I had forgotten to mention in my posts about my trip to Memphis something else from the Little Richard concert. Before he got started, his crew came out to the crowd and asked if there were any women who wanted to get up on stage and dance. Because I was right up front one guy asked me directly if I wanted to. But I turned him down.
To be honest, a primary reason was that I didn't want to give up my nice spot for the Huey Lewis and the News concert that would follow. I also feared that they would take one look at the rest of me (the guy could only see my head above the barrier) and send me off the stage…
But the other reason was that there didn't seem to be anything to be gained by it. Yeah, I guess getting to dance on stage with Little Richard sounds like an interesting thing to do, but did I really need to exhibit for thousands of people? Was there anything to be gained by that? I thought not.
Which reminds me of a lesson I ended up learning a few weeks ago, because it happened again: a press publication offered to interview me and put my picture in their paper. Like the last time, I decided to take them up on it. After all, some people pay a lot of money to get into the press - so I should take my free opportunities when I can get them, right?
I no longer think so. I mean, the article isn't horrible and the picture - well, I guess it's ok although I don't really like it. But as I was getting interviewed, and as I was saying all these things to the reporter that didn't seem to be getting written down (we did this over the phone) I started to wonder just how well I was going to get represented when it finally came out. In the end I wasn't represented badly, but about 5 insightful sentences got completely ignored and two others got condensed into one sentence I didn't exactly say. As I said, I guess it's all ok, but I sort of feel like I dodged a bullet. I do not have a life where "any press is good press;" I have a life where credibility is of the utmost importance. Now, exposure is good. The most credible voice in the world will have no impact if no one hears it. But I've come to realize that not all exposure of that voice is good exposure if it doesn't convey that voice faithfully.
Anyway, if you happen to pick up the April 28th copy of the Boston Business Journal you'll happen to see me and some other people from my journal adorn the cover of the supplement. But if you can't find it, it's just as well.