House Hunters, Curiosity, … and the Future of Work?

January 16, 2015

Fine. I admit it. I really like the HGTV ‘reality show’ House Hunters. Whatever. Judge me all you will.

I. Don’t. Care.

Let’s be honest, you probably don’t care either, except it’s the unfortunate backdrop to this week’s post.

One of the reasons something like Lunch Roulette appeals to me is  because I’m curious. I get to meet random people, chat with them and,  inevitably something of mutual interest will come up. I’ve discovered  this is helped along, immeasurably, by actively listening, and then  thinking about how what the person has told me ‘sits’ with the things I  am interested in and looking to more fully explore.

I reckon being curious is a good part of being engaged just generally  but that’s quite a bold conjecture that I haven’t formally explored.  Hey ho, I am getting off topic.

So, I hear you squeak, how do these two themes of reality place-based television and curiosity collide?

Well … I was watching, um, House Hunters recently, a riveting episode  set in St. Louis. When, in one of the montage scenes, I saw the House  Hunter working on a manuscript entitled ‘Virtual Work’. Just a quick  snippet, but enough to pique my interest.

As someone who is interested in ‘The Future of Work’ (as ridiculous  as that sounds), I found this person online, including their CV, and  began poking through their academic work. This included really  interesting gems such as ‘A Taxonomy of Virtual Work’ and ‘The gamification of work’. How exciting, and an unexpected intelectually enriching consequence of my reality TV indulgence.

So, really, I guess it doesn’t matter what you’re doing, whether it’s Lunch Roulette or House Hunters - engaging in it with your Eyes Wide Open, and Your Brain Turned On, is going to stand you in good stead.

Thanks for listening,

DT