The day I admitted I wasn't interesting, a culture began.

Until the phrase 'What are you talking about?', which no one used for three years, became a culture
《Konishi Kinoko-san》
This is a review article about that.

'What are you talking about?'

A phrase of just nine characters, over five years, spawned more than 20,000 articles, involved over 1,000 people, became an e-book, became merchandise, became coffee, and finally, became a job.

Hearing this, it might seem like a project where the outcome was clear from the start.

What was written in this article was not such a neat success story.

For three years, nothing happened.

It wasn't read.
It didn't spread.
There was no response.

During that time, the author felt jealousy, impatience, compared themselves to others, and kept wondering why they weren't being evaluated.

And after three years, they finally arrived at it.

I am not interesting.

Normally, it would end here.

You either quit creating, put a lid on it by saying you had no talent, or label yourself with the convenient title of a genius who was never discovered, and quietly sulk.

But the author was different.

If I am not interesting, I should just have others make it interesting.

Everything begins.

I really love this way of thinking. I feel something close to Carnegie in it.

The moment you admit your own defeat, rather than possibilities closing, the world suddenly opens up.

By giving up on being the center, people more interesting than you, expressions you wouldn't have thought of, and games you couldn't handle on your own come in one after another.

A back-alley princess appears, writes over 500 articles, it becomes a reading, a song, a play, and even someone who writes words on tissues appears.

Normally, you would stop it.

You would hold a meeting saying, 'Let's calm down for a moment.'

But in this back alley, that is where a culture begins.

What I felt many times while reading this article was that culture is not created from the top down, but is born when someone starts playing on their own and someone else takes it seriously.

For that, what is needed might be, before overwhelming talent, correct strategy, or noble philosophy, the presence of a 'person who does not deny'.

No matter what is written, they do not deny it.

Rather than whether it is good, they think about what is interesting about it.

They find it, introduce it, and pass it on to the next person.

That is what the author has been doing all along.

Instead of becoming the most interesting person, they become someone who finds the interesting qualities in others.

That is where the biggest turning point of this piece lies.

That is likely why 'What are you talking about?' did not end as a mere tag.

A tag is a mark for searching.

However, this phrase became a permit.

Is it okay to write something like this?

It doesn't come together well.

It's not useful.

It might be meaningless.

At times like that, just by adding 'What are you talking about?' at the end, it feels like it's okay to write a little.

That small permission has led to 20,000 expressions.

Even though it is a grand story, the entrance is always trivial.

Writing words on a tissue.
Making coffee.
Enjoying something meaningless with all your might.

'I'm not messing around, I'm just doing it with all my might.'

I thought this phrase represented everything about this culture.

The people involved are serious. It's just that the direction of that seriousness is a little bit off.

Creation is unexpectedly born from such places.

Spending time doing things no one asked you to do, without even knowing if there is any meaning.

That later becomes a place for someone to belong, becomes a product, becomes a job, and becomes a culture.

'I would rather live a life that becomes an award than win one.'

I thought that was an amazing phrase.

There only needs to be one person who wins an award.

But a person who becomes an award finds someone, pushes someone's back, and creates a reason for someone to continue.

Choosing a life where people you meet start expressing themselves over a life where you are evaluated.

A person who was suffering from not being read until three years ago has come this far.

There is weight in these words.

It's not just empty talk.

It is the words of someone who has gone through everything: the jealousy, the pride, the frustration, and the time it took to admit that they weren't interesting.

This article returns to the entrance at the end.

If you want to write, just write 'What are you talking about?'

That is all it takes to start.

The explanation of a grand culture built over five years returns to just one line.

The entrance hasn't changed at all from the beginning.

You don't need a correct answer. It doesn't have to be good. It doesn't have to make sense.

Just try writing.

Culture might be a place where incomplete people can start with peace of mind.

And above all, by admitting they weren't interesting, the author created a place more interesting than anyone else's.

In life, you really never know where or what will pop.

What are you talking about?


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