Actually, most of us are a lot closer to being one than that. But, that is for another post. Today is about having something said taken out of context. It happens to all of us at one time or another. He said, she said. It gets passed along to a third party and all of a sudden the original meaning gets twisted and lost in the shuffle.
Now imagine that happening within the confines of a New York Times article for the world to see. Suddenly, your thirty seconds of fame feels like a protracted embarrassment. You are Joan Rivers with a multitude of bad Botox and plastic surgery. The only difference is you know you look like a Muppet who never got a filter installed on your artificially crafted lips and all you want to do is hide, or explain.
My friend, Francesca from the blog Mayhem and Moxie, recently attended a blogging conference in Baltimore, Maryland in which a New York Times reporter spoke to her about her reasons for creating a blog and flying across the country to meet up with other women bloggers. The article, entitled Honey, Don't Bother Mommy. I'm Too Busy Building My Brand, discusses the entire "mommy blog" phenomenon within the context of this conference aimed at helping women bloggers grow and develop their blogs. Several of the attendees were quoted. Unfortunately for Francesca, her in depth discussion with this reporter was distilled down to this, '“My husband calls it my expensive hobby,” she said with a laugh.'
I know Francesca feels like a bit of an ass. How? Well, she said so on her site yesterday. She is being far too hard on herself. Yet, I can understand how she feels and her desire to put everything within context. This is an extremely intelligent well educated woman who is also quite funny. I can see how this all happened. After having a pleasant discussion with this female reporter about her interest in connecting with others, using her marketing skills obtained from her M.B.A., and fulfilling a desire to write, she made a flip comment about the fact that her hobby does not generate any income. A cute way to round out an article, this left my friend feeling marginalized and belittled.
Sadly, more often than not, perception is reality. I am sure this is why Francesca felt so strongly that she needed to clarify. To those that know her personally, or through her blog (as I am one), realize that she is more than that silly quote. Really, all we can do is hope that the people who know us best understand that sometimes a few words uttered out of context are just that.
Thank God I was not at that conference trying to make witty repartee with a NY Times reporter. With my luck, I would have been quoted as saying something like, "I just came for the crab cakes."
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