Talkin 'bout my reputation
Oh yes...this photo was taken early on in my new life in SF...mouth full of pizza, a little too much beer. At any time, anyone could dig up all sorts of embarassing moments and missteps for me. Ah...but really...that's only part of the picture.
You could 'Google Me'. That's a good start. If you have time and patience, you can follow along with my blog...or even go through some of my most popular posts. You could be impressed by my mentions on well-read blogs (I've had old friends email me when I've appeared on Scobleizer) or you could judge me by my T'rati ranking. Then again, you could not give a damn about any of that and like the fact that I ocassionally drop a nugget of something on marketing or talk about technology you might not hear about on TechCrunch.
Some have found me through LinkedIN, others through my Flickr photos...there are a myriad of other sites that bring interesting connections, and sometimes longer term relationships develop out of each of these touch points, from a 'hey, I like your photos' to a 'I think we have lots in common, we should meet'.
I've definitely met a good deal of people on IRC, I approach many through their own blogs, I meet people through other people's blogs (mostly Chris').
Then there are 'topics' that people connect on. I've met some pretty fantastic women online because, well, we have a 'thing' or two in common sometimes [and good to note that we don't all or always see eye to eye], and I didn't bond with them just because they are women.
But what does this all have to do with anything?
Well...I certainly wouldn't want to reduce it to a balanced spreadsheet of clicks and ratings. That isn't me....it may be a reflection of me in some transactions. Hell, I screwed up my credit rating years ago...which took me forever to dig myself out of. Then I moved to the U.S. and I have to build it all over again (didn't have an Amex). I know that isn't the sum of me.
I've had clients that would go to the ends of the earth to sing my praises, others who think I'm full of crap. I've had employers who would warn the world against hiring me and others who wish I would come back. I have old friends who love me and others who think I'm a total beotch. I have people who ask me to speak at conferences because of my 'expertise' and others who have never heard of me. Some people who read my blog, then meet me in person are disappointed. Others think more highly of me.
Little concentric circles of impressions. Most are solidified when we meet. In person. Face to face.
I've been reading alot of academic studies on online reputation. Personally, I don't think it is possible to truly automate it. Personally, I don't think we should. People behave differently online. We lose our sense of intuition without personal contact. I can read your words, but are you real? Everything is gameable.
Online, we are all #1 in our industry, an authority on our area, and a leader in our field. Online, we have 112,492 friends. Online, we are connected to CEO's of Fortune 500's by 2 degrees. Online, we keep ourselves in-check when we need to. Online, we list positive endorsements, pat one another's backs and list our accomplishments bigger than they actually ever were. We can be 'Gods' online. Kind of like a resume, eh?
Man...don't we all get a little tired of the charade? Doesn't anyone just want to say, "Hey, listen. Human here. I've done good work. I've done poor work. I'm learning. I'm growing. I have really positive attributes and some bad habits, too. You and I may or may not get along. I hope so. I'll really try."
We all know it's a farce anyway...everything looks good until we have to take a deeper leap of faith. Maybe it's a credit card number for purchase. Maybe it's meeting in person. Maybe it's hiring someone. Yeah, we are getting more likely to take that leap, but as we do, we are experiencing more and more 'buyers remorse', and, as we get more trusting, there are those who are ready to take advantage of it. Where does that leave us? Back to the good ole days where we knew someone well enough to trust their recommendations. Good old fashioned non-scalable word of mouth.
Ask yourself. If you haven't actually talked to me in person (or know someone who has who you can verify beyond a shadow of a doubt you can trust), how do you know I'm (for)real? Snakes on a Blog? Real? BowieChick? Real? [they have their share of impersonators...who is to verify?]
Okay...enough...how about you? Are you for real?
7 Comments:
I really appreciated this post. Thanks. Best, rama
Indeed I am. And I'm still waiting for that business card that you promised to send to me. ;)
Wow. This took some serious courage! Talk about "owning it". The Disco Cowgirl + cream funk soda microbrand is awesome :)
It's seems like a "duh" moment (to quote Kathy) to say that honesty is one of the best forms of marketing. It's refreshing to listen to a company (like flock in the video above for example) admit that there's work to be done, and that they've got a long way to go. It helps you to empathise, and to connect to them.
Yet it's often hard for us to remember to do that ourselves, especially in our online lives.
Thanks for this, Tara, it was a nice (and funny ;) ) reminder that real > "perfect".
It's always felt a little bit like a dream to me, this on-line world. It doesn't follow the natural laws of Life. Here I am being snarky on my blog and three seconds later I'm engulfed in silly debate about Cheese Whiz via Skype, five minutes later I'm problem solving with a group of strangers in World of Warcraft and half an hour later I'm being the polished authority in my field. And then I close the lid. It's raining outside. My dog is hungry.
It's so fluid and the context changes so rapidly that I drop pieces of me in random places. They're all me, little atoms of me, but probably an incomplete picture looked at one by one. Like viewing the Mona Lisa through a magnifying glass.
And then I can close the lid and it all goes away and I'm left with my self. I'm not sure I ever feel I'm left with me self when I'm on-line or that people can have that experience of Who I Am. Not sure they need to.
Good post Tara. Made me think. Oh, and I'm not saying I'm a Mona Lisa, more along the lines of we all are. I feel like a Pollack more often than not.
Cheers.
Wait, wait, I'm real. What's that worth?
Excellent post Tara. I was thinking about this very thing the other day when I was contemplating creating a profile on lavalife (a dating site for those who don't know and a whole other conversation...).
Everything we do online get documented , indexed, and linked to for an indefinite length of time. And unlike the "real" world, it's harder to say "oh, I was drunk" and forget it ever happened. We leave a trail of our thoughts, dreams, and mistakes everywhere we surf. It wouldn't take much for someone to gather the pieces we leave behind to build a complete picture of who we are, how we've changed, and what we want to become. A bit scary? yes. But I think this is what makes the Internet "real".
Our two worlds are blending together at a rapid pace and it won't be long before they become one entity. The days of anonymously surfing as webdude777 are over.
Thanks for the stimulating post Tara.
"how do you know I'm (for)real?"
While I have met you in "real life", we're still waiting for the DNA results to come back to determine whether or not you are in fact, real.
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home