Absolutely not. I enjoy a relatively high degree of success and profile but am also very tied into a community that has not reached the same success points I have. At some point, you become less of the guy that benefits from others and more of the kind that provides the benefits to others. In my case, I’m doing what I can to help the community I’m involved with grow and mature.

On the flip side, there are certain high profile and successful folks (one I’m thinking of is a hot lifecasting blonde from Pittsburgh) who seems to have done the opposite and no longer has the time for the community she came up in (in terms of her professional career). I say this as hearsay and not someone who has any particular first hand knowledge, so iJus****, forgive me if I’m pegging you wrong. ;-)

On the other side of the divide are people who are trying to make it, as I was 3 years ago, and taking cheap shots at people who have so much noise to filter through that they are trying to find the signal among it all. Those folks trying to make it can benefit by the notion of building organic and measured success and that there is no such thing as an “A List” – there is no such thing as a vertical hierarchy of success where being in the Technorati Top 100 is the success point. Blogging, brand and profile has become much more meta and it no longer is definable as a single ladder to success.

However, I must agree with your post and hope that others will stick around to actually read the whole thing.

Cliche that is it, but very true, “if you can’t run with the big dawgs stay on the porch.”

And many should have just stayed on the porch.

Ok, that’s a lie.

It is very true, if you want to play with the big boys, you need to roll like one and let them know you’re in the game.

That’s just dirty.

I saw the title and automatically clicked in to read. You’re dangerous, you know that?

Time to start making better topics for my blog.

Well done. (okay, now I need to read the article.)