#PromotionShaming #SmallBusiness + the Absurdity of #OnePercenterism
I recently read a piece which poses this question, i paraphrase : “whether self-promotion is helpful or hurtful to your business.”
As i read the piece at “On Being” - an excellent site for thought and discussion ... A site I respect ... I really grappled with my gutt, mind, heart - reactions to that question.
The below is where I arrived :
The power for us all, will be in communication with each other - not media "worship" / "idolatry" patterned after other forms of "worship." For me, "worship" is very different from what is truly "sacred."
It's time, that those of us with small businesses , where we actually do our work from the ground up . - simply find each other ... and - joyfully support each other however we can / however we wish to lend support.
Part of the problem in all media, including social media, public appearances, "talks", "lectures"- even the truly brilliant ones ... - seems to me, to be that :
" 1 - Percenterism " has seeped into that "sacred" education space where "stardom" was possibly - formerly an inside story, known only by the small group ? Perhaps there were stars in universities or think tanks - but i assume ... that before the internet age, most people who were into "stardom" - weren't looking at the universities to express worship ? Geeks were not as "cool" back in those days ? - I went to school during the digital age ... - but still I learned about referencing sources - studied anthropology as well as cinema / performance arts ... and even in the information age - I learned - we have to credit SOURCES ... - footnotes, etc ... We give credit where credit is due ... Hey in fact - I SO enjoy giving credit to others ... but it may come as some surprise - that in spite of "shaming culture" - i EQUALLY enjoy - celebrating my own work / accomplishments ! I don't mean to imply that this came easily LOL ... I had to learn how to do that more freely - but i had GREAT teachers !
Sisters / Brothers : I'm here to "testify" that this too, is "righteous" ! No Need for SHAME unless you've done something terrible ! What's terrible about self-promotion when your business / livelihoods / good works are at stake ? Undeserved shame is actually harmful to everybody around you and to our society ! My next sentence might sound like promotion ... - maybe it is ... but HONESTLY - My upcoming film / album " eVe N'god this female is not yet rated™ " - EVE n' GOD this Female is not yet RATED TM These Are the... - deals directly with this issue of SHAME ... - of-course, because it deals with the concept of " EVE " and we all know about HER shame.
Shaming - is what I hear - when I hear anybody questioning whether it's ok to promote ... OH baby - how do we think ANYTHING EVER gets accomplished ? It's called PROMOTION - ADVERTISING ... - but can it be done ethically ? SURE ! Can it be done with dignity ? SURE ! Should everybody / anybody do it ? Maybe not ? But there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.
Unfortunately the 1 Percenters might like to hold onto a larger "percent" by any means necessary, even shaming others. In the Information Age - it seems to me ... - that it's apparently acceptable ( even by people who did go to college and did learn about footnotes and crediting sources etc ... ) to take ideas from anywhere and everywhere - then - give credit only toward what will bring some form of "fame" / "worship" or advancement . It's stealing intellectual property, but with a tacit and complicit nod from our current circumstances and a popular "head in the sand" approach - "well, everybody's doing it." Like other "isms" - 1 Percenterism, allows people who are already famous, or those who seek a path to it - with good contacts, money, and a certain "talent" for gathering agreement in the right circles to hire " researchers " , PR agencies, and " interns " to "research" everything that's "new" "trending" etc ... then deliver that information packaged, ready for re-packaging ... so that the celebrity can "stay current" / "fresh" and frankly, "relevant" ... or - for that new kind of information age "celebrities" to forge their pathway to a new kind of "information age stardom" .. ... As such, it's become ok for "stars" to "research" the internet ... where new ideas, diamonds in the rough are posted daily -then credit only the "famous" people / "name drop" - while discarding other sources quite easily, if those sources don't add to the value of the "brand."
Anybody who tries to SHAME you for working your --- off to accomplish your goal ... is messin' with yo' head.
My suggestion is that - "we the people" ... - those of us struggling to get our businesses / projects out into the world ... stop "worshipping" and start helping each other. I've been paving that path proudly and against all odds since 2011. I'll continue to do just that - and I ask for any and all support of my very hard-won accomplishments, as an actress who reacted to #MeToo circumstances, by building my own Hand-Built Woman-Owned Studio for Indie Films, Indie Albums, Poetry, Photography and Books.
Please join us everywhere, please support my projects - if we can - we will do our best, to support your business - pending details etc ...
🏄♀️ @ CaliLiliIndies ™ Pictures Words Music In Motion ™ feMt0™studi0 © 🌊🐬🌊 Cali Lili + Cali Lili Indies ™ Pictures Words Music In Motion ™
FYI ... I tried to leave my reflections as a comment at the site of the original article ... but my comments appear to not be accepted by the moderators ... but perhaps they are in process ...
For Reference : I am enclosing the piece i read, which elicited my reflections above : https://onbeing.org/blog/courtney-martin-the-case-for-self-promotion/
