When I was at my friend’s wedding last weekend, I had the chance to meet some new people, including friends of my friend’s wife. I had met some of them before, but this was the first time we had a chance to chat, since there is a lot of down time for the bridal party while photos are being taken.
When friends or friends of friends ask what I do, I generally say “Internet stuff” or “Internet investments” because I learned long ago that my friends don’t really care about my business (nor do they want me to talk about it) much like they don’t discuss their work. It probably stemmed from the fact that I love what I do because it was a hobby turned job, and many of them work in corporate America and don’t necessarily love their jobs.
While waiting around for the wedding to begin (actually in line for the processional), one of the bridesmaids asked what I do, and I responded with the generic “Internet stuff” because there wasn’t exactly enough time to answer questions that typically follow the “Domain investor” response. She responded, “what kind of Internet stuff? I work for Yahoo.” As I removed the leather from my mouth, a friend of mine told her what I do, and she knew exactly what I did.
We didn’t have a chance to chat much about the business, but it’s important to never slack on introductions. You never know who does what, and an opportunity could have been wasted.
I didn’t waste the opportunity to tell her my thoughts on Jerry Yang and his failure to close the Microsoft deal though!
