Hello and Welcome to The Outsights!
About The Outsights
The Outsights is a website for people who want to broaden their horizons.
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My mission is to inspire others with fresh perspectives and help them think more openly, by connecting them with different cultures, knowledge, resources, references, ideas, and everything else in between.
In today’s world, dictated by algorithms and haunted by “fake news”, it can be difficult to find a space that exposes us to new references and different points-of-view - so I figured we could all benefit from having a place to go when we need/want to peek outside of our own bubble.
Of course, I'm not here to pretend to have all the answers - because that’s the whole point: no one does. In fact, I see The Outsights as a great opportunity/excuse for me to continue to expand my own perspectives - so I’d love to hear from you if you have any outsights to share!
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About Me
Erika Brenner
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You can connect with me here:
My name is Erika - nice to meet you!
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Usually, the way these “about” sections go, I would now probably tell you where I’m from. The thing is, in my case, it’s complicated - so it might take a minute…! Bear with me, will you?
I’m originally from Brazil, born and raised. And, like many Brazilian families, mine is composed of immigrants from all over Europe - which means I also enjoy having an European citizenship and close family in Austria.
I, however, don’t live in Brazil nor Austria right now. In fact, I’ve spent most of the last decade on the other side of the planet, living for 8 years in Shanghai, China, and in Oslo, Norway, for the past 3 years.
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I think you can tell that I’m, clearly, no stranger to being an “outsider”.
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Some people are not comfortable being “outsiders”, but I find it incredibly exciting and truly a life-shaping experience.
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Sure, it has its challenges, and anyone who has lived abroad for as long as I have will tell you that you sort of always feel like you belong nowhere and everywhere at the same time - but I’ve learned to embrace this feeling.
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I enjoy having the flexibility to move and adapt to new places and situations, comfortably belonging; but, at the same time, never feeling immersed to the point where I won’t question the status quo. Which, working in advertising, has always come in handy.
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And, contrary to what I’ve heard many times before in my career, being an outsider has not limited my understanding of the different consumers - in fact, being an outsider has made me not only a more open-minded person, but also a more dedicated researcher, an empathetic planner, and a more creative brand marketer.
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It has also given me an overload of international and cross-cultural references and transformed me into one of those "random-fun-fact" people - to the point I usually don’t know how to answer “How/Why do you know this?”. I shrug - oh well. And, in case you’re wondering, is also not the kind of knowledge that is useful for most quiz-nights, trust me - but please do still invite me!
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I’m delighted to finally have a place where I can store and share some of the different stuff I find, without any judgemental looks (because, even if you are judging, I’m not seeing you and, well, I created this space, so...! haha).
Jokes aside, through The Outsights I hope I can contribute with some references you might not have come by otherwise and maybe nudge a few new ideas.
All you’ll need to do is keep an open mind!
Acknowledgments
I know it's unusual to have an acknowledgments section on websites, so I'll make this brief - but I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone's support with this project. I've received so much love and encouragement, from the moment I shared my idea until it finally went live, and I thank you all for the motivation that gave me.
I wanted to especially thank my family and my fiancé, as none of this would have left the drawing board if it wasn't for their gentle push as well as their patience with my obsessions, insecurities and nerve-racking perfectionist habits. Not to mention all their outsights! I love you all and I owe you everything.
The fine print (Disclaimer):
While browsing this site, please note:
This is a personal blog and the views and opinions expressed here are my own and not in any way endorsed by my employers or reflecting of ideologies, views and opinions of any company I have been, am, or will be associated with.
The information on this blog/site is authentic to the best of my knowledge, and as such, it might be prone to errors and/or have the absence of some key information.
I hold the right to make changes and decide how to manage the content available here anytime, as well as to moderate and remove comments if/when I see fit.
It should go without saying that the content here is public and generated for entertainment and informative purposes, and it should not in any way be perceived as professional advice to health, finances, or any other field.
From time to time, I might refer to other products, services, podcasts, books, websites, consultants, and/or experts. Any such reference is not intended as an endorsement or statement that the information provided by the other party is accurate. It is your responsibility to conduct your own investigation and make your own determination about any such reference. All links are for information purposes only and are not warranted for content, accuracy or any other implied or explicit purpose.
There can be materials (citations, photos, videos, gifs, or any other similar resource) used or referenced on this site that are copyrighted and not specifically authorized by the copyright owner before I have borrowed it - though I do my best to reach out whenever possible and to always provide the correct source/give credit. I believe this constitutes a "fair-use"of any such copyrighted material as per established in the Fair Use Act.