A summary of things I've recently noticed happening to me, as the direct result of having a weblog.
- Coworkers say things to me like "you can't blog this, but..." and "No way. If I tell you, it'll probably show up on your blog!"
- After introducing myself to a group of people (say, before giving a 1.5 hour "introduction to MySQL" type of talk), one of the folks in the audience also chimes in "and he has a popular weblog."
- Random e-mail from journalists: "Hey, I read that piece you wrote about foo. Can we talk on the phone later today?"
- Werid e-mail from people I've never heard of asking the strangest things. Often, I'm a convenient lightening rod for disgruntled Yahoo users. That's always fun. Except when it's not, which is most of the time.
But I'm sure I'm not the only one.
Posted by jzawodn at July 08, 2004 12:16 AM
Mixing a blogger into the workplace really seems to confuse a lot of co-workers. Some people will treat you like a sleazy reporter who's waiting to leak that juicy news bit, while others think you have "too much time" on your hands or equate blogging to a teenager's diary.
The "celebrity" effect you mentioned is simply the product of having a popular website - whether it's an information site, a community site, or a popular blog. You'll have journalists hoping on getting news from you, or mislead users asking for Customer Support on whatever subject you're blogging about.
Either way, it's annoying as hell...
A similar effect takes place when I carry my digital camera around. People feel the need to pose, smile, or act very self-conscious every time I aim. I often wonder what pro photographers do to be so disarming.
heh, that's easy. Don't be a popular blogger. (Works for me.)
Micah, what professional photographers do to get folks to not look so posed is to take lots of pictures. Some won't even load the camera until fifteen minutes into a session. By that point, you're usually just blurring into the background for most folks.
Jeremy, don't change a thing! Your blog is always full of interesting thoughts and information. Don't let the reporters and coworkers get to you. As for the disgruntled Yahoo users, well...
Another trick is using a medium format camera rather than SLR or point-and-click. You can hold it at waist level and look down at the viewfinder, and many people don't even notice that wierd box you're holding or recognize what it is.
But on the bottom line JZ, you know you love being known, everyone (usually) does.
Hi Jeremy,
Pretend you don't hear them telling you not to blog this or to not blog that.
One always finds something interesting to read here, my blog is a boring one though I tend to not blog too much about things I get upto at work.
Your unhappy Yahoo! users can be forwarded to /dev/null from the sounds of it.
--jm
Or family and friends finish telling you a story with, "You know, you should blog this!"
