Brand Zero Praxis

Image by Raymond Solar.

UPDATE: I’ve changed my praxis a bit.

Yesterday, I made a post stating that I won’t talk about big media franchises on this blog anymore, calling it “Brand Zero.” The aim of it is to promote works that will never gain visibility on large geek culture blogs for one reason or another rather than posting about some major brand that doesn’t need any help getting the word out.

Today, I will clarify how I will practice Brand Zero.

– I define “major brand” or “major media franchise” as any IP that has positive mentions on major geek culture blogs such as Bleeding Cool, Tor.com, Anime News Network, etc.

– The above label will only apply to modern iterations of the brand, defined here as anything from 1980 onward. This means, for example, that I may talk about Dungeons and Dragons as it relates to Appendix N, or about The Shadow’s classic incarnation. By contrast, I will not talk about old NES or Genesis games like Mario and Sonic.

– I will not talk about major brands on this blog or on public-facing social media, whether or not the brand has gone woke. I will also not like, share, or comment on content relating to major brands.

– If the brand has not gone woke, I will still partake of it, whether by consuming the media directly or by consuming media related to it. But as stated before, I won’t share it publicly online.

Talking about bigger, better-funded brands shows that we lack confidence in not only our own work, but those of us who are laboring hard to create alternatives. Big brands have huge marketing departments, well-trafficked blogs, and an army of devoted fans to market for them. The least we can do is build up those who lack those advantages.

Creating real competition is the only way to make actual changes.

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Go read Reavers of the Void by friend of the blog Bradford C. Walker. It posits a sci-fi future where Christianity dominates the galaxy and actually improves things.