Oh My Gosh, I've Been Nominated!
Today, I received notification by email that I have been nominated for inclusion in the "Honors Section" of the upcoming 2007–2008 edition of the well-known Hamilton Who's Who.
Okay, so I've never heard of it, but apparently, it includes "biographies of the world's most accomplished Professionals" (yes, so very accomplished that they're "Professionals" with a capital P). And apparently, "inclusion is considered by many as the single highest mark of achievement." So you can see that this has got to be legit.
Naturally, I decided to check out their web site, to see who else shared this honor with me. I immediately found a testimonial from a gentleman named Luís Gonzales, who was "delighted with the reach and caliber of the individuals using this network." See, they've got testimonials and everything. There can't possibly be anything fishy here.
I was a bit disappointed, of course, when Mr. Luís Gonzales' company name, Jorge Gonzales Group (perhaps it was started by his father), only yielded 28 hits in Google (even after I expanded the list by "including very similar pages"). Not to mention a bit puzzled to find that every single one of these hits — which were spread out across various different domain names — somehow related to Mr. Gonzales' inclusion in Hamilton Who's Who. But there could be a perfectly natural explanation. Maybe Mr. Gonzales is very successful in a field where being easy to find on Google just isn't a priority. Maybe he just really likes his privacy and takes great pains to stay off the Net altogether. Except where his inclusion in Hamilton Who's Who is concerned, of course.
And Mark Fallon, who was featured on their "Sample Bio" page, and his employer, the Creative Edge Advertising Company, were apparently even prouder of having been accepted into the directory. Every single one of this successful advertising firm's nine Google hits somehow mentioned Mr. Fallon's inclusion in Hamilton Who's Who.
And now it was my turn. Solemnly, I entered all my contact information in their web form as they requested (well within the stipulated five days, "for accuracy and publication deadlines"). Now I wait for fame, wealth, glory and, quite possibly, better weather.
Oh, and you know how it is with these things: important deals like this are usually struck discreetly. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything at all. At least I changed all the names of famous Who's Who publications, successful companies and accomplished individuals in this blog entry, so no one can beat me to the punch by googling them up and attempting to get listed before me. After all, being included in Hamilton Who's Who is — and should be! — an honor bestowed only upon a select few.