It’s a concession.

(If this is your first time here, thanks for coming. But before you read this post, read The Boogie Man Post and An Alternative to Brogan-Style Blogging. Otherwise this isn’t going to make sense.)

Maybe I think too much. Or maybe not enough. But whatever the case, I’ve come to a realization that contradicts almost everything I’ve been espousing over the past couple of weeks, both on this blog and in other conversations.

First, before I begin, I want to say that a handful of people have recommended that I apologize to Chris Brogan for some of the things I said about his business practices. Well, I’m not going to do that. I’m not sorry that I said what I did. I doubt I hurt Chris’s feelings; I doubt very much that I had any kind of demonstrable impact on his ability to generate income. Further, had I not said what I did, and had I not had the ensuing conversations with people who feel passionately about the issue, I wouldn’t have come to this revelation — and it’s a game changer.

Now, all of that said, I was wrong.

Chris is Paid to Think

Here’s what I’ve realized. It’s not possible to subsist on ideas alone. Philosophers think a lot, and the way they make their living is by publishing books and teaching. But a philosopher is also in business for himself. The money he makes off of his books goes to a variety of expenses that allow him to continue thinking full time. That’s what he loves to do; the market says what he does has value; he therefore has every right to continue to monetize his ideas. It makes good business sense. Moreover, his readers expect him to make money off the deal. And because they like his stuff, they support him financially whenever they can.

Chris Brogan is a marketing philosopher, in a sense. The difference between Chris and the traditional philosopher is that Chris has found a way to turn the content he gives away for free into a revenue generator. (It’s really quite brilliant — he makes money whether he charges for content or gives it away.)

I said before that this isn’t right. But it is.

I want Chris Brogan to keep giving away content for free. Heck, I want him to keep publishing books. And if he was to accept the way of thinking I’ve been espousing for the past couple of weeks, he’d have to go get himself a 9-5 to support his thought leadership habit. And that would make him far less prolific.

The more money that Chris makes, the more time he can take to sit on his butt and think. And when he sits on his butt and thinks for an extended period of time, the results are extraordinary.

Some Ideas are Better than Others

See, I was operating under the theory that anyone can do what Chris does. But over the past couple of weeks I’ve gone back and re-read some of his content. And I’m here to tell you that a person who can find inspiration so readily is in extremely rare supply. I would be doing a great disservice not only to Brogan, but to my fellow marketers if I were to encourage him to give up a revenue source that enabled him to spend more time reveling in that inspiration and less time working. (Even if the revenue stream was relatively small.)

Before you say it: No, I’m not being facetious. I still think that Chris could do without the posts dedicated exclusively to promoting an affiliate relationship. But I’m not going to begrudge him those posts anymore. I’m buying what Chris is (figuratively) selling and for the sake of the profession, I hope that others continue to (literally) buy in, too.

Does this mean that I’ll be opening MattShawBlog.com up to affiliate sponsors? No, probably not. It’s still not my cup of chowder. But I’m not going to rule it out for any of my other endeavors. As with everything, the strategy depends on the goals.

Next Round’s on Me

Thanks to everyone who has put their time and effort into contributing to this discussion. I know a lot of you feel passionately one way or another about it, so of course the topic will always be open for discussion. A special thanks to Chris Brogan for tolerating criticism so well. Chris, if I run into you at the Inbound Marketing Summit, I’d like to buy you a beer. (There will be beer, won’t there?)

Photo credit: robleto

P.S. I’m not going to use Chris as an example anymore — I think I’ve talked this example to death, and I’m sure Chris is sick of having to come here to defend himself. If I’m being perfectly objective, I’ve already taken up too much of his time. (Time he should be spending sitting on his butt and thinking.) If we do talk about this again, I’ll be sure to pick on someone else.