by Does the world care who you are against all others? Is there really a market out there for any “Who’s Who” book beyond those included on the page? Are you a mystery and an enigma that you feel must be defined and celebrated?
Don’t fall for the ego-fulfillment center of the churning “Who’s Who” publication industry.
I know it feels good to feel as if you’ve been specially selected for inclusion in “Who’s Who Along the Web” or “Who’s Who in Students” or “Who’s Who in Automotive Sales” — any Who’s Who book is meant to drive sales, but only to those who are included in its pages.
We live our lives together only to continually try to separate ourselves by degree — and publishers of Who’s Who lists rely on our need to remove and rise — even if the status gained is tenuous and limited.
When you are contacted by a stranger bearing flattery and elevation — and you are made to feel marks above the rest of the madding crowd — ask yourself this question: “What’s in it for them in buttering me up and down?”
If the answer is found in your pocket as you pay for a “Who’s Who” volume with your name in it, or a “Who’s Who” ceramic mug celebrating your specialness — please know you’re a made mark, and please realize you’ve been had for a penny — and don’t let your ego pull another dollar from you in the feigned excitement.
I remember when I was in high school, there were books in the library called Who’s Who. They had politicians, actors, etc — not ordinary shlubs like myself. The new Who’s Who is a bit like the poetry book scams where they tell you that the poem you submitted to their site is award winning — now buy a copy in their 500 page book for $75.
Yes, there have been some “Who’s Who” books in libraries that help perpetuate the salesman’s myth that these other “ordinary” books are worthy, scholarly, and important. The big money is made in the “pay to play” inclusion in the trinkets sold after acceptance into “publication.”