I’ve been beyond busy this week with my client Bid4Assets’ special auction next week, so this is the first time I’ve had to say for the record, I am more than happy to proclaim myself a nobody. As Ike Pigott said, the company is stellar.
Once again (as I often am, it’s amazing how many situations lend themselves to this), I am reminded of Alice’s Restaurant (Arlo Guthrie):
"You know, if one person, just one person does it they may think he’s really sick and they won’t take him. And if two people, two people do it, in harmony, they may think they’re both faggots and they won’t take either of them. And three people do it, three, can you imagine, three people walking in singin a bar of Alice’s Restaurant and walking out. They may think it’s an organization. And can you, can you imagine fifty people a day, I said fifty people a day walking in singin a bar of Alice’s Restaurant and walking out. And friends, they may think it’s a movement."
And to some degree, that IS what blogging is. It is a movement, and it makes all of us nobodies, somebodies. I am both proud and humbled to be part of it.
Speaking of nobodies who are really somebodies, somebody I’m pleased to have gotten to know better in the past week is Robert French from the University of Auburn. Robert invited Andrea Weckerle, Kami Huyse and me to speak with two of his classes earlier this week. Conversation ranged from the unfortunate PR character blogs to what it is like being a professional businesswoman to the issues/ills of the PR business to career planning.
It was absolutely terrific to speak with the students. And we were all honored when Robert asked us to become contributors to Marcom Blog, a blog in which PR and MarCom professionals mentor his students. Robert, your students may have had momentary angst when you assigned their final projects, but I am sure they know how lucky they are to have you as a professor.
On a semi-serious note, to end this post:
When I phone my mum, I often self-identify as "just me." The other day, she called me on it and told me that "just me" was a pretty important person. Now, she’s my mum and she’s supposed to say things like that. But…. all joking about nobodies and somebodies and fake characters with delusions of grandeur (if you follow this blog you know who I mean), one of the things that I like most about blogging is that even a nobody is somebody to someone. All you need is one reader and you can make a difference.
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“Even a nobody is somebody to someone. All you need is one reader and you can make a difference.” Well said, Susan. See you on the Marcom and on the I.A.N blogs.
Welcome to Marcomblog, Susan! I am really pleased that Robert managed to attract some woman bloggers/PR professionals to the blog. Not that the bloggers we have already aren’t fantastic, but I couldn’t help but wonder where the female bloggers were, or even if there were any.
It was great talking to you and Andrea in class last Tuesday and then to find out that you would continue to participate. Your first with the outline of the climate of different ways to go in the field was exactly what I’ve been trying to get out of the Marcombloggers all semester! Thanks so much and I look forward to reading your future posts.
Hi – I met some BlogHer folk at a brunch today, and they referred me to your blog for the Nobodies movement. I write the blog for Robert Fuller, who literally wrote the book on Somebodies & Nobodies: http://www.breakingranks.net
I’ve already left a note on the IAN site offering our support, and I’m thrilled to join the Nobody club. I just didn’t Somebodies & Nobodies mentioned anywhere, and I thought I should point this out as a reference point for anyone talking about what it means to be “Somebody” vs. “Nobody”.