glad to be back in my own little corner

Okay, so it seems I'm not ready to let go of the subject of niches just yet, mostly because of in interesting discussion with Sylvain, who reminded me that in French, "niche" also refers to a doghouse.

Which prompted me to think about the irony of being "in the doghouse", and wonder how you could turn that negative idea into something positive (this is something that Sylvain is good at, seeing the good side of things).

Which, in turn, got me thinking about Snoopy's doghouse.

You know, Snoopy's doghouse?  Okay, ostensibily a doghouse, but really a place where Snoopy lives out his fantasies, whether being a writer, or a WWI pilot in his Sopwith Camel.  The doghouse also developed a reputation for defying the laws of space and physics, being, like a Tardis, much bigger and more splendid on the inside than it appeared from the outside.

So, in this sense, the niche becomes a place of imagination and creativity, something to be valued and perhaps envied.

The idea of being "in the doghouse" also got me thinking of that other punishment common in my own childhood, being banished to the corner (oh, come on, surely I'm not the only one?).  What else to do when stuck in the corner but to let your imagination run free:

(Sorry about the bouncing magic wand, but I wanted the version sung by Lesley Ann Warren, and that's the only one I could find out there.   I loved this version of Rogers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella" when I was a kid, which probably explains a lot about me...)

So, there -- I worry about the niche becoming a ghetto, but I forget that it can also be a place of great imagination and creativity.  We here in the niches of the world are often producing some interesting stuff, and maybe those of you outside the niche could take a few lessons from us.

Comments

[Sylvain Grand'Maison]

Great post Katherine, what's funny is that you thought exactly of what I was thinking for that subject about doghouses: turning the negative into positive and taking Snoopy as an example (I guess great minds think alike?!). Snoopy is such an awesome character who lives his fantasies and drag us into that.

I'm kind of juggling with that idea in my mind since last year (Doghouses was my initial idea for PAB) and you'll probably see a lot of that in the conference I'm planning to do at PodCamp Toronto. Stay tuned ;0)

[katherine]

I'm really looking forward to seeing where you go with this, Sylvain! You know I'll be there....