Or maybe just an email from a Google recruiter that doesn’t ultimately lead anywhere, but is still kind of fun to get.
What about you?
Do you have an “about” page for your blog or web site? I hope so, because if I happen across your site, I’d like to learn something about you. Find out what we might have in common or why I might be interested in hearing what you have to say. Without an about page or something that gives me an idea of what you’re about, I’m less likely to hang around and become a repeat visitor. I know I’m not the only one who feels this way, so my advice is: if you’re trying to build up a readership, share a thing or two about yourself.
What about that Google recruiter?
I’ve had a fairly lengthy about page since the early days of this web site. Overall, I can’t say how effective it’s been in attracting readers, or if most people really care about the minutiae contained therein, but last summer I did receive an email from a recruiter at Google, I think largely because of the about page. He had found the site by accident and liked some of the articles, and from the about page he found we shared some common interests. Based on what he read, he thought I might be interested in exploring some opportunities at Google.
Wow! Exciting! I’m pretty settled here in Minneapolis, but you have to check out an opportunity with Google. However, the story that comes out of this isn’t so exciting.
We exchanged some emails and spoke on the phone. I think that went well, but I didn’t feel confident in touting my technical abilities very strongly. I do some Java, but I’m not a hardcore Java programmer, and I was intimidated at the prospect of being interviewed for that kind of job at Google. He passed my name and resume on to the open source group in Google, but nothing materialized from that.
It was fun to daydream a little bit about working at Google, but I’m not sure how well that would have worked out for me with where I’m at in my career and with my family. As mentioned, we’re rooted here in Minnesota. I knew the Bay Area real estate market is insane, but taking a closer look I was shocked at how insane it is. A home comparable to ours would cost at least a million dollars there, and probably two. With a young daughter and pets, we’d want to be in a house. And for miscellaneous other reasons, I don’t have any regrets, other than that the story would have been more interesting had I been invited out to Mountain View for a round of interviews. :-)
So?
Why bring all this up now? Because I recently spent some time updating my about page and I wanted to direct your attention there. That’s new content I toiled over, and I didn’t want it to sit there in obscurity. Well, new and updated. And I’m aware that the difference in obscurity between the front page of this site and the about page is a small one. You’ll also find there a hint at possible upcoming changes for Moving to Freedom dot org, which I may (or may not) be writing more about soon.
So: Extra, extra. Read all about it.
