Another set of random thoughts have come together today to form a conclusion: I'm famous. I'm a movie star. Johnny Depp has surely heard of me.
World famous in Poland!
Not really, of course. I'm about as famous as my Walgreens pharmacist. But I've noticed that the people who meet me who have seen my blog or videos think I'm famous, and Sean and I occasionally get treated as semi-celebrities. Not in the champagne and limos sense, but more the "nervous to meet you" sense. It's yet another unanticipated result of the glory of being active on the Internetz, within a community. Some people see my stuff, my picture, my name, so I'm famous. (Seriously, guys, whatever. I don't have the actual numbers, but I think all of 20 people read my blog regularly. Which is fine.)
What's got me thinking about this? First off, I'm working hard on a session for SQL Saturday #35, and I actually have to practice talking to empty rooms and pointing at a blank wall (I haven't finished my demos yet, okay?). So I envision standing in front of a room full of people, talking about SQLy things. There's this…not illusion…but enhanced appearance of authority, because I stand up front and talk in front of a PowerPoint. Of course, anyone with any salt at all will be able to say whether I actually know what I'm talking about or not. I'm just exploring the idea of perceived authority.
Another thing that has me thinking on this is Brent Ozar's most recent blog "Dear Blog Author", where he says "bloggers seem like celebrities". It's true, they (we) do. When we see someone in the context of a fairly reliable medium, then we're influenced to associate the person with reliability, or expertise. "Hey, Oprah is on the internet, and so is Jen! So Jen is famous, like Oprah!" The more austere the medium, the more authority a person seems to have. So people who webcast are seen as more knowledgeable than bloggers (generally speaking), and book authors are more knowledgeable than webcasters.
Soooo, let's see. Blog, check. Internet videos, check. Public speaking, May 22 check. I guess I'll write a book, and then the millions will pour in, right?
Right?
In all seriousness though, I'm writing and videoing and speaking to improve my own SQL skills, and hopefully to help out (and entertain) you guys. I'm not one of the SQL demigods, but I know some stuff. I'm really glad you're coming along for the ride. Even if you turned down my autograph headshots again.
-Jen McCown