Another One Joins the Fray

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Don't think that just because C. August has set up shop selling political paraphernalia up in the Land of the Puritans that things have been quiet down here in Hurricane Alley....

Recently, at the end of a sub-post, I said the following:

Hmmm! Awhile back, I saw a bumper sticker saying something like, "Keep Austin Weird". Perhaps as the zoning fight heats up, supporters of freedom in land use could similarly display our sentiments: "Keep Houston Free". I like that.
Later that day, Brian Phillips of Houston Property Rights wrote me to say that he liked it, too, and now he's selling just such a bumper sticker!


I'm glad to see that this bit of thinking out loud on my part led to such a good idea on his part, and it reminds me of something I read about writing recently:
I think it's far more important to write well than most people realize. Writing doesn't just communicate ideas; it generates them. If you're bad at writing and don't like to do it, you'll miss out on most of the ideas writing would have generated.
This isn't exactly the same thing. In this case, we see that one can realize unforeseen benefits not only by writing, but also from participating in some online forums. In fact, the bouncing-around of ideas here goes a step beyond what Brian recalled: It was a remark of his, to the effect that Houston is America's freest city, on an email list we both participate in that I had in mind when I was writing that post.

As you ponder the benefits of refining your ideas by writing, and by bouncing them around with others, don't forget to stop by Brian's blog to make a donation and get your bumper sticker today -- especially if you live in or near Houston!

-- CAV

2 comments:

C. August said...

Thanks for the plug, but I think I missed my marketing chance. I got a ton of blog traffic over the weekend as various blogs and forums picked up that graphic, but by the time I got a CafePress storefront set up, the traffic boom was mostly over.

Still, I ordered myself a shirt and coffee mug, so that will be fun.

And in reference to your post, I got the idea for the graphic from one of Burgess' comments. So I agree that bouncing around ideas in online forums can be rewarding. (I suppose if he wants to ask for royalties, I'd be willing to discuss it. We can work out some percentage of the $8.00 I've made from it.)

Gus Van Horn said...

Whaddya mean? THIS is your big marketing chance! Heh!

Perhaps the idea will "bounce" over to Brian as well, although we are a litle distracted by Ike right about now, so maybe I'll recommend it at some point, if he hasn't already considered it.

The neat thing we're seeing here, in terms of grassroots cultural activism isn't just that there are more Objectivist bloggers, which is good in and of itself, but that we're starting to feed off each other, trafficwise and idea-wise.