Against self-promotion
If we’re going to have an Individual Revolution — ie, if we accept that we can be successful without the help of powerful companies — how are we going to find out about each other?
jakoblodwick in this post.
(Obviously there is room for nuance in this and other issues—but screw that, this is the Internet. If you want nuance, go talk to your grandmother. Also, I’m speaking generally—so nothing personal.)
Lawyers have a saying: “He who represents himself has a fool for a client.” I think this often applies to self-promotion. I can sell myself as the greatest thing out there—but who will believe me? On the other hand, if friends or colleagues speak well of me, they will be a much more trustworthy source.
But this goes beyond whether people will believe your self-promotion. Sometimes we’re not as objective about ourselves as we might like to be. When we promote ourselves for something we unexpectedly suck at, we loose all sorts of credibility.
Rather than self-promotion, I would recommend being amazingly awesome. And while you’re at it, help some people out. Cultivate some relationships. When people see a good person doing a good thing, they will talk. Take Jonathan Coulton, for example. He became relatively famous and enormously respected by writing a few songs a lot of people listened to, a lot of songs a few people listened to, and caring about his fan base as much as they cared about him. And he does it all without selling out.
— squashedThis is a recurring thought for me. In my dream world, everyone would be recognized by how awesome they are. But given that this is not the case, two things are required of people:
- Be awesome
- Be able to speak clearly and concisely about why you are awesome.
Most people can’t do either, some can do one, fewer can do both. That’s the challenge.
