The first time I came across the term 'Scenius' was in the book 'Show Your Work' by Austin Kleon, and the explanation excited me. Then, I decided to name my podcast 'Sriram’s Scenius Podcast' (I even created an email as such). Later on, I felt that, in the long term, 'Being Scenius' would be perfect. That’s how I named my podcast 'Being Scenius With Sriram Selvan’.
The first chapter of the book itself, “You Don’t Have to be A Genius“ with a subheading “Find your Scenius“.
The concept of 'Genius' typically refers to an individual possessing exceptional skills or abilities. However, musician Brian Eno challenges this notion, coining the term 'Scenius.'
He argues that the idea of a 'lone genius' is a myth. Instead, great ideas often emerge from a collective of creative individuals within a scene—whether it be a commonplace, community, or the internet. In this setting, individuals support each other, observe each other’s work, copy, steal ideas, and contribute, fostering a collaborative and innovative environment.
In today's information-centric world, consider the internet as the scene where everyone gains access to a lot of information on various topics. Everyone seems genius from the quality of information they share among their peers or in the form of content (as I’m doing a podcast) to the wider world.
However, it's important to recognize that everyone acquires their knowledge from a specific scene, which may take the form of a podcast, blog post, social media post, newsletter, video, or book!
I'll explain; I've received much appreciation for starting a podcast, especially when the term itself seems alien. I have been a guest on over 4+ podcasts, solely discussing the ins and outs of podcasting. Additionally, I've conducted 2+ workshops for over 50+ people, helping them kickstart their podcast journey. I've assisted over 20+ individuals in creating their first podcast, and I've even established a podcast community.
On the outside, I may appear like a genius, but I’m a Scenius. As Brain Eco said
Great ideas are often birthed by a group of creative individuals when coming into a scene supporting each other, looking at each other’s work, copying from each other, stealing ideas, and contributing ideas.
My friend introduced me to the e Joe Rogan podcast, let that be a Scene where I study his work, am inspired by his ideas, and add my flavor to it, stealing ideas from other podcasters to my podcast production and distribution. I, in turn, contribute my ideas through workshops, creating scenes for others to advance their podcasting journey.
I was seen as a genius among some people, the people who had done regular episodes after my workshop would look like geniuses within their peer groups. But everything happens in the Scene when my friend shared a link and I was part of the Scene where Naval Ravikat and Joe Rogan having a conversation.
Simply put, the 'lone genius' is a myth. We are Scenius, we acquire knowledge from the scenes where we engage with people in various forms (in-person, audio, video, text, etc). Taking ideas from these scenes, we inspire and apply them to our life or business. As a result, we succeed and may appear as geniuses to those around us.
PS: My friend who was more into podcasts became an iOS dev, and I who was an iOS dev then became a podcaster now! Hope you get that 😂
As I’m a Scenius, I actively learn from various sources such as podcasts, blog posts, newsletters, LinkedIn posts, magazines, newspapers, and books. Importantly talking with people as a podcast host or in casual discussions. I don’t want to keep my secret sauce with me, I want to share it with the world.
That’s why, in this weekly newsletter, I share what I’ve learned, from where I learned, and and how I've implemented it—wearing the hats of a podcast host, co-founder of a Micro-SaaS, a fellow human being, and most importantly, as a Scenius!
If you find my newsletter interesting and know someone who would enjoy it, feel free to refer them. You'll also receive something in return!
