It's all marketing.

It’s all marketing. Everybody’s got an agenda. Everybody’s selling something.

Perfect example — the Grammys. It seems like there’s more and more shit music than good music these days. (I will admit, I do like some of the new stuff, like Lorde, Imagine Dragons, even Macklemore — he’s original without being a douchebag.) But overall, I get scared every year watching the Grammys. Scared for the future of music. Or maybe just scared because I’m getting older and more out of touch.

Maybe it’s just me being an elitist. But I see so many talentless wannabes putting out crap songs and albums. But those crap songs and albums sell a shit ton. Why? Marketing. Selling something to people who will buy anything.

Then there’s this whole Duck Dynasty farce. You don’t think that was all done on purpose? Sure, it may have backfired for A&E — ratings are down. I think they underestimated our ability to see through bullshit. But Phil Robertson knew what he was doing when he opened his closed-minded mouth. He riled up an entire population of redneck bible thumpers, and in the process, raised awareness for the Robertson brand. That’s just good business — even if it is self-righteous and intolerant.

How about Richard Sherman, the cornerback for the Seahawks who never shuts up? That’s good marketing too. It was a brilliant move to yell incoherently into a microphone and tell the whole world how awesome he thinks he is. People that would otherwise never have a reason to know this guy’s name, were talking about him all last week. Mission accomplished.

Oh, and don’t forget blog writers. Talk about self-righteous. Sheesh!

Everybody has an agenda. A little self-promotion can be a good thing. But with some people, their agenda will never be about anything other than them.

I see it all the time, especially at work. People so fake you wonder if they’re even there. People who always feel like they need to be somebody they’re not just to get somewhere they think they want to be. People who will say and do anything to make themselves look good in the eyes of somebody they think they need to impress. People who are always marketing themselves — for all the wrong reasons.

It’s got to be exhausting — constantly selling something that isn’t even real.

I’ll pass. The only thing I’m selling is the truth. (I’m not even sure what that means. It just sounds cool. At least it did when I thought of it. Now it just sounds ridiculous.)

Oh, and this blog. I’m selling that too. Keep reading. Tell your friends. Maybe I’ll have my own blog t-shirts someday…

JS