Popular Peeps
I hear a lot of anti-popular talk around the blogosphere and it all seems to be for the sake of being anti-popular. There are people “complaining about the people behind Vitamin](http://www.robertnyman.com/2006/04/27/false-gods/#comment-4421 not including lesser-known people. I realize there are a lot of other capable people, but these are the ones who got together to do this. They’re heard because they’re prominent, but also because they’ve spent YEARS honing their skills and they’re truly masters of their craft which has given them a certain amount of credibility that others just haven’t earned yet.
I’m sure they make mistakes like we all do at some point, but they’ve earned their “position”, mostly through hard work and by the generosity of their sharing their knowledge through their blog (most of them). Maybe there are some real elitists out there who don’t bother to comment on a little guy’s blog or who didn’t take time to chat at SXSW. Heck, I’ve had an email go unanswered a time or two, but I get a more bothered by people who rant about the benefits the well known bloggers reap. There’s a reason they’re well known. They’re good at whatever it is they do and they’ve found a constructive way of letting people know it. Instead of griping, I’d love to see more people emulating the greats.
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3 Comments
Amen to that.
A few years back I was one of those rather whiny individuals, wondering why 20 or so individuals seemed to control the whole web industry from the blogging perspective. Well bloody heck, just take a look at all they’ve done. You’ll get a tiny sense of the incredible effort that goes into getting your coding, writing, designing, public speaking skills up to that level.
And for every one “famous” web developer, there are a hundred more who can code, write, design, and speak just as well. The market can only take so much, the attention span only so many blogs. Kudos to them for getting their first.
I work my rear off. I’ve been pro bono tutoring 4 developers (overseas and in the States) for a year, I’ve developed a web consultancy spanning 2 states, and I’m part of an online magazine effort launching in June. Am I well-known? Nope.
The greatest things I’ve learned is that being well-known doesn’t really mean anything all that great (sure it’s nice) and that really, if you love your craft and you can make a living by it, what more can you ask for? You are privileged and blessed and heck, that should make you happy! Not whiny.
Hey, Edward thanks for the comment! You make some really good points about the work it takes public speaking specifically. It’s something I hear everyone has a fear of, worse than death, so for those who make it past that fear it’s a huge accomplishment.
And you’re absolutely right about there being a lot of people under the radar who can do the job just as well (or maybe better), but they haven’t written a book and they haven’t done the speaking.
I’m sure there are some folks on Broadway who are much better at their craft than much of Hollywood but they’re doing what they do on stage while others are getting famous for it. I guess if you’re a complainer you’d have to choose between being famous and being good.
Me, I just want to be great and whatever it is I choose to do today. Tomorrow I’ll be great at tomorrow’s task. And maybe someday I’ll get to share a coffee with one of my tall peeps, not to be with someone famous, but to learn from someone who’s taken things farther than I’ve been able to someone who knows a little more than me.
“And maybe someday I’ll get to share a coffee with one of my tall peeps” Wouldn’t that be fun? :D