A-Lister Envy? Or am I just old-fashioned

Pssst I have read with great interest the sub-conversations and related posts that came out of my ~~thoughtful musings~~ rant about Shel's comments regarding McDonald's new blog. There are a few themes I wanted to comment on.

Is A-Lister Envy my latest ailment?
Oh, I hope not. I consider myself a definite Q-Lister. BlogPulse doesn't even rank my blog and I'm pretty far down in the Technorati take on things. I blog because I love writing, and I love thinking about technology & marketing. And (selfishly but honestly) also because I love seeing those thoughts *captured*. Even if it's on my own publishing platform aka my blog. So my frustration with A-listers is less based on jealousy of their success, but more on the *tone* in which I perceive them to be conducting the conversation in. More of an "I'm *telling* you and you'd better listen" rather than "Hey, I have some great, successful experience and here are my thoughts based on that. Do with it what you want." This may be the Canadian in me showing through. Which leads me to ...

Is Shel Israel my latest nemesis?
Nemesis Again, I hope not. I received a private email from a colleague of Shel's who indicated that I am likely mis-reading "candid" as "arrogance". Fair comment. I have never met Shel, though I am looking forward to hearing him speak at AIMS in Toronto in March (something I had signed up for before the eDrama (you have to scroll for the Feb 3rd post - Jeremiah, I'm having linking trouble with your post)) and perhaps commiserating over a beer at the Peel Pub. I have read with interest the comments about his being supportive of new bloggers like Kami over at Communication Overtones. And I know that people like Tara Hunt think highly of him as well. His book is on my "To Read" shelf and I will likely steal his good ideas and pass them off to my boss as my own. And I in no way begrudge him his success. But this is what's tough about the Blogosphere .. the misreading of tone. Which is why, especially with the rapid international growth that is happening in the blogosphere, that bloggers need to take more care with their tone. Which leads me to my terrible analogy ...

What kind of Conversation are we talking about?
Bw_martini Is it like a cocktail party? Then I just picture a bunch of old-timers standing around like Sean Connery in a tuxedo, drinking shaken not stirred martinis, and then throwing them dismissively on new-comers. And I don't know if it's protectionism, or genuine arrogance, or a perverse initiation ritual, or just east-coast American-speak (as it was characterized to me by my private email correspondent) (Oh, and before everyone gets all CRAZY, I, myself am an American, Connecticut-born, Texas-bred). But I find it troubling, this tone.

Oldfashioned Now, it is not unique to the blogosphere ... it is a hallmark of passionate people. My friend, Daniel (no blog), and I often discuss the lack of civility in Canadian parliament. But I wonder why we can't be passionate without harsh words. And why those of us, in particular, who believe so passionately in this medium, aren't more civil. [Note to self: order Lynne Truss' Talk to the Hand] Speaking of civil ...

Apologies to my mother
I have to again take a page from Tara's book. The best (worst) part about the last few days has been reading quotes from my previous article that all start with "Holy Crap!"

Classy! Clearly I need to take my own advice about first blog impressions.

Technorati Tags: a-lister, blogger+civility, conversations

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