I don’t recall the class or the circumstance, but I remember a middle school teacher telling me, “Pobody is nerfect.” The phrase stuck.

Three months ago, in response to best practices on why it’s important to monitor your name online, I called out Forrester Research analyst Jeremiah Owyang for failing to add a comment on a blog post in response to a request for action.

Three weeks ago, I blasphemed other bloggers for similar reasons.

In that June post, the comment section got heated. Tim Walker criticized me for passing judgment. Phil Gerbyshak agreed with Tim, that the act of saying thank you is the role of the recipient, not the giver. Among other responses, Jillian York and Chris Kieff concurred that nothing should be expected, or asked, in return.

Then there are folks like Seth Simonds and Wayne John who said my beliefs were on-target and I should be commended for acting like Mother Teresa and asking for reciprocity. Go figure