A Little Transparency Doesn’t Hurt Anyone
May 17th, 2007I love this piece not for the amount of space dedicated to Twitter (irony noted) but for the first few lines:
“Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and co-founder Biz Stone have taken executive transparency to new heights, not only using their own Twitter micro-blogging service frequently to share details of their personal lives, but also publishing their own phone numbers and business address on Twitter’s Contact page. So it was easy for me to get in touch with them to set up a visit to their office in San Francisco.”
Yes! Being reachable doesn’t mean that you just post your e-mail or IM handle. IMO, that’s a bit impersonal. If you want to talk to me, you can call me (917-837-9706). I’ve gotten many phone calls since I’ve published my phone number on my blog (I learned that from Robert Scoble, a hero of mine). I love getting phone calls from readers who want to share cool stuff or to just say hello. Friends and colleagues know that when it comes to my life, WYSISWG. I don’t hide much. To quote Kramer from Seinfeld, “I’m out there Jerry, and I’m lovin’ every minute of it” 
Disagree if you want. I’m not one to ignore those that have different thoughts on the subject. We are talking about transparency, right?
May 18th, 2007 at 11:19 am
I would be interested to know whether men feel more comfortable than women being “transparent,” which (and maybe this is my own paranoia here) could translate into “findable” on the web. As someone who’s been the victim of a stalker, I’m leery of this idea and have tried to keep my web self and my physical self separate (but haven’t really tried hard or much succeeded, I think).
May 22nd, 2007 at 8:53 am
I came here to say the same basic thing that Cindi did above - I think the idea of posting contact information on the web is great, but for women, the risks just seem to outweigh the benefits. I’d love to be able to post my phone number, talk to my readers and meet new people whenever they are in my neck of the woods - but I just can’t seem to get over the creepy feeling of putting myself too much out there and becoming too findable. It’s not that you can’t find me if you don’t want to - I’ve had a couple of unsolicited text messages in the last months that came from people digging up my cell phone number. I just don’t feel comfortable being “too” findable!
May 25th, 2007 at 3:15 pm
It’s so funny that you posted this recently. Someone looked me up on the web at my new job and called my direct line. When I was not able to talk to them, they sent email to my work address. Yeah. Transparency can be freaking scary. And when you throw children into the mix…. (shiver)