Comments on: Building a hedge around your job

By: Technology, Business, and Doritos » Blog Archive » Arrogance of communities

Wed, 03 Jan 2007 19:09:29 +0000

[...] I wrote a blog almost a year ago speaking about how often people build a hedge around their job. My thoughts right now are related to this, but are in a broader context. With the Internet dead-horse currently being “community”, “Web 2.0″, “user generated content”, and “viral”, I have realized how incredibly arrogant the so-called experts in all these areas have become. It is a human trait to want to be the “go-to” person in something, and with the world population so large, people are nit-picking over the stupidest minutia ever. Here are some community examples from the Internet: [...]

By: Neal Harmon

Neal Harmon — Thu, 04 May 2006 11:30:22 +0000

Hi Trent, this is a facinating post in light of the book I just read, Freakonomics. It’s a beseller right now and goes into great depth about the so-called experts. The piece on realtors was so revealing. Realtors sell their own homes, on average, for 3 percent more and wait 10 days longer to sell it. The author argues that when an expert treats himself different than clients, he is using his information to his advantage. Realtors want us to believe that we need their help and understanding of the market to sell our home for the best price possible, but in reality, they’re incentives are set up for us to move the property more quickly.

By: Nathan

Nathan — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 16:55:51 +0000

Trent, I enjoyed reading your web log posting above. I am a lawyer and I can attest to the truthfulness of your points. It makes me sad to see my colleagues think, speak and act like they are “all that”.
I don’t want to hijack your post, but it has sparked some thoughts…
I try to make a point of “smartening up” my legalese when I speak with clients. Where I say “smartening up legalese”, others usually describe it as “dumbing it down into laymens terms”. My choice of wording reveals how I feel about legalese. I think when a lawyer uses legalese to communicate with a client, s/he is being extremely lazy and very rude–and not manifesting the flexability in communication that is the hallmark of a truly good attorney. I can’t stand the loud american that walks into a restuarant in Barcelona and starts rattling off his order to the server in thick Americanese with no attempt to speak the language. Totally rude. So, as you think about what attorney or professional service provider to work with, consider the one who “speaks your language” or at least makes bonafide attempts to connect with you on that level. That is smartening up legalese.