Oy this social media. It used to be easier to keep work & personal life separate.
This was personal life:
2 sons & their best friend ,random day at the summer cabin in the 90's
and this was work lifeThe two rarely mixed. I thought it was important not to let on how I spent my non-professional time. Or that I even had a personal life. I did a lot of magazine and NY Times assignments that were odd or quirky or even dangerous. I worried if my clients knew I had a family they might not give me the same work. In retrospect, I bet they wouldn't care. But, you know what they say about hindsight, right? Then a few years ago I started this blog, and then started shooting Shear Spirit.
About then's when the veil dropped.
Behind the scenes shooting Mason-Dixon Knitting: Outside the Lines
then came Facebook, and Twitter and Linked In and OH FUGGEDABOUT IT! I can't keep straight who is work and what is personal. I just try to look presentable in public.Which brings us to Friday, I traveled to NY for a meeting at my favorite publisher's (read that as: the one who is giving me the next book contract) to talk about art direction for another project with Joan Tapper. Yayaya! details soon, new adventures on the horizon. From there, downtown to a photographers' trade show at the Javitz Center, got teased about my knitting blog as usual by macho male colleagues, (yeah, I'm looking at you Jake) , listened to a pep rally for social media & Twitter (yeah I'm looking at you @photojack) BTW? Knitbloggers are light years ahead of even most gearhead photographers in this realm. I went home, woke up the next morning and off to StitchesEast, the knitters trade show in Hartford, to sign books and browse.
If you're keeping score, that's 2 tradeshows in 2 days in 2 cities, each was part work/part social. Does it matter anymore? is it better in this increasingly tech driven world to have transparency between your personal life & your business world and just be a human? Will we all soon speak in 140 characters or less no matter who we talk to, be it spouse, boss or that guy who hangs out at the bar in the center of town?
And more importantly, do you want to know if I managed to buy a skein of yarn this weekend? I did! Next post.
13 comments:
Wow. Busy weekend.
The separation of work and personal life allows some of us to leave work at work. Sometimes, that is important.
Otoh, I'm often jealous of those who seem to merge the two - as you do.
Around my house, the lines between work and play are also often blurred and I think the online stuff reflects that. There's no anonymity for the self-employed with an online presence, since getting the name out there is part of the game and the businesses connected with our names are a matter of public record.
I figure as long as I'm not doing (or at least not documenting ;-) anything shameful or mean, it's all good.
Great seeing you at Stitches, even if just for a second! I was telling my mom about your Gaias later as we were browsing, helping her find ideas for an easy project with great results. Believe it or not, I didn't buy a single thing there! I think I'm addicted to the challenge of matching stash with project.
This is possibly one of my favorite blogs ever. :)
*bounce bounce* A new project with Joan!!!!
*bounce bounce*
That is the best possible news. Can't wait for more details!!
I think that blurring the lines between work and personal adds to opportunities! Yayy Gale! Sounds like you're handling both sides of your life beautifully.
Can't wait to see the NEW YARN!
Thumbs up for breaking the yarn barrier! It's great that you should post about the exact thing that I have been thinking about for awhile. I have long kept, art, craft, design, and life sort of separate but my lines have been blurring mightily too. It seemed somehow unprofessional to mix them. Pah. You give me courage.
Being able to compartmentalize is the only thing keeping me out of prison most days. :p
You are so busy-busy-busy. Are you making/finding time for bread? It's finally getting cool enough here for me to think about getting back into the kitchen.
I wanna see yarn. I'm betting it's blue or green or blue green. ;^)
xo
As long as everyone is good looking or at least *cute for age and weight*, this is all fine!
Everybody always looks good in your photos, even when playing the bagpipes.
Interesting idea. I feel rather un-younified these days. Knitting me, housing me, horse me. But I like to keep it all clean, just in case someone peeks over the fence. Hey, my word is 'hermana'- cool.
I need to let some more personal blur into work - the latter sure has happened a lot, and I need it to balance out better!
Or maybe I just need work that is more personal, period. You keep me thinking, that's for sure.
The stories of kitchens-full-of-eels and knitting-hats-for-nephews give us so much more of a sense of who is peeking through that lens at the world. Your life gives you your viewpoint. How can you not merge the professional and the personal?
No, I refuse to allow the 140 characters or less deal to take over. I don't text much, but even then don't abbreviate and use proper punctuation. I'm a dinosaur that won't give in.
Bought MANY skeins of yarn. Oh yeah....
And congrats on the new work...can't wait to see it! (And you...I miss you.)
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