Blogs and real life part I: I’ve been Blankbabied!
Published by Becky S August 24th, 2005 in tech, newsy
This post might be a bad idea:
- I do not like meta-blogging
- I do not blog about my personal life
However, there’s been some talk lately about the intersection of blogs and real life and the influence of the former upon the latter. Specifically, my friend and co-worker Scott was on the front page of last Sunday’s Philadelphia Inquirer, telling the story of his blog Blankbaby and how it helped him land his current job. There is now a movement afoot to coin the term Blankbabied, which means to get hired because of your weblog (i.e., the opposite of getting Dooced).
I started Good Grief! in January 2004 because I wanted a website but didn’t know anything about HTML or FTP or finding a host. Along came Typepad, and I couldn’t resist an opportunity to write something and have it instantly appear on the Internet. Little did I know how this weblog would influence my offline life:
- I got dumped, primarily over a post about the 2004 Madrid bombings.
- In January 2005 I met someone who accidentally found me on a Google search. We’ve been dating for the past six months.
- I got Blankbabied and have just started a fabulous new job.
- I’ve had the pleasure of meeting (and now working with) several Philadelphia bloggers.
The above list is as personal as I’ve ever been in this space, but I wrote it because I’m fascinated by the social impact of technology. This entry is most definitely a temporary digression from the usual smart-ass posts. The story of being Blankbabied is in the extended entry, to be followed by the story of dating via Google (maybe). After that, no more of the private stuff. My mom reads this, you know.
Earlier this summer, I got an unexpected e-mail from Scott of Blankbaby fame. He works for a large university here in Philly and had been wandering around campus (for work purposes, I’m sure) when he ran into a fellow computing employee—let’s call him boss-downstairs-number-two. BDN2 asked Scott if he knew this “Becky person” with the big butt blog.
Long story short: BDN2 read Good Grief! because Scott so kindly links here from time to time. Did BDN2 read this weblog and instantly offer me a job? Of course not. However, he did find out that I like to write, and he did find out that I’m an IT professional with some SQL Server experience—enough to make him think that I might be interested in his group’s open position. So he had Scott forward me a job description.
Now I work in the academic world and couldn’t be happier. The campus is beautiful (it has a big, broken button courtesy of my art hero), the food trucks are plentiful, the work is interesting, and there’s lots of learnin’ to do. Thanks, Scott, for helping me get Blankbabied!
blankbaby claus oldenburg Newsy sculpture tech weblog
well–as a blogger who leans towards the personal (oh who am i kidding–i revel in personal)–i just got warm fuzzies all over
let’s all sing cum-ba-ya
ok in all seriousness–totally cool that you got blankbabied!
oh and i forgot to mention that i get googles a lot for people searching for amputee pics–and that’s just creepy
i am hoping this goggle guy wasn’t googling “big asses” or some such prior to your relationship
I’ve re-read your post about Madrid a couple times. I can’t figure out how it would precipiate a breakup. Unless you were dating a pundit. Which leads me to believe that you used to date Wolf Blitzer.
That’s a good office fake rumor to start about someone.
Who had August 24th in the pool? Did I get that square?
/inside joke?
Aw, thanks Dana. Ugh, that’s creepy about the amputee pics. Though some popular Googles that lead here are “becky butt” and “testicle pictures,” I’m happy to report that the Google guy was looking for neither of these things.
Terry, I was dating a wanna-be pundit. Excellent Wolf Blitzer rumor–I think it would give me a certain cachet around campus.
Ryan, I can only hope that you kid.
But seriously, Ryan had “boss-downstairs,” and I had “Thing 1″ and “Thing 2.” Who should win that pool?
I think the question now becomes, are your co-workers going to become characters on your blog? If so I request the name, ‘Super Sexxy Dude’ or Scott.. whichever one works best for you.
Anywho, I didn’t do much to get you Blankbabied, it is all you! Though I will be expecting 10% of your first year salary.
Oh, and I wasn’t ‘wandering around campus,’ I was ‘purposefully striding across campus like a Nordic god.’
Becky–in addition to getting Blankbabied I think we should coin a term for YOU getting your boyfriend from having a blog. Choices include, getting “goodgriefed” or getting “doesthisblogmakemybuttlookbigged”? Chime in here people.
And I just read that Madrid post. Wanna-be pundit? I can think of a few choice expressions, but I am trying not to curse in this space until your probation is over. That is not dialogue, it’s monologue. In addition to being long-winded, he inspired 0 comments. This blog, and you, are so much better without that/him. Plus, your new guy that you got via doesthisblogmakemybuttlookbigged is fantastic.
Thanks for not cursing, Sassy. True, I met someone via the blog, but I also got dumped, so I’m not sure that anyone would want to coin a term for that.
Re: “the long-winded one.” In fairness, I don’t think that the number of comments represents the quality of any particular post, and the site was much younger back when he was was writing (therefore fewer readers). But yeah, he sure could go on and on.
Oh, and Scott–headhunters collect their money from the employers, not job candidates. So you’ll have to talk to BDN1 and BDN2 about your fee.
Why is the button broken?
I was (sort of the same way you were) blankbabied in 2003. does that pre-date the actual term and therefore make me exempt?
Clair, someone with a big butt sat on the button and broke it.
K, if this happened to you back in ‘03, maybe the term should be changed to “sighclubbed.”
Becky–is the comments section really the first mention of BDN1 and BND2? And are they capable of making great messes and cleaning them up ala the Dr. Seuss characters? Do they have matching outfits?
And what is this office pool? When you finally cracked and revealed the locale of your new job and refer to bosses?
As for the getting dumped because of your blog–that could be getting Goodgriefed, and the acquiring of a new hottie could be getting doesthisblogmakemybuttlookbigged. Or maybe that could be shortened to getting buttlookbigged.
Boy, that was one big-ass butt.
I guess that last statement was kind of redundant, wasn’t it?
Perhaps the button did not really cave under the pressure of a big butt –maybe it fell several stories from a giant with an enormous shirt and broke upon impact with the concrete. I suppose the giant would have a gigantic butt too, but that is unrelated.
I have to say: blankbabied sounds much better than sighclubbed.