Is the brand name "Freedomain Radio" causing problems?

[TruthBeTold]

I recently read this Time article - http://time.com/2949435/what-i-learned-as-a-woman-at-a-mens-rights-conference/ .  In it, the reporter calls Stefan a "radio host" and mentions an interview with Elam on his "radio show".  Now part of that is probably due to the sort-of sloppy introduction he got at the Conference, but I've also seen Stefan have to correct his introduction many other times.

 

So is the problem that the show/site is called "Freedomain Radio"?

 

Maybe members of the community can help come up with suggestions for a clearer, better name?

[Kevin Beal]

As I understand it, in terms of traffic, the brand is "Stefan Molyneux". "Freedomain Radio" has remained about the same in terms of hits, but his name is how people come across the show and his name is a very quickly growing keyword. I think the name of the show isn't really that important. It's pretty amazing that an FDR video is featured in a Time Magazine Online article. But oh my god is this one huge example of poisoning the well, but that's exactly what everyone there was expecting, so... This is a very interesting piece, though. She really doesn't like Stef. She apparently found a mental health professional that says that very little is set in the personality within the first 5 - 10 years: 

Dr. Jay Giedd, who serves as chief of the National Institute of Mental Health’s Unit on Brain Imaging in the Child Psychiatry Branch, said that he didn’t think this idea “could be more wrong.” Though a child’s brain reaches 90% of its size by age 5, that doesn’t mean it’s done developing. “Almost nothing is set in the first five years or even in the first 10,” he said. “There’s no scientific support for these claims.”

 I'm actually shocked about that one. The ACE study is the largest of it's kind and it shows this very clearly. Has the good doctor heard about this or any of the many studies that show the effects of spanking on children? Am I missing something, or is what the doctor is saying obviously false? And two great quotes that are perfect for taking out of context: 

“Women who choose a–holes guarantee child abuse,” he says. “All the cold-hearted jerks who run the world came out of the vaginas of women who married a–holes. I don’t know how to make the world a better place without holding women accountable for choosing a–holes.”

  

“Women worship at the feet of the devil and wonder why the world is evil,” he adds later. “And then know what they say? ‘We’re victims!’”

But any press is good press, right?

[PatrickC]

_________________________________

 

"Still, being surrounded by men who belly-laughed at rape jokes and pinned evil elements of human nature wholesale on women was emotionally taxing at best and self-destructive at worst. Once, during a particularly upsetting segment of the program, I had to excuse myself from the auditorium to seek refuge on the bug-filled bank of Lake St. Clair. I kept wondering why I had volunteered to fly 600 miles to attend the conference alone, to surround myself not just with crass ideological opponents, but with people with violent Internet histories who believed my very existence oppressed them. But to emerge on the other side of this with both my sanity and a worthwhile story, I would have to actually adopt a grain of their advice. I would have to stop feeling like a victim, and in turn cast aside all of the humiliating and unfair and devastating experiences I had collected as a woman."

 

_________________________________

 

The argument from offence and pleas to the emotions are such an insidiously female practice, other than perhaps the most ideological of leftist. The denial of female privilege in this regard is quite remarkable, but no less unsurprising.

 

Jessica, how on earth did you forget to bring your smelling salts?

[TruthBeTold]

But any press is good press, right?

 

Having one of Stefan's videos embedded into a Time article is pretty damn significant, for sure.

 

And whoa boy, you weren't kidding about the search hits - https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=Freedomain%20Radio%2C%20Stefan%20Molyneux&cmpt=q

[Wesley]

deleted after realizing I misread the quote

[Carl Green]

Quote

Dr. Jay Giedd, who serves as chief of the National Institute of Mental Health’s Unit on Brain Imaging in the Child Psychiatry Branch, said that he didn’t think this idea “could be more wrong.”

 

The national part there might be why "the good" doctor would be so blind.  Being in the "child" psychiatry department might also limit his exposure to the effects of abuse after childhood. (he doesn't get to see the results.)

[nathanm]

 

 

“Women who choose assholes guarantee child abuse,” he says. “All the cold-hearted jerks who run the world came out of the vaginas of women who married assholes. I don’t know how to make the world a better place without holding women accountable for choosing assholes.”

 

Ummmm…is her quoting this supposed to make Stef look bad?  In-context, out-of-context it doesn't matter, the statement makes sense.  The problem is ASSHOLES, not the gender of the ASSHOLE.

[voluntaryistmitch]

Yeah, I think the "Radio" in the tile is very confusing for a lot of people.  Anybody know why Stef decided to call it that?

