Baker:
At his bakery in Boulogne-Billancourt, a Paris suburb, Mr. Morieux selects all ingredients himself, visiting artisanal mills to create his own blends of flours. “The ingredients of a baguette are not expensive,” he said. “What’s expensive is the transformation. The savoir faire is priceless.”
The same hold true for Social Media making communication + interactions meaningful is art of transformation. When so many of the key ingredients are free/inexpensive (Twitter, Facebook, Google +, etc.), the transformation savoir-faire can get lost.
What is your take?
Very true the quote and your link with Social Media !
ReplyDeleteMy son (a chef apprentice) was headhunted by a Meilleur Ouvrier de France and now his school nominated him for the Meilleur Apprenti de France !
On one hand the trade promotes craftsman ship and high quality over quantity but the economic reality for these small companies is getting harder and harder. With every new law and measure the government introduces, the climate gets grimmer for quality and we'll have to put up with crap mass products.
Good thing that Social Media marketing and communication can be done from everywhere !