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Ask HN: Should being a conference speaker expose your reputation to destruction?
- endswapper 10y agoNo. Currently, in general, it does. A conference speaker is merely a contributor to a conversation. That should be valued, but understood the conversation is not held to the same standards of academic, scientific or professional rigor. At least one of the objectives of a conference is to broaden the audience for a topic through less formal conversation. For the sake of clarity, this assumes we are not talking about destruction through unprofessional, inappropriate or unacceptable behavior, language, etc.
- UnoriginalGuy 10y agoNo. But the internet has become a nasty place where appearing in the public spotlight for any reason gives strangers reason enough to attack a person's reputation/character (with little or no resource or potential rebounding reputation damage). In particular if you have a controversial view (be it technological or social controversy) then expect to be pulled apart by strangers.
- JSeymourATL 10y agoBrene Brown has a brilliant take on public speaking, reputations, and being vulnerable > https://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_listening_to_shame?language=en https://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_listening_to_shame?lan...
- endswapper 10y agoAgreed. She tells a great story about how she looked at a headline right before speaking at a conference. She was ready to attack the author until she realized he was supporting her despite the headline (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAk4cwjvJ0A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAk4cwjvJ0A). Her discussion of vulnerability creates an opportunity for us to reconsider our collective emphasis on "busting" someone as opposed to understanding the value of a perspective, in a context. It also puts an emphasis on the courage required to confront vulnerability.