This is another post in my ongoing series of regular responses I give to people. Meaning when I get asked something so much, I craft blog posts that live on kinlane.com, and I reply to emails, tweets, etc. with a quick link to my standardized responses.
One I get less frequently, but still enough to warrant a response to, “why are you so hard to get a hold of?"
To which the answer is, "I’m not". I have a phone number that are very public, I have 3 emails all going into same inbox, a highly active Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Github presence. If you are having trouble getting a hold of me, it is because you are not using the right channels, or potentially the right frequency.
First, I don’t talk on the phone. I schedule meetings, increasingly only on Thursdays (regularly for partners, etc.), where i talk on skype, ghangout, and occasionally the phone. When I talk on these channels, I can do nothing else. I can’t multi-task. I am present. If I did this all the time, I wouldn’t be the API Evangelist—I’d be that phone talker guy.
Second, I respond well to quick, concise emails, tweets, wall posts, and github issues. Shorter, the more concise the better. This is what I mean by frequency, if you send me a long-winded email, there is good chance it could be weeks or even never that will respond. Sorry, I just don’t have the bandwidth for that frequency—I use short, precise signals.
I do not have a problem with someone being a “phone person”, but I’m not, sorry. In my experience people who require lots of phone calls, also require lots of meetings, and often shift in their needs, because it isn’t anchored to any specific outline, document, or project requirements. Personally I try to avoid these types of personalities, because they have proven some of the least efficient, and most demanding relationships in my professional life.
Please don't take this message the wrong way, I'm trying to help you be as successful as you can in making the right connection.
