(As noted in Part 1, I've ignored basic blogging guidelines by writing under a pseudonym and not writing about my area of expertise. Both were a conscious choice on my part and now I'll tell you why.)
My expertise is teaching people skills to managers—or, teaching managers how to balance compassion with the bottom line. I lived it and breathed it for the past 12 years and, frankly, The Lull is a chance to breathe something new. Take a break. Renew my interests in other subjects.
More important, though, Lull is a response to a wicked, politically motivated rumor circling the company that laid me off: She's a technophobe, a Luddite. The gossipers supported this rumor with the fact that I'd never posted any comments to our Web sites, forums, blogs, or social media sites. (They didn't know, I suppose, that I'd been feeding ideas to my writers and letting them have the honor of posting.) What the gossipers failed to do was ask questions. Like "Why don't you post any comments?"
Of course, had they asked questions, they would have arrived at the truth. It's a failing of many, many managers who want only to control a situation, not understand it. Had they bothered, here's what they would have learned about me:
I'm shy. I'm most comfortable with people one-on-one; more than three is too many. I avoid large gatherings, including festivals, parties, networking events, weddings, and funerals. Facebook, Twitter, and forums feel like large gatherings to me.
I joined Facebook several months ago because it's the first step in WowOWow's internship program. I reached out to only one of the people I knew on Facebook and invited her to be my friend. I thought this would be enough to satisfy the WowOWow requirement and allow me to move on to the next step. But immediately I received friend invitations from numerous Facebook members, which mortified me. I realize that getting friends is the goal for most Facebook users; it just wasn't my goal at the time. This has stymied my advancement in WowOWow's program.
I know I need an online presence. I appreciate the power of social- and business-networking sites to help connect lost loved ones, plan a revolution, and get a job. I'm just not ready yet.
Lull is my way of going to the "party" without actively participating in it. I'm the one in the corner—observing, making mental notes, and enjoying the spectacle. If you stop by, great; if you don't, that's okay, too. I just need to be a wallflower for a while before I get the nerve to do more.
Using an alias is merely a safety net. When I step beyond my introversion, I'll post my real name and maybe my photo. (However, you should know that both the wooden cat and the real one in the current pic are far more photogenic than I am. I don't want to scare readers.)
So there it is. I'm not a cat and my name's not Lill. If that's a problem for you, let me know. We can talk about it one-on-one.
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