YOU'VE GOT TO TELL 'EM! THE INTERNET IS PEOPLE!!

From underpaidgenius (with my emphasis and my links—mouseover for commentary):

“The internet is made of people. People matter. This includes you. Stop trying to sell everything about yourself to everyone. Don’t just hammer away and repeat and talk at people—talk TO people. It’s organic. Make stuff for the internet that matters to you, even if it seems stupid. Do it because it’s good and feels important. Put up more cat pictures. Make more songs. Show your doodles. Give things away and take things that are free. Look at what other people are doing, not to compete, imitate, or compare … but because you enjoy looking at the things other people make. Don’t shove yourself into that tiny, airless box called a brand—tiny, airless boxes are for trinkets and dead people.”

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Maureen Johnson Books » Blog Archive » MANIFESTO (

via steph

Wait, DON’T shove yourself into a brand?  Actually, that goes completely against human psychology—I spent most of my life pledging allegiance to brands—Coca-Cola, Star Trek, Chef Boyardee.  I know they’re full of shit, but it’s instinctual to become loyal to brands.  It has to do with relying on patterns that simplify our lives and provide security.  Sure, I don’t like Starbucks, but I know what I’ll get when I go in there.  Just doing what ever you feel like doing as an artist may sound good, but ultimately won’t help your stuff get seen since people won’t know what the hell to make of somebody who seems to be saying and doing something different every day.

This whole attitude essentially encourages us to be a scatterbrained mess.

I DON’T NEED ANY HELP WITH THAT, THANKS.

I mean, all this hippie shit is great, but what about feeding myself?  I can’t eat the warm fuzzy feeling I get from creating something or consuming something someone else has created.  Selling yourself is what keeps you alive and, in a country like ours with very little original production going on here, selling our intellectual property is what keeps our economy going.

Jesus, we’re screwed.

In the end, can’t we just agree to not take wicked advantage over each other?  It’s not charging for our content that’s bad it’s charging too much.  My goal is not to get rich. My goal is to tell stories that change the world—but I can’t do that if I’m starving to death.