Brazen Careerist blog makes its television debut

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So, I went to Tampa, FL for two days. I met a bunch of great people at the book signing, and I did a couple television interviews about the book — one with Charley Belcher who is a very funny guy. The Tampa Tribune called my blog “smart and insightful” and Fox News did a news segment about me blogging. The most interesting part of this program might be the fifty camera tricks it takes to make the actual act of blogging look visually interesting. Check out the Fox News segment here.

/27 Comments
27 replies
  1. Mary
    Mary says:

    Well done! You were great! I particularly liked the incredulity in Charley’s voice when he said, “Did you say blogosphere?” Oh, this crazy 21st Century.

  3. Charley Belcher
    Charley Belcher says:

    It was a pleasure meeting you! Thanks for the insight…and the laughs. I’ll never be the blogger you are…but everyone needs something to strive toward, right? Keep up the great work….I’ll be keeping up with you through your blog!

    – Charley Belcher

  5. Elise Gres, the Tampa portrait artist
    Elise Gres, the Tampa portrait artist says:

    I am so glad I had the opportunity to meet you yesterday!!! I find your honesty about all of the convoluted directions of your own career path to be completely refreshing and inspiring, and I love love love all of your counter-intuitive (yet well-researched) advice. Your points about perfectionism are some of the best insights I’ve seen. I am so glad you are out there in the world, forging a career guidebook for all of us who step off the beaten path.

    * * * * *

    The best part of these book signings is meeting people who have been reading the blog. The blog is a huge conversation with people I never see. So it’s a big treat to meet people in person.

    Elise told a great story at the book signing. She was a lawyer and she decided she wanted to be an artist instead. She went online and saw that portrait artists were making thousands of dollars per painting, so she set up shop, online, and now she supports herself with her portrait painting business.

    I love her story because she’s a lawyer who had the bravery to leave when she didn’t like the profession, and because she set up her business with no money. It cost nothing, and today it’s a big success.

    Here’s Elise’s site: http://heirloom-art.blogspot.com/

    –Penelope

  6. Tara
    Tara says:

    Congratulations on a wonderful interview. You were honest and genuine. I share your blogs with friend and co-workers on a regular basis as they are not bog followers. I have become a huge fan and look forward to your insights everyday.

    Thanks and keep up the good blogging,
    Tara

  9. Recruiting Animal
    Recruiting Animal says:

    Congratulations. You were a good interview. And you bore a resemblance to your picture on this blog and on Cheezhead but I don’t think I would have recognized you.

  11. Wendy
    Wendy says:

    That was a well-done segment. You offered some great “sound bite” answers and commentary that were really effective in making that piece exciting.

    Perhaps a future blog entry could be on what to say when you’re interviewed on TV and how to say it…

    * * * * *

    Thanks, Wendy, and everyone else for all the positive feedback.
    Trade secret: Fox taped about forty-five minutes of video to get this two-minute segment.

    – P

  12. Ayesha
    Ayesha says:

    Congratulations Penelope!
    I enjoyed watching your TV debut and cheering you on!! I’ve applied so much of your insights to different parts of my life and am thrilled to see results..right from getting together the “story” for my interview that landed me a great job designing for the Apple account… to the “non-negotiable” thinking about daily exercise – thank you for being such a credible and continuously inspiring voice for me.

  14. Sheila at Family Travel
    Sheila at Family Travel says:

    I never get around to watching TV news much anymore, so it’s weird to see how “yowee-zowee” that blogging is to much of the mainstream-whatever-it-is.

    You came across very well onscreen, but I can see the problem with making our tap-tap-tap and screen scrolls visually entertaining.

  15. tamar
    tamar says:

    Well, we missed you in atlanta (sob, sniff) so i got second best: a TV screen. Loved the top you were wearing, and your summer ‘do. My atlanta neighbor 2 doors away was let go from her job, and i suggested she read your blog. How do you know about brazen careerist, asked she? The rest was yourSTORY.

    Always, best wishes!

  18. Bukola Ekundayo
    Bukola Ekundayo says:

    Congrats on landing the spot with Fox News. You did a fantastic job. And I loved the zoom shots. Blogging never looked so good!

  21. Ted
    Ted says:

    PENELOPE…TV is your calling. It was a great piece. You came off as smart AND cute. I especially liked the way you worked in your sponsor (LinkedIn) into the piece. And even though the TV people were obviously clueless about blogging, you came off as informative and helpful BUT NOT condescending.

    Very well done…I’m sure your phone will be ringing!

  22. Caitlin
    Caitlin says:

    Hey Ted, maybe Penelope can answer this (but she is probably far diplomatic to want to answer it) but I’m not sure the TV people were _really_ clueless about blogging. I think they were probably pitching it to the level (or perceived level) of the Fox News audience. They simplified things quite a bit and assumed no prior knowledge but they didn’t get anything wrong – it takes quite a skill to avoid using jargon and boil down something complicated to something simple.

  23. Ted
    Ted says:

    Caitlin…maybe, but I’ve had some experience in the business and you’d be surprised at how unsophisticated on-air personalities can be. In any event, I did’t mean any disrespect to the TV folks…meant it more as a compliment to Penelope. I think Fox took most of their material from her so she deserves a lot of credit.
    If you read Charley Belcher’s blog, you’ll see that he give Penelope even more credit for helping him understand what blogs are all about. The intimation here is that he didn’t understand that before speaking with the P-bomb! So I guess you can give them credit for getting a certified expert to tell the story rather then trying to butcher it on their own.

  24. Dale
    Dale says:

    Great job Penny.

    You were a natural! When does the talk show start? And what about the consulting for TV news segments (like the lawyers and military experts do)?
    The blog on CEO accountability was also really good. Imagine holding men accountable for their immoral behavior and antifamily ethics:) The times they are achanging.

    Dale

    P.S. You look so young, I began reading your stuff when you started on Business 2.0. You must have been a baby back then!

  26. Daniel
    Daniel says:

    Penelope isn’t a blond?! haha.

    I HATE Fox (faux) news with a passion, but I love your blog, I love what you stand for, and I love how well you represented yourself on television. Very collected, confident and sensible. Fabulous!

    If that’s your computer though, oh lawd, was dat sum internet exploder 6?!?! And a HUGE CRT monitor on your desktop? I don’t imagine you being the type that goes to bed hungry at night, and as someone whose livelihood depends on computers/internet, it surprised me.

    Since you say you spend so much time writing (five hours a day on the blog) have you ever considered something like the Dvorak keyboard configuration? If you get to say “blogosphere” I am going to say “lifehack”

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvorak_Simplified_Keyboard

    * * * * *

    Thanks for the compliments, Daniel.
    Re the computer: It’s not mine. I was sitting in the Fox studio, on their computer.

    Penelope

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