[luminescent]

I think Stef has said that at the time he picked the name Free Domain Radio he hadn't realized that he would later make the site into something so big.  If he could go back in time and change it he would, but other than that it is what it is.  It's the same with his YouTube channel:  "stefbot" is just what he had thought of at the time, not realizing how big he would try to make it in the future.Also the initials being FDR is a little unfortunate.  :)The site's already got a reputation and changing it would lose a lot of people in the confusion, plus it would be a huge amount of work to change it everywhere, plus links on other people's sites would be outdated, etc.  Once something's spread out on the internet it can't be controlled anymore, so for the rest of eternity (or thereabouts) people would be coming across the old name, written in articles and whatnot.  It's not a bad name, just could be better, so changing it would end up being more trouble than it's worth. 

 

That's my understanding of it anyway.

[TruthBeTold]

Yeah, I think the "Radio" in the tile is very confusing for a lot of people.  Anybody know why Stef decided to call it that?

 

My understanding is that his blog titled "Freedomain" at http://freedomain.blogspot.com started first, and so when the podcasts began, he tacked on Radio to indicate it was a broadcast from Freedomain.

 

 

I honestly think that taking a good look at the branding and floating around some ideas is a good thing.  In fact, now may be the best time because things are still on an upward swing, his popularity is growing, he has a loyal base that will follow along, and he's got the new studio and (hopefully soon ) the documentary.  It seems like a pivotal moment, and a re-launch using the right type of branding could reap big rewards.

[voluntaryistmitch]

My understanding is that his blog titled "Freedomain" at http://freedomain.blogspot.com started first, and so when the podcasts began, he tacked on Radio to indicate it was a broadcast from Freedomain.

 

 

I honestly think that taking a good look at the branding and floating around some ideas is a good thing.  In fact, now may be the best time because things are still on an upward swing, his popularity is growing, he has a loyal base that will follow along, and he's got the new studio and (hopefully soon ) the documentary.  It seems like a pivotal moment, and a re-launch using the right type of branding could reap big rewards.

 

Yeah, I agree with your assessment.

[Demosthenes_]

Ummmm…is her quoting this supposed to make Stef look bad?  In-context, out-of-context it doesn't matter, the statement makes sense.  The problem is ASSHOLES, not the gender of the ASSHOLE.

The author is trying to rebuttal the argument that women are not victims by making Stef look like an asshole. I am not suggesting it is a valid method of argument. Their argument would be better if they only quoted the third sentence, but it seems true that the author has a conscience to provide context to what is being quoted before demonizing who said it.

 

I feel the article would have been progressive to the reader if leftist and feminist ideologies were compared to what Stefan had explained instead of bashing him on what he said. The NIMH representative was giving his opinion, at best.

 

Web MD - http://www.webmd.com/parenting/news/20120702/spanking-linked-long-term-mental-health-issues

AAP - http://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/Pages/Spanking-Linked-to-Mental-Illness.aspx

US Health - http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2012/07/02/spanking-batters-kids-mental-health-study

 

All contradict the theory that spanking has nothing to do with cognitive development.

 

Even the NIMH recognizes physical abuse and neglect are causative to mental issues. It may be a case that they do not recognize spanking as abuse.

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/news/science-news/2011/depressed-teens-with-history-of-abuse-less-likely-to-respond-to-combination-treatment.shtml

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/news/science-news/2007/history-of-childhood-abuse-or-neglect-increases-risk-of-major-depression.shtml

 

I feel the author saw a statement which did not portray women as being the helpless and held the group of people who made poor decisions as being responsible for those decisions. To some this is rational, to some others it may be blasphemy and unthinkable.

My understanding is that his blog titled "Freedomain" at http://freedomain.blogspot.com started first, and so when the podcasts began, he tacked on Radio to indicate it was a broadcast from Freedomain.

 

 

I honestly think that taking a good look at the branding and floating around some ideas is a good thing.  In fact, now may be the best time because things are still on an upward swing, his popularity is growing, he has a loyal base that will follow along, and he's got the new studio and (hopefully soon ) the documentary.  It seems like a pivotal moment, and a re-launch using the right type of branding could reap big rewards.

I think it could go both ways as a positive or negative if there were to be a brand name change.

Much of the viewers/listeners of FDR are pretty close to the community. If the name were to change it might not be a big deal.

 

On the flip side  FDR as starting to take a big swing, as you said. If people who are not too active in the community start looking for FDR that heard about it from a conference and cannot find the new domain easily it could hurt the stream of new listeners.

 

I feel in general it could be a positive thing if the name were to changed, but I do not think the current name is hurting the brand so a change may not be imminent if one were to ever occur.