And Then...

Exactly two weeks ago today we were flipping the switches “on” to the rebrand. I was sitting here wondering what we might have missed (a few things), what people would think, and how in the heck I was going to prioritize the to do list of all the things I’d shoved onto the back burner while we got through this behemoth task we’d taken on.

In 1999, on the eve of the potential Y2K downfall of the world, I sat with friends from across the government continuity community at GSA HQ prepared to support the response to systems collapsing. The evening of our rebranding launch felt a little bit like that and just like with Y2K, everything seems to have gone smoothly due to the efforts of those who worked tirelessly to dot all the i’s and cross all the t’s.  

I’ve been asked several times “how it feels.” Honestly, I thought it would feel much more…different. I think I was expecting something closer to when I got married – which included a newname, a new home, a new way of thinking about life. Essentially all the things that change overnight.

Instead, the feeling was much less “ta da!” and much more like tying the belt around the satin robe you’ve been slowing slipping into. THIS has been a long time coming and the who we are and what we do just makes more sense tied up with a sash.  

The reactions have been delightful, and I’ve loved bringing the fresh perspective to what it means to delight in the work we do.  

One of my favorites was from a friend who is the COO of an all-female led business services shop and of whom I’ve long been an admirer who said:

“Let me know when these sentences are tee shirts, I'll be the first in line to get mine.

·        Because we didn’t want to be calledCyberCorpX-24 like a rejected Marvel villain.

·        Resilient in the face of the next disaster, breach, or internal reckoning.

·        We looked into the coming storm and decided to become the hammer.”

I hadn’t thought about merch but now it’s occupying a significant spot in my brain.  Should we? If you’re reading this send a line to ideas@aetherforge.tech with your idea (and tell us a bit about yourself).

All of this said, what struck me most of all was when one of our cyber clients said after looking at our site: “The new website captures something interesting. Cybersecurity used to be fun…”

And he was right. Cyber is a battle of wits and brains and good guys and bad guys. But over time it has been this constant drudge of rules and coordination and a constant onslaught of…let’s face it…bad guys.  It’s exhausting.

But we can still try to have some fun amid the battle and AetherForge would love an opportunity to help.