This is a tribute to a stranger. But, things have changed quite a bit, and truly "friend" and "stranger" mean different things these days...the days of Web 2.0!
The Inspiration
I just saw a post at SocialMedian.com about Robert Scoble.
The news is that Scoble--well known for his blog "Scobleizer"--is leaving his current job. I never knew he had a job, but I know a little about his blog and him. If you are into social media, video, blogging and such, you probably know who he is.
I am quietly a fan. So, I commented on the SocialMedian post:
"I love that guy. Never met him, but have seen and heard him on videos. He's like the objective correlative of web 2.0 for me. Especially with that tripod and camera. The super hero aspect: "Fearlessly shooting video anywhere he goes -- it's Super Scoble -- able to stream megabytes while tweeting, able to transport digitally to be on the scene at CES, at Google, or anywhere geeks are triumphing!
Ok, that's enough. No offense intended -- I truly admire the guy. And the triumphing geeks. Well some of them."
I follow him on Twitter and FriendFeed, but I don't know Scoble. But then one day I got a twitter email. It said _Scobleizer_ was following me! I felt proud. Yes -- the mighty Scobleizer was following me on Twitter. I win!
Well, not so.
The Impostor
I bounded forth to Twitter so I could send him a note of thanks. But @_scobleizer_ (with the underscores) was a fake.
Impostor!
Curse you impostor, who made my hopes and dreams rise, only to be crushed. Woe is me.
The Interception
Until *horns blaring* the real Robert Scoble did in fact follow me on Twitter! I wanna think I earned it. Either from good tweets or pity. Well, one good tweet anyway. With pity in it.
After the impostor both thrilled me and slammed me, I tweeted about the fake Scoble and how Twitter SWAT had shut him down (or her). I also included a sad little bit at the end (see Twitter screen shot).
That was lunch time on January 23rd. By the end of the day, the real Robert Scoble was following me.
I'm no news breaker in the tech world, but I like to think that Scoble checks my twitter feed every morning as he gets ready to take on another day.
I guess that's my brush with social media fame. What's yours? Oh and by the way, here's the email about the real Scoble following me. Yes, I kept it!
