Credibility vs. Notoriety: not sure which way to go with this… I’ve experimented a little bit with obscenity and attention-mongering; the results are indifferent but lean slightly towards the affirmative.
For the most part I’ve exercised a lot of restraint, done a lot of editing and self-censoring, employed a lot of discipline, and striven for a high degree of quality. Peruse my posts, you’d be hard-pressed to find much that turned out to be wrong, and more than a few of my posts have proven themselves exceptionally prescient and insightful..
The results of that are more clear: nobody gives a fuck. So here I am weighing the costs/benefits of credibility-maintenance vs. attention-getting.
Now, suppose I cultivated a more “colourful” or dangerous style. What do I stand to lose?
I guess convention-minded individuals and risk-averse organizations wouldn’t want to associate with me. But how much do I really want or need to associate with them, given how important it is to be open-minded and change-oriented these days?
Now what opportunities would I miss if I continue to be safe? How would I know if I continue being so conservative? That’s the first opportunity I’d miss: the opportunity to learn whether or not there are other kinds of opportunities. There’s the possibility that generating a little more notoriety would bring more attention my way. I don’t know if that’s true but how would I know if I don’t try?
I’ve invested enough in safe, disciplined writing to show I have control of my thoughts and words (as much as I could have). Anyone who tried to write me off as unstable or “merely” attention-mongering would look pretty foolish… or maybe that’s exactly the kind of opportunity I need.
Maybe having people question my credibility is exactly what I need — to help figure out who’s credible and who’s not. Someone could justifiably say they don’t like or approve of my (soon to be?) more colourful style, but they wouldn’t be justified to say my thinking therefore isn’t insightful, disciplined, or well-grounded. You’d lose a lot of credibility trying to argue that.
So fuck it. Credibility is essential but I need notoriety even more now.
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