Seeing that my blog is just a few days old and has humble origins as an assignment for an online journalism class, it would seem odd if one of my posts had already caught the eye of a major media organization.
But, much to my surprise and delight, it's happened.
The top, featured story on Yahoo! is currently one titled, "Think you hate networking?".
There's no other explanation: Yahoo! has already discovered the awesomeness of D Tram's Awesome Blog. They're on top of things, as per usual. Kudos, Yahoo!.
Anyway, the author's introduction to the feature is a thinly-veiled condemnation of my ramblings about the guest speaker at the SGA meeting. She writes, "Today's careers are made and broken by one's ability to network ... That's the way the world is. You're not going to change it by whining."
Well okay then, Penelope Trunk. Nice name, by the way. I mean that.
From there, Trunk lists five reasons that supposedly show why "networking is actually a lot easier than you think." And, lo and behold, reason numero uno takes aim at yours truly: "You don't have to be a manipulator."
Trunk tells us that "Networking is about being nice." She warns us that it is merely "people who are ineffective at networking" who think that the process involves manipulation. Networking, in fact, involves generosity or, as she puts it, "adding value to peoples' lives."
But you know what? At the end of this explanation, she offers this clincher: "The more diverse a group of people you can help, the more diverse the type of help you can get."
That concept in and of itself may not be manipulation, per say, but it's certainly not an example of pure generosity - as she purports it to be - either.
And really, when you disguise something as generosity that's truly just a calculated, strategic attempt to add an advantageous contact to your network... how's that NOT manipulative?
D Tram's Awesome Blog, 1. Yahoo!, 0.
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Hi. Congratulations on your new blog!. And thank you for the compliment about my name :)
I thought I'd just say hi, and let you know that I liked that you linked to my column, even if you think I'm being manipulative in the end.
But I have a suggestion. Try doing something for someone, just to be nice, and decide for yourself if it feels manipulative or not. I find that it's hard to feel manipulative when I'm being geniuinely kind -- even if I know that down the line I'm going to have to ask for favors. We all have to ask for favors at one point or another. There is no getting through this world all by ourselves. But asking for favors is easier when we have also been in the position of giving them. Not because we are owed, but because we know that it actually feels good to be the giver.
Penelope
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