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By I spent about an hour yesterday morning on the phone (at Canada's rather obscene cell phone rates) speaking with an "editor" for Continental Who's Who. The pitch is pretty typical (and I had an idea what was going on, so I decided to follow through with it) - you get an email congratulating you on being selected for inclusion in the Who's Who directory of "famous people", please send in the email in order to confirm your selection.
About a week later I get a phone call from an editor (I'll call her Cherise, though this wasn't her real name) congratulating me again, then asking for more information about I do as an editor for O'Reilly Media (I could almost see the filled-in blanks).
"Er..., well, I write articles, help coordinate a group of about a dozen XML bloggers and do similar editorial type things."
Cherise listens politely, then asks for a little more background. "I write books, speak at conferences, do the occasional consulting."
This was very good, and Cherise said so: "You certainly qualify for our listings. By the way, consulting is very good, Who's Who is a boon to consultants who are looking to set up high powered connections, and I would make myself available twenty-four times a year to provide you with high quality links to other Who's Who nominees."
"Hmmmm ....," I thought.
"You can also write your own entry in Who's Who, will get a copy of the book each year as well as (wait for it) a special certified plaque listing your inclusion in Who's Who."
"Wow!" thought I. " .. a special certified plaque!"
Now, came the price of fame. Moving smoothly into the sales pitch, she let me known (gently) that for the piddling price of $750 I could become a platinum certificate listee and appear for the rest of my natural life. If money was a little tight (understandable in these hard times), I could instead become a gold certificate listee for only $500, which would let me be in the book for five years, and which could be upgraded at any time.
"Um ... erm. Let me think about it."
"Oh, we're going to press in a couple of weeks, so I need to get a decision now. Look, if its a matter of budget, we can break it up into payments ..."
"Hmmm ... I, er ..."
"We can even get you in as a non-profit! Only $250, though you get only one copy of the Who's Who issue and are listed for only three years ..."
"Oh, look, there's a giant ruby-throated hummingbird outside! They're very rare!! Sorry, gotta go now, Cherise!!"
The funny thing is that over the years I have written about twenty books, I've consulted with a lot of companies, spoken at many conferences and in my own area of expertise I'm reasonably well known ... and I'm perfectly happy with that. It's a kind of fame I'm actually pretty comfortable with, and while, in the long run, it's probably cost me many, many times the cost of a platinum membership to Who's Who, in the main the money was well spent.
Services such as Linked-In or Plaxo or even Facebook provide a level of interactivity and connectivity that is far more immediate and generally far more useful than having a bit of self-laudatory praise in a large book that is owned only by fools who are willing to part with that much money in order to be listed as being important.
Oh, I have no doubt that there are many famous people in such directories, but the likelihood that they ended up there because of an email scam and solicitation is pretty remote (indeed, I can imagine that Linked-In, et al, have probably proved a real treasure trove for the good editors of Who's Who).
For those who bemoan the fate of book publishing, remember that there are predators even in that particular sea.
Kurt Cagle is an Online Editor for O'Reilly Media. You can subscribe to his Atom Feed or follow him on Twitter. You won't, however, find him in Who's Who.
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Good lord - I hate those solicitations!
But it does conjure up one particularly funny quotable line (having about as much impact as being in one of those guides) - from Steve Martin's "the Jerk"
"The new phone book's here! The new phone book's here!"
"Page 73 - Johnson, Navin R.! I'm somebody now! Millions of people look at this book everyday! This is the kind of spontaneous publicity - your name in print - that makes people. I'm in print! Things are going to start happening to me now."
In the US, solicitors are not allowed to use cell phones because the understanding it does cost the users for each minute. We also have a "Do Not Call List" for landlines or if someone got your mobile by accident. However, the law actually allows for calls for people that do not 'sell' anything. This opens up a BIG hole for politicians and their friends to call you for polls or fund raisers and such.
Actually, the first time I talked to you, I was VERY excited, cuz to me you are a celebrity. I know I am a geek, but you are the guy that wrote all the books on my shelves! It's funny that someone like you should be on a 'do not piss off' list, especially with your experience in XML vis-a-vis publishing.
I just received the same call, this time from "Diane Webster." While she was quizzing me I Googled Continental and came across your article. I've worked in communications long enough to recognize a telemarketing script when I hear one, but it was fun to follow where this was heading in your piece as I listed to the pitch. When I finally convinced her that I wasn't interesting in spending a dime on this, she closed with, "Then this isn't for you. This is for decision-makers." Ouch! I thought I was making a decision.
Kurt-I just received an e-mail that stated I am selected for the Continental Who's Who list. Thanks for the heads up I won't be entering info.
Thanks for the article and like you I am also a nobody although I have over 1000 How to Garden videos on Youtube through ehow.com and expertvillage.com. I used to be somebody in the Who's Who in high school and college when the fee was only $25 for the book. I still have a copy where I am listed as being somebody.
I read an article in the local paper in Woodland, WA and they had written an article about someone who had made it to the Who's Who list. Congratulations he spent $500 or more to be in the paper. I guess they won't be writing an article about me being in Who's Who.
That's okay-I am still somebody on-line and in my fantasies! Who needs Who's Who?
Yolanda,
I daresay your gardening videos will mean a lot more in the long run to people than being "important". Oddly enough, since I posted the article above, I've been practically bombarded by CWW emails telling me I've joined the Inner Circle - apparently as a nobody I'm still someone who's well known enough to be a thorn in their side ...
I went a bit further as the initial ad says registration is free. That is a three line entry. If you really push you can get a $189 deal but you don't get a wall plaque to cover that rip in the wallpaper. I asked directly as to how they made money with free registrations. He - Alexi - got rather pushy so I backed out. I am sure I'll get another call later with yet another lower cost deal - maybe just my initials and a phone number.
Not anywhere on my "gotta have" list.