[QOTW] Where’s The Support? [Written By Brandon Williams]

 

Support is a funny thing. It seldom comes from the places we’d expect it to come from, yet when it DOES come, it can make all the difference to our morale. Theres various levels and forms of support of course, from emotional, financial, moral, etc, and given the tremendous strides we’ve made in technology the means by which people can support each other have both evolved and devolved all at the same time. There was once a time when to support someones craft or talent it would require you taking time out of your day to attend or making a purchase showing that you believe in what said person is doing and also spreading the word verbally to others about the quality of their work in hopes to generate more revenue or attention to the product being presented. Nowadays, thanks to our various social media sites, supporting someone and spreading the word has gotten exponentially easier, because now all we have to do to show someone we support them is to “Like” it and to spread the word we can simply hit the Share button, making someone else’s good or service visible to their individual friends list or fan base. And you would think that this streamlining of the process would make people more willing and able to support because while it’s incredibly understandable that a person may not always have the free time or finances to physically support someone’s craft, one would assume that a person could at least take the two seconds to tap like and share a post to show some kind of help, but that assumption would be wrong. And it honestly baffles me, that people can be so quick to like or share a funny or possibly irrelevant piece of content, but can’t extend that same simple courtesy to someone who they claim to be a friend or associate. Or even when you take the time and energy to share and spread the word about other’s brands or events, and that same courtesy isn’t shown to you in any form, and while it may seem like a petty principle, it’s honestly maddening just because it takes so little effort to show even a modicum of support, yet it still feels as though you have to beg people to make it, while seeing them share the services/content of a complete stranger.

So my question to you, our devoted readers, is when it comes to supporting your friends and associates, what is it that drives you to do so? Or to put it bluntly, what does a person have to do to gain or earn your support, in any fashion? And to add a dynamic, what do you think it takes to generate organic support from those closest to us??? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, I look forward to hearing your insight on this matter because I’m sure we have all experienced this in some way, shape, or form.