Haha, good stuff. Takes me back to my demo derby days… but that’s for another, much more hick-influenced post.

Take it easy.

Okay – let’s assume that Hugh is an evil idea thief…

…do you think it makes sense for an artist (or creatives in general) to make it easy for others to distribute and share their work?

Or does your Hugh scenario prove that it’s best to lock it up and guard your mental property?

Would that be a 351 Windsor or a 351 Cleveland?

Is he employed by Microsoft? No, he’s not. Did MS take the (unsolicited) “Big Blue Monster” off their bus? Yes they did. Highly regarded? By a couple of thousand people just like you. Successful? Mental breakdown, nervous exhaustion and living on his parents’ couch, both in Cumbria and Alpine Texas while middle-aged? Moderating his comments heavily and “morning after” erasure of twits? Sitting in a bar all day in Alpine TX? No meaningful relationships outside of the internets? Doesn’t have two quid to rub together? Works for known con-man Jason Korman (both of them having been chased out of the UK for questionable business practices) on a per drawing basis? No fat girl nod here, sorry.

But, if you’ve got examples of marketing, Web 2.0 and branding idols I should know about, give a shout.

Cluetrain and Leo Burnett before him. Both from whom Hugh has stolen from shamelessly and presented the ideas as his own: undiluted yet twisted. Are you from the past? Try watching “The Power of Nightmares” or any other Curtis documentary on advertising for starters.

2.) No, I don’t know about his “Scotland scam” – but why didn’t you link to it?

Scotland Yard is in London. Please pay attention when you read a comment or watch TV. Two words: goo gle. The information is there. I don’t have time to waste on you Hugh Neo-Cons.

3.) It looks to me like you’ve devoted an entire Twitter account to spoofing Hugh.
I’ll let the irony of that speak for itself.

Wow! You’ve really done your detective work Encyclopedia Brown! If you can tell me exactly how pointing out the 2.0 Bullshitters™ is “ironic”, you may be eligible to win some free Love Mark t-shirts!

Since you seem to think Tara “Baby” Hunt is news – I can see I am wasting my time here. If I see one more person use the word “passionate” I am going to hang myself – no disrespect.

But you could get an El Camino with a gun rack if you wanted one, from MacHuge’s Used Car Lot, Alpine, Texas.

Thanks for pointing to Tara Hunt – looks like some really great stuff there. I’m always up for learning more views on how folks are genuinely earning some social capital out there.

I agree with you on the value of educating your audience and engaging them with your passion – ultimately turning a few of them into fans, and a few of those fans into customers.

But without getting into a proxy war on behalf of Hugh – I used him as an example because I believe he has a genuine passion built into his drawings.

And the main point I’m trying to make is the results – he gave away enough that he got a ‘celeb’ status (aka, success). And now, people pay him for his work and debate about it on dinky little blogs like mine.