[burntoutfire]

IMO, as long as you're presenting yourself in a honest and upright manner, there's nothing wrong with trying to gain recognition. Of course, the difficulty is that you will be likely drowned out by people who are dishonest - competition for attention is effectively a race to the bottom (with rare exceptions such as John Carmack, where his skill and achievement level are so high that he does not need to lie and embelish to actually astonish people). But, if you partake, you add to the cesspool, which contradicts your original goal of making the world a better place.