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What to Name Your New -ISM? By Matt Ames | |
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You
were in traffic, just dozing off or munching on a big burrito when it happened.
'Huh' you thought or 'riiiiight.' 'This is a good idea man, maybe no one
else has thought of it either.' So, you scribbled it down. Don't be too
surprised, you may have a new -ISM on your hands. This new - ISM could mean
great things for you and your family. For starters it means no more rummaging
through copies of Spare Time Employment magazine looking for ways to make
ends meet. By taking the right steps you could find the financial security
you've been yearning for. A common initial mistake for new - ISM inventors is to get bogged down in worrying about whether it is right or some other toilsome exercise. Leave that to the OTHER guy. What you should really be concerned about is what to name your new - ISM. Its name will have EVERYTHING to do with its future success or failure. Where to Start Initially, you may want to glorify your favorite sports team or rock band and name the - ISM after them. This is not a well thought out approach. The two most common approaches to - ISM naming are naming the - ISM after yourself or after an important component of your new idea. Both of these approaches are not without merit. Sticking with convention is a smart move here. Naming the -ISM After Yourself Naming the -ISM after yourself has many benifits. For one thing, if you name the - ISM after yourself YOU get credit. If your last name is Buckler people will ask, 'Of Bucklerism!?' This kind of instant recognition is like money in the bank: Glamorous parties, money thrown at your feet, tickets to important cultural events and the ease of finding yourself in Web serches. But if you name the -ISM after someone other than yourself people will often say, 'Yeah, well prove you invented it.' And without some official document it will be hard to disprove these naysayers. It is important to keep in mind that the benefits of naming an -ISM after yourself apply ONLY if it is a good -ISM . One only need look at the life of John Nazi to see the value of this axiom. Naming the -ISM After a Part of Your Idea If you are a person of less material needs naming your new -ISM after an important component in your philosophy could be more your style. This is a very helpful approach. If your -ISM is about humans, 'Humanism' would be a safe bet if it wasn't taken. But you get the idea. If the -ISM depends on 'electrons' for much of its convincing power, 'electronism' is solid and lets the reader know the focus of the -ISM. A cheap but useful addition to your -ISM could be a properly placed prefix. This will give your -ISM a fresh, new feel and make it more intellectually appealing. See how 'electronism' is less impressive than 'Postelectronism.' Further Concerns One more thing to keep in mind when naming your -ISM is who the '-ISTS' will be. No one will claim allegiance with a silly sounding -IST. No one in his or her right mind would want to be a 'Bozoist'. Obviously you do not want your -ISTS to be something vulgar such as Swineists. But what reaction do you want when people refer to themselves as '____ists?' Peppy curiosity? Stupefaction? Paranoid alertness? If your new -ISM has to do with light for instance, believers could be called 'Luminists.' See how nice and airy that is? People will say, 'Ah, a Luminist. How nice. How can I become one?' So, take care in choosing who your '-ISTS' will be. Conclusion Keep in mind that no one will remember what your -ISM was all about. But they will remember its name. So, name it wisely. And remember, without a name its just a bunch of ideas. |
