15 July 2009
I took this photo immediately after the screwdriver was returned to me.
The tip.
I’ve been asked repeatedly why I don’t write as much as Marita Beth does. I’ve been asked why I stopped waxing thoughtful in my posts and am just posting dreary day-to-day stuff.
The tip.
Sometime back my wife posted a lovely review of a local restaurant – Mi Tierra – owned by a friend of ours – Damaris. That review was well-received, well-loved, but also very well visited. Do not misunderstand me, I love the traffic to the Daily KRuMB, it validates our reason for making it public. Anyone can keep a diary, but we keep one that is visible to the world. But, that was the tip. That review was circulated within my department and links to the Daily KRuMB were sent out through the entire division. Suddenly, I had a whole passel of co-workers reading my writing, looking at my photos and forming opinions about me – many of whom I have never met. The tip started to shear off exposing inner workings. Some of those people forming opinions are in an upper management capacity and I simply cannot afford to jeopardize my position or my career – make no mistake, this is my career – for the sake of philosophical rambling. I just can’t do it. So, although I cannot and will not return to edit or remove previous posts, I have to be politic in all my future writings so that I can preserve my livelihood. Because I know that some of my co-workers and much of my management will judge me by words here rather than my actions in the workplace, I choose discretion rather than individuality. One day, I hope, it won’t matter and I will be able to place my real thoughts in this space with relative impunity. But, until that day, I fear my writing shall be rather humdrum and all you shall see of me is the very tip.
Cheers
~KR (Written on 16 July 2009)
Listening to:
Black Illusion by Ozzy Osbourne
from Down to Earth
Camera: Canon PowerShot SD850 IS
Exposure: 0.033 sec (1/30)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 5.8 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire
16 July, 2009 at 10:12 am |
It is an unfortunate reality. Not only your coworkers, your management, but your customers now have full reference to you. That is why I have pulled back on blogs, twitter, facebook, etc.
Just think, what was the first thing we did when we found out the new boss at the po? We googled him and in seconds found out way more about his personal life than I’m sure he would have like. They, and others, I’m sure do the same with us. It is really quite a dangerous thing if you think about it.
16 July, 2009 at 10:36 am |
I’m not so worried about customers. If customers don’t want to buy from me because I put up a political or religious opinion, then I don’t want them as customers anyway. What I fear is management. Many of them already look down on me because I don’t fit their mold (I have long hair, a beard & sport an earring) and I don’t need to re-enforce their already low opinion of me by providing socio-politico-religious commentary on a personal site. It’s extremely sad and I hate that I have to do it, but I do.
That being said, I don’t worry overmuch about my Facebook posts because only those I approve can view them and twitter doesn’t give me enough space to be overly contentious.
~KR
16 July, 2009 at 2:59 pm |
(As much as I hate to make a post that just says this:)
Me too.
16 July, 2009 at 10:27 pm |
I worried about this for a while, but eventually stopped. Knowing that my boss (among others) follows me on Twitter keeps me from posting things I probably shouldn’t, like “our CEO is an idiot.”
With a name like Klobe I learned long ago the internet makes it terribly difficult to be anonymous, and that awareness acts as an editor at times.
It is an interesting issue; our kids won’t understand our privacy issues on the net. Graham posts anything that comes into his head!
17 July, 2009 at 8:26 am |
I understand. And I love the imagery. I also love the dynamic between Marita Beth’s and your posts. Sometimes I don’t have the time to read everything MB writes and I scan it guiltily wishing I could revel in her prose. But on those days I’m thankful for Kyle. I can still get a taste of what is going on in your lives but abridged. Please understand that I am so impressed that you do this at all. I never got the hang of it. Plus, most people only see the tip of me.
17 July, 2009 at 9:32 am |
@klobetime – That’s exactly what I think has happened here; my colleagues and upper management have become invisible editors twisting my pen in my hand (so to speak) and preventing me from saying what’s really on my mind. My boss follows me on Twitter, too and was one of our first regular readers here at the Daily KRuMB. But, then again, I also go drinking with my boss and have gotten into some right vitriolic debates over various aspects of politics, social equalities and even religion. It’s not him I’m worried about at all it’s his bosses and his peers that can shape my future at this company. Graham posts anything that comes into his head because his filters haven’t been put in place yet. He’ll, sadly enough, develop those when his professional career comes calling.
@Lori. Thanks. I’m hoping beyond hope that Marita Beth does NOT change how & why she writes. She and I share much of the same ideology so when she writes she is effectively writing for both of us. The Daily KRuMB is a very important thing to both of us and a significant part of my life. I’m sickened by the fact that I have to play the Political Correctness cards that have been dealt to me. But, she has no necessary constraints and is overall better able to cope with such constraints if they should arise.
~KR
18 July, 2009 at 5:01 pm |
I also have to be very judicious with regard to what I post – you may have noticed I am not as vocal as I have been before. Some of the people that outrank me have been scouring the web for our FB, Twitter, and MySpace pages to see who we have friended. It’s insulting!
23 July, 2009 at 8:30 am |
I have pictures, blogs, facebook, etc. FB is locked down to only those I authorize. Most of my LJ posts are locked. My general rule of thumb is to never put anything in writing or photos that I wouldn’t want my boss or my grandmother to know or see. Even posts that are locked down can be copied and pasted into e-mails. Of course, I am a talkative soul so luckily, there isn’t much I have to keep a lid on. I will hold someone else’s secrets forever, but I am terrible about keeping my own secrets!