A little while back, I almost wrote a post called Stop the Idiocy. Well, okay, I did write most of it. I just didn’t post it. There were reasons for that. First, I came to my senses. I finally stopped seeing red and thought straight for a moment (which is as long as that ever happens anymore). Second, I realized something that Guy Anthony DeMarco says in his post: Kill Your Political Audience. Go read it. I’ll wait.
Did you read it? Ah! Shame on you!
Anyways, he talks about branding and business. And why expressing your strong viewpoint can hurt those.
Sam Knight is my brand. Sam Knight is my business. If I turn myself into an activist of nearly any sort, I have taken sides on something—publicly. That alienates people. Someone, somewhere will not like what I am doing/saying.
Do I want that? Do I want to irritate people so much they won’t ever buy my books? Maybe. I suppose getting my books banned by someone could be great publicity for Sam Knight, but is it worth it? I mean if I upset …
Okay. Moment of respect here. I was going to say all of the blue people in the world. But when I went to find the links to take you to Paul Karason. I found out he passed away on September 23, 2013. My condolences to his family and friends.
Moving on, I will instead pick on the other blue people of the world.
So if I were to upset them, I would lose three potential fans. No big deal, right? Well. I would upset all of their friends and family, too. But still. No biggie.
Except that I would have chosen a stance, and that reflects upon Sam Knight as a brand. What happens when other people start talking? ‘Hey did you hear Sam Knight hates blue people?’
Next thing you know, I’m a bigot. Then everyone hates me. Except the other bigots, who rally around me and use me as an example to further their cause. Then I can only sell my books to the bigots.
Guess what? They won’t buy them. They are too busy with their idiocy. They want more things that say what they want to hear. They don’t want my speculative fiction unless it promotes their hate.
Did I mention I almost posted about the stopping the idiocy?
Let’s delve into a sample of that post:
Idiocy.
According to Google:
id·i·o·cy
ˈidēəsē/
noun
noun: idiocy; plural noun: idiocies
1.
extremely stupid behavior.
I’m not prone to taking stands on Political or Religious views. I have my opinions, as do we all, I just don’t like to FORCE them upon anyone. I DON”T LIKE TO BE THE ONE WHO SCREAMS THE LOUDEST!
I don’t even like to be the one who discusses them.
Why?
Idiocy.
What is wrong with people today? Don’t they have anything better to do than cause problems? Why not fix one or two instead.
Now, don’t get me wrong. There are issues out there that need to be dealt with. The problem is the issues are being 1) caused by idiots and 2) championed against by idiots.
You can’t show an idiot the error of their ways by being an idiot yourself. Throwing shit back at the monkey only re-enforced the damned monkey’s behavior.
As you can see, and as I mentioned before, I was a little hot under the collar. I’m over it. But some of what I wrote there rings true doesn’t it? And guess what? If you are a public figure of any sort, and you start tossing your opinions about religion, politics, money, Miley Cyrus…
… you end up picking sides. You end up branded. You changed your brand.
I’m not out here to decide if Miley should or shouldn’t have (fill in the blank). Or even to give you my opinion on her music video 
.
I am here to 1) try to entertain. That is what I want to do. And I don’t do it on a stage (except at conventions, I guess), I do it with written words. And I don’t do it with current events, I do it with fiction.
and 2) to try to make some money at it, so I can keep doing it.
We all have to make our own decisions in life. And in politics. And religion. And everything else. And then we have to live with the consequences of what we said or did.
This applies to everyday life as well as virtual personae. Be careful what you Tweet or post on Facebook, or on your webpage. You might permanently lose a fan/friend over a flippant comment just as easily as a manifesto tirade.
My point is, before Sam Knight takes a stance on nearly anything, I will think long and hard about whether or not I want to be branded for that, or if that is what I really want to be known for having said or done.
Will you?
Idiocy.
According to Google:
id·i·o·cy
ˈidēəsē/
noun
noun: idiocy; plural noun: idiocies
1.
extremely stupid behavior.