Sabah Ahmed

why did it take me so long to finally join the world of blogging? i have long been active in online communities, it seems that blogging would be the logical next step. perhaps intimidation of transparency (see noah’s post on transparency)? perhaps fear of a public display of my thoughts and writing skills (or lack thereof)? like the first day of school, my first step into shaping my public profile seems daunting and definitive of how others will perceive me. but wait - this isn’t the first time. i have already been consciously manipulating my reputation for years.

i edit my profiles on myspace, facebook, meetup, and linkedin based on how others see it. i choose what is displayed on my netflix, twitter, creative hotlist, and coroflot profiles. i edit these profiles based on not on how other will see it but more on how i want others to see it. i guess it’s easier to manipulate impersonal forms than discussion posts. with no filter between my thoughts and the public, it’s one step closer to nakedness.

this reminds me of a certain elevator in a certain office that i used to work at. the waiting lobby had a tv propped up in the corner that played the security camera video in real time. you could see who didnt hold the elevator for you and who was in your office just 5 min ahead of you. i also noticed a higher level of elevator etiquette than most new york offices. knowing you are being watched affects your behavior as (i suppose) it did here. i know many friends who have disabled their accounts on myspace or facebook because they know they are in public and viewable by recruiters, employees, and bosses. i’ve been reading freakonomics (book + blog) and they talk a lot about the influence of society over the influence of money…. idk, ill finish this later.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 18th, 2007 at 3:36 pm and is filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.