Crushing it!

So, yeah, he's getting some internet attention, but so are lots of other people doing some really cool things and building up brands. And they're getting a lot more attention, doing it with purpose and immense dedication, and doing it in ways that your readers can repeat and learn from in their own businesses. In a year of all his self-anointed fame, he's got what, less than 1000 followers on Twitter and a blog that's been steeply declining in readership? The question you should be asking is where his “brand” went wrong, cause there's nothing going right here.

Finally, as for the comparison to Howard Stern: Howard's brand was built on years of hard work, not partying. On wit and honesty, not incoherent ramblings and lies. Stern's personality is self-effacing, which contributes to his popularity, while Arthur's is self-deluding, which contributes to his unpopularity. Are they both shocking? Yeah, I can agree with that. But Howard is deliberately shocking, and his attention is due precisely to his honesty and irreverence for *everyone*. Arthur is *unintentionally* shocking, and the attention he gets is due precisely to his rampant dishonesty and irreverence towards women alone. So, no, there's nothing to compare here.

I think a lot of us are missing the point here.

What I will say, Lewis, is that despite the hilarity gained from his delusions of grandeur, and our obsession with laughing at him rather than with him – is that IF he were talking about a RACE instead of a GENDER you would not be posting about his amazing branding skills. You wouldn't be basking in his brilliance of attention getting if he slammed African Americans…or would you? It’s something to seriously ask yourself. Why is it so much worse to bash a race over a gender?

As a woman, am I offended by his website? Very mildly. It’s mostly harmless. At its most basic level, http://www.arthurkade.com is fun to read because he's an audacious shit talker. He’s not a talented actor, he’s not as good looking as he brags to be, and he is certainly not a good writer…I’m sorry, “soon-to-be award winning author” lol. Mostly its fun to read because those three truths about Kade, never seem to let his readers down: he constantly delivers horrible acting, bad photos, and run on sentences. We love it because his hype about himself just doesn’t quite match the product. Arthur Kade – the Kadeicorn as he likes to call himself (lol) – isn't really like a unicorn at all….hence one of the reasons we like to read his website. There have been many before him. He is not an anomaly.

But, there are two sides to seeing Arthur's website. The first is…its funny. How does this super douchy guy really think he's so awesome?! Right?! Its how we felt about Spencer and Heidi (at first). There is something mesmerizing about audacity. It’s why we love reality TV. It’s why daytime television shows like Maury exist. We like watching stupid people. We like to see them fight. We wanna laugh at them. We know that we shouldn’t condone the programming, but we do it anyway…because it isn’t personal to our own lives…it isn’t real. It’s almost like a car accident on the freeway that we slow down for and take in…seeing people laying on the ground, bloodied from broken glass. You shouldn’t stare but you do. Or when news stations play footage of 9/11 and we stop everything, fixated on what had once seemed impossible.

The danger in Arthur’s website is the social behavioral example to other men for Sexual Objectification. As women, we laugh off the website…because he isn’t talking about one of us personally. This is how we as women are. It’s all funny until its personal. Its hilarious until some guy you brought home from the bar that night has to leave right after sex because he wasn’t impressed by your sexual prowess. Or because he has a girlfriend. Or because, bottom line, he only sees you as an object for his personal pleasure. You aren’t a person… you’re a place for him to stick his dick. Doesn’t sound that funny anymore, does it? Just kinda sounds sad and gross.

Fact is – a lot of women objectify themselves. I sure do from time to time, we all do. We live in a patriarchal society and we have learned to “be cool” with objectification. Because if we aren't, men will call us names, like feminist or bitch. So we play into their own stereotype. But then again – in this whole race vs. gender discussion, I would dare say that African Americans have done the same with their own stereotypes in the last few decades, and that has lead to a lot of serious controversy. And I promise you that if Arthur Kade rated black people on a scale based on their own stereotypes, you wouldn’t think he was a branding genius. But since he rates women, you’re ok with it. Here’s the thing Lewis, the joke is on Arthur, and that’s WHY we pay attention. It’s not because he believes in himself and ignores the haters. It’s not because he creates a brand by just taking a normal word and putting his name in front of it. You know what he is, Lewis?? He is R. Kelly Trapped in the Closet 1-12. R. Kelly didn’t know the joke was on him. When he finally caught on, he made chapters 13-24 and it sucked.

As a long time follower of The Journey, his posts aren’t even close to as entertaining as they used to be. He’s sorta losing his touch. He’s a flash in the pan douchebag along with his MANY predecessors. I think Arthur is becoming all too aware of why we’re laughing, and honestly, he’s not smart enough to keep up the joke. He’s not sasha baron cohen. He’s Philly’s answer to The Jersey Shore. Don’t be dumb, Lewis – you fell into his trap. He needs people like you to give him credit for doing nothing more than being a narcassist. See: Spencer Pratt.

But…since you don't know what I look like, I could just be:

6 and under-Don’t bother
Not worth listing or discussing. Not even friend or date worthy.

Of course we all need some toughness in us. However, Arthur is way beyond that. He clearly suffers from Narcissistic Personality Disorder, a trait of which is the incapability to be self-aware and have empathy. That's where the unintentional comedy comes from. He has zero self-awareness. Look up NPD, I think you'll find most symptoms fit him.

The difference is that Stern is under a contract where he gets paid $$$ for his shtick.AK, on the other hand, is simply unemployed.

Have you noticed that there aren't even any advertisers on his blog? AK has totally failed to monetize his fame.

It's very easy to be famous – to be much much much more famous than AK ever will be. Dylan Klebold, John Wayne Gacy and Lee Harvey Oswald will all be remembered long after Kade is dead.

It's a lot harder to turn fame into the two things Arthur clearly wants: a paycheck and peer recognition in the form of Oscars and Emmies.

Lewis, to say that Arthur is successful because he brings a lot of attention to himself misses the point. Arthur is a failure because he is broke and will never be an actual working, paid actor.

*Why* would someone else do what he is doing? That is like rolling yourself in honey and hurling yourself at a bear. And by being painfully uncensored, he has ruined his reputation. (more like he has ruined his potential to have a good one in the future) No props for that I am afraid. He is turning himself into a pariah. He gets attention and it fuels the Kade Machine, but to what end? The 'take away' from Arthur Kade is 'are a few minutes of fame' really worth ruining the rest of your life over? It is his choice, but I don't think he knows what he is doing. I think he is mentally incompetent.