I met this “journo” for the first time in one event. He approached me because apparently ‘he has heard about me as a blogger’. After a brief intro about himself and where he writes, he asked right there if I could do a blog post about him. The kind request became a demand even before I could say a word. Wow! He needs the feature ASAP so he could qualify in a scholarship in another country. The demand quickly grew into an aggravated command, and I could only say “Uhhmmm…” I tried to explain what my blog is about and not about. I don’t even know why I had to do that.
I feel bad for him, and I felt insulted as a blogger. This journalist don’t understand how I write. The guy lacks respect and has too much self-entitlement.
He was pleading. He ended the annoying chat by saying, “…in return, I will feature you in my column.”
No thanks.
What we can take from this story is, if you’re doing something worthwhile, you don’t have to foolishly beg for recognition. People who gets recognized are those who actually humbly discredit themselves from it – they who passionately do their jobs without looking at any material rewards (or feature) in return.
Sorry brother, one respect lost.
Next time, be careful what you wish for because #NowYoureFeatured just happened.