hey, i believe you it’s a real article, i didn’t meant to suggest it was dishonest. it has *some* bait-like qualities though

i really appreciate this site, it’s great and i thank you guys for the great articles. much respect!

more and more i think that your guidelines are a good checklist to tape up on my monitor, and use them to do exactly as you suggest - consider twice, post once - be true to myself, but yes, moderate approaches are almost always better received by others.

i think my main point was that if you HAVE posted things you later regret, just go easy on yourself and try to make it a positive outcome by learning from that. learning is okay, and therefore it’s okay to look at your past and say , “yeah, i’ve come a long way”, instead of trying to hide it and feeling ashamed of times when you were not so skilled.

thanks for the follow-up article, i’ll check it out right now, see ya!

Yep I agree with most of the comments, this article came off a little odd in retrospect (hence the followup: http://freelanceswitch.com/general/keeping-it-real-an-alternative-viewpoint/)

I think the main point to remember is that while you certainly shouldn’t censor yourself, you should consider what you say and do. It’s like in real life, you consider first. The problem with the internet is that what you say and do has a tendency of sticking around whether you want it to or not.

Anyway nice to see some lively debate here! Contrary to trevor’s comment, I swear this wasn’t link bait, though it certainly brought some traffic It was simply a post that probably needed a bit more provisos to explain itself.

In any case, live and learn!

i disagree with this, while at the same time i feel suspicious toward it as being plain ol’, straight up - bait.

i’m not slagging you, but c’mon - are you saying there’s no market for designers who wear thier heart on thier sleeve, for designers with strong opinions - for designers who (god forbid) swear!? how about custom work, modern design, flamboyance?

what if you are looking to design for punk bands, or…modern artists, or stuff like that?

i think it’s ok to express yourself in an open manner, modern society has strived for free speech for years. of course it’s good to learn how to do it better in your own way - and if the way stated in this article suits you, fine - but the way described in this article is only one “way” - and it’s decidedly, baitingly, conservative.

if you do try to control your communication in some way, that’s fine. if you strive to communicater better by not swearing, or being very conservative, or being open and free, or being strongly opinionated and flamboyamt, then so be it. feel free to explore that avenue, and try to do your best at it. we all pooped our diapers, should we be embarrassed if someone brings it up? so what if you grind your teeth for a while on the internet, looking to become a better communicator. you don’t need to panic and become a right wing maniac, never to express yourself again. just analyze what you think you can improve about it, and keep going.

and what is with the trend to say “do not discuss politics”? well, um, are you saying we as a generation, or a culture should not discuss politics??? wow. so how do we learn about it? at the dinner table, can i discuss politics? what if i want to go into political science? what if i want to speak up for the environment? should i worry that i might miss out on some website redesign for rush limbaugh in the future - but seriously. i really worry about the spread of this cultural gag-order that says we should never discuss politics.

i do agree with the sentiment that, in one way or another, how we control our communication will definiely be important to how we go throughout life. but blog without opinion? because you are embarassed if someone brings it up? where’s your ‘joie de vivre’ (sp?)

ya know, if i was intrerviewed in that scenario (the button popping off scenario) then i think i would have tried to have a good laugh together with the prospective new client no? maybe that is seeing opportunity instead of criticism. if they tried to embarass you over that and you actually fell apart??? this doesn’t make sense, because on the other hand you are an experienced freelancer, giving out advice here on freelance switch - it doesn’t add up. pure bait.

nonetheless, i agree we will most likely tend to drift in the direction of the control of our communication, so feel free to learn about yourself, and practice getting better at how you want to express YOURSELF in YOU OWN WAY.

and oh yeah - it’s OK to make mistakes, have emotions, be human. anyone who wouldn’t hire me for having expressed real human traits at periods of my life is not worth doing work for, and probably wouldn’t be so pleasant anyway, so

all that being said, i think your guidelines are pretty good, but i think they should be loosely followed, ya know?

beware those who tell you not to discuss something. it’s called opression sometimes. we fight for freedom to make mistakes, and still care for and forgive those who are make mistakes. stop being communication snobs, you snobs.

ok, there, i took the bait….nice one guys, good article. i’m sure i will cringe at my own words often, and at other times strongly agree with myself. but for sure:

i did it….

myyyyyyyyyyyy

waaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!

thank god for rock and roll, techno, and free spirit.
oh, and twiglets.