Responding to Scoble
Last week I wrote an entry about mentoring. In it, I mentioned that one of my business-mentors, who doesn't even know me, has been Robert Scoble. Scoble is a blogger who effectively changed the way a large number of people (myself included) percieved Microsoft by giving us a glimpse into the daily life of its employees.
Amidst all the various people that link to his blog, he noticed a little link coming from blog into his. He took time out, came on over, and read my post on my needs for mentoring. And then he posted a little thank you note.
This is why he "gets it." I'm no one important to him; but, for whatever rhyme or reason, he took time to post on my blog. To a blogger, having one of the people come by your blog and post anything is quite the honor. But that's the magic of blogs... it lets us all interact with people we'd normally have no other avenues to connect with. Him posting on my blog reminds me that I need to join the conversation on others blogs more frequently.
Growing up, I've had this image - mostly from Hollywood movies and the like - that people of great success don't often interact with people of less success. The CEO of a company doesn't have time for the guy answering the phone. A millionare isn't interested in a struggling coffee shop owner's daily life. I don't know if that's really true or not. Quite regularly when I've reached out to people that I consider to have had great success, I've found them to be very human and sometimes even humbled by my admiration of them (not that I'm anyone special).
This is the beauty of things like blogs... it allows people of great success to reach down and say hi to people of less success, and vice versa. Scoble gets to post on my blog, and I get to post on his. This approachability is going to be key not only for people, but for corporations, the government, and the church.
So thanks, Scoble, for stopping by and saying hello. Thanks for showing how important transparency is, and how approachability can change perceptions. And if you're ever on your way to Nashville, you can have a lunch on me.
Amidst all the various people that link to his blog, he noticed a little link coming from blog into his. He took time out, came on over, and read my post on my needs for mentoring. And then he posted a little thank you note.
This is why he "gets it." I'm no one important to him; but, for whatever rhyme or reason, he took time to post on my blog. To a blogger, having one of the people come by your blog and post anything is quite the honor. But that's the magic of blogs... it lets us all interact with people we'd normally have no other avenues to connect with. Him posting on my blog reminds me that I need to join the conversation on others blogs more frequently.
Growing up, I've had this image - mostly from Hollywood movies and the like - that people of great success don't often interact with people of less success. The CEO of a company doesn't have time for the guy answering the phone. A millionare isn't interested in a struggling coffee shop owner's daily life. I don't know if that's really true or not. Quite regularly when I've reached out to people that I consider to have had great success, I've found them to be very human and sometimes even humbled by my admiration of them (not that I'm anyone special).
This is the beauty of things like blogs... it allows people of great success to reach down and say hi to people of less success, and vice versa. Scoble gets to post on my blog, and I get to post on his. This approachability is going to be key not only for people, but for corporations, the government, and the church.
So thanks, Scoble, for stopping by and saying hello. Thanks for showing how important transparency is, and how approachability can change perceptions. And if you're ever on your way to Nashville, you can have a lunch on me.