“Temperate temperance is best; intemperate temperance injures the cause of temperance…”
– Mark Twain
Clemens’ words… always funny. The complete quote is actually, “Intemperate temperance injures the cause of temperance, while temperate temperance helps it in its fight against intemperate intemperance.”
He’s being funny. But he’s also being quite serious: his message is that when the rules are too strict, it causes societal problems. We have to have a little leeway.
As is the case with the good Rotarians of Palos Verdes. They do good things for their community, but they always do them in moderation. Because too much of anything is not necessarily a good thing. (That’s a James Kirk quote, by the way.)
It’s easy to get excited and go overboard. It’s easy to not get excited enough, and to not do enough.
Enough: that’s the trick. And that’s where temperance comes in. It flourishes with experience. After 20 years of web sites and digital marketing, we have the experience to know how to make things tick. With temperance.
Temperance: An Interfanatic Quality
Every year, there’s a new fad. Many people jump on board immediately, hoping to ride the wave. We don’t do that. We tend to watch things for a bit, see how they work – if they stick. Then and only then, if it seems the new solution has staying power, we get good at it. Really, really good at it.
“If… the new solution has staying power, Interfanatic get good at it. Really, really good at it.”
There was a time, not that long ago even, that businesses were choosing to eschew a website in favor of a MySpace or Facebook page. As confidence in Facebook has eroded, those who controlled their narrative and presence with their own website have done better.
Facebook certainly has a place in digital marketing. But if you don’t control your message, you’re at the whims of others. Cambridge Analytica, political ads, and many other sideshows taint perception of Facebook. Do you really want you primary message tainted?
The point is, use a bit of temperance to keep your keel in the water.
Platforms come and go. Social Media comes and goes. Snap was quite en vogue a few years ago, but now it’s more popular with certain demographics in certain places than others.
Let Interfanatic be the experts so you can focus on your business. It’s what we do.
And Twain has some marked words about experts, too. But today we celebrate his keen wit and understanding of one of our favorite qualities. Temperance.
The South Bay Beer & Wine Festival: Temperance for a Good Time
Just a couple of years ago, Karen Greenberg asked us to help get Rotary’s South Bay Beer & Wine Festival website fixed up. It was our pleasure to help.
Since then, another Rotarian has stepped in to take over, and we always agree that free can be a beautiful thing. The event continues to be a success and we will always support the event and the great people behind it.
Without forethought and temperance, their festival would be a nightmare. But when good people come together to do good things with a bit of temperance in all they do, the result is beautiful.
As we look forward to the nerve-wracking future directly ahead of us, we do so with temperance. With patience. With the understanding that comes with 20 years of experience. These coming days will not be easy. But they will go more smoothly if we keep a healthy dose of temperate temperance at our side.
We’re here, working hard to support you for the coming years. It is Interfanatic‘s great pleasure to help.
This week’s image:
Interfanatic‘s founder, Ryan Delane, takes or creates every image you see in our social feed.
This week’s image is but a screenshot. I thought it was funny that while I chose the quality of temperance to celebrate this week, the stock market was crashing – surely intemperate temperance made a physical reality. It is a reaction to a great deal of intemperance at the heart of the politics of the past couple of years. At Interfanatic, we’re calm and we carry on. Be safe. We’re on your side.