Penelope Trunk recently posted an article entitled “5 Time Management Tricks I have learned from years of hating Tim Ferriss“. As I read her article two things dawned on me. The first is that controversy is always interesting. The title of the post was very controversial and the tone of her article began with a very controversial tone. The second aha-moment was that by telling the story of her encounters with Tim Ferriss, she was including herself in an elite circle of people (Tim Ferriss is a Best Selling Author, after all). I call this practice “Inclusion” and by using “Inclusion” she added to her own Importance Factor.
Let me explain what I mean.
She states in her post that she was at an event, and that while at said, event - Timothy Ferriss approached her and asked her if she would like to get a cup of coffee.
Just by adding that story to her post she has increased her importance factor. She goes on to say that she turns the offer for coffee down. Again, she is saying that she is more important than Timothy Ferriss.
Whether this was intentional or not is not my point. I read Penelope’s Blog and I like her Blog more than I like Tim Ferriss’s Blog, but I do think whether the “Importance Building” was intentional or not - it worked. I had only read her Blog once before she posted the Tim Ferris post, but after I read that post I subscribed.
In conclusion, I guess my point is this… The combination of Controversy and Inclusion made for a very compelling post. As I said - it made me subscribe to her Blog. So anytime you can build your own reputation by being included into, what is perceived as an elite circle of people, it only makes you more interesting.
Just a thought…
P.S. - For the Record I am also a Tim Ferris fan, apparently so is Matt Mullenweg.
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