This first ran on Dec. 30, but it was so close to the holidays and we like the topic so much, we wanted to re-run it so you don’t miss it.
Michael Schechter is the digital marketing director for Honora Pearls, a monthly columnist for JCK Magazine, and the founder of Gen-Next Jewelers. He also steals and shares your best ideas and quotes on his Tumblr blog, Smarter Than I Am.
I like me. A lot. Sadly, readers have not woken up to the amazingness that emanates from within me. In fact, even when I manage to capture their attention, I seem to lose them just as quickly. So why, why does someone as charming and as smart as I am (so says my mom) struggle to capture hearts, minds and most importantly the continuing attention of all of you?
Normally I would just blame this on you guys. I mean why not, it is perfectly rational and it means I don’t have to change. However, today it appears that I am having a lucid moment (I miss these). Rather than shoving my head back into the warm and inviting sand, I am going to go against my grain for a moment and list a few of the reason why I think you keep leaving me.
1) I talk about me… a lot. In fact it is all I seem to talk about. I strive to delight by sharing insights I glimpsed from doing this or that. I honestly thought you would benefit from my nuggets of wisdom, yet it appears that you might actually want me to put some thought into your problems.
2) I’m more conversational than I am helpful… I love to talk to you. It is a great way to spend the day. It is also a great way to avoid doing any actual work. I don’t know about you, but I barely feel the urge to focus on anything remotely resembling a solution to the challenges we both face anymore.
3) I keep talking about that thing I’m doing… All the time, in fact, you’ve probably come up with a drinking game. Take a shot whenever I talk about that new thing I’m doing. Two shots if I manage to talk about that thing I’m doing while talking about something totally unrelated. Apparently soft selling every second of every day is actually a hard sell… who knew?
4) My brilliance is rather inconsistent… When I talk to you, I am giving you solid gold. Each sentence is very shiny, perfectly wonderful and amazingly useful to you. That said, I only tend to throw these essential ideas your way when they fit into my schedule. No matter how many times I tell you that I’m a busy guy, it appears that you actually expect me to try and do this on a regular basis.
5) I am EVERYWHERE… and I want you to be too. As if my Facebook, my Twitter and my blog weren’t enough, I also want you to read and share everything I write on our corporate site as well as my Tumblr. Who amongst us doesn’t love a shiny new toy, but maybe, just maybe, I spread myself a bit thin this year and made it harder for you to find my aforementioned brilliance.
This doesn’t mean you should worry about me, I will be fine. Any minute now an A-list blogger is going to come across this post, recognize my talent and share this wisdom with their wealth of followers. How could they not? I mean it’s like I said at the beginning, I’m amazing! Yet while this is all well and good, I can’t fight the feeling that if I keep this up in 2011, I am just going to keep losing whoever comes my way.
So, go ahead, chastise me. Tell me how you think I should do it differently next year. Or better yet, if like me you are having a moment of clarity, be honest and share where you may have gotten it wrong in 2010.
Authors note: While there is a dash of hyperbole and a sprinkle of observation, these are all things I am a little (ok, very) guilty of and hope amongst hopes to improve on in the coming year.
Follow Michael Schechter on Twitter and check out your best ideas and quotes on his Tumblr blog, Smarter Than I Am.