by Jerome du Bois
Not long from now an art dealer, say, a guy from Phoenix, maybe, will be schmoozing some high-roller at a New York City party. After the few minutes the high-roller will excuse himself and go out onto the balcony to smoke a cigar. While puffing, he flips open his cell phone, gets on the Internet, and Googles the art dealer's name. "Uh-huh," he murmurs, puffing and scrolling, scrolling and puffing.
Most of what the high-roller reads is about the art dealer, not by the art dealer. The dealer doesn't manage the public information about himself. Anybody can say whatever they want about him, publish it, and there's only one thing he can do about it: blog.
For all I know, there may be idiots out there on the Internet impersonating me, leaving outrageous comments using my name, our URL, even our email. I haven't got the time or inclination to go scouring the blogs putting out little fires everywhere. My best defense is to show who I am, to manage my public profile.
The Tears of Things takes certain positions, we make clear what we believe, promote, and stand for. Any impostor trying to defame Catherine or myself must contend with the hundreds of postings (and images), and the thousands of words we have built into this blog over the last 20 months and counting.
Everybody should blog. The old privacy is over. If you have any dealings with others in public, especially on a regular basis, you should blog. Hugh Hewitt, whose book Blog inspired this post, writes in his Preface (page x):
Everyone is potentially a journalist, including your executive assistant and the messenger bike boy. Everyone could have a blog and a cell phone that can snap a picture of you to put on it.
You need to figure this out. You need to get ahead of it."
Preach it, brother, it's the New Word.
Tonight, Catherine and I will post our verrry long swan song to the Phoenix art scene, giving details and emails showing how Glen Lineberry, Lisa Greve, and Bentley Projects behaved shamefully.
What will they be able to say about it, we wonder?
Posted by Jerome at January 26, 2005 10:04 AM | TrackBack