in pursuit of my mission to commit every possible mistake a person can make as a job candidate… i offer the latest episode.

at last week’s conference, i was contacted by somebody from a company that researches “authoritative” blogs and then feeds (i guess that is what they call it) the blogs to other products, like Kindle or LexisNexis and who knows what else? we had a fairly good conversation. i think i could even say that i was in top form. As we departed, the company person told me that they would be calling me to set up a full interview soon, but that first, i had to fill out their online application.

which should have been the easy part. there were all of these questions about my media and social networking activity… my Twitter name and whom I follow (so I quickly created an account and almost at random picked 8 people or organizations to follow. but of course, i really have no idea what Twitter is for, what purpose it serves, or how to use it), blogs I follow, favorite news sites, writers, columnists, even my favorite tv shows. But the section that hung me up the most was the question about the blogs and websites i author and maintain. and, between you and me, The Lost Pedestrian encompasses everything.

Of course I could not simply leave that section blank, or simply type in n/a, which may have come across as kind of lame. especially since I had already told my interviewer that I had significant and substantial experience as a blogger for many years now.

If I revealed my blog to a potential employer, or if my current employer were aware of my blog, that would spell curtains for me. i had to think on my feet. make a definitive statement. So I wrote that I author an almost anonymous art/literary blog which must maintain its anonymity since it may jeopardize my opportunities to manage and re-package blogs of other authors who would sell their souls to be anything but anonymous.

I know that was totally un-shrewd, but i am not sure what else i could have said. maybe if i phrased it differently, put a new spin on it.

i would be surprised, shocked if I hear from them again. but i really have very little regret. because while things are so uncertain and so unstable–which may be forever–my blog must remain almost anonymous. and my real loyalty as a blogger is to you and not to them. it’s kind of the trade-off for being raw and authentic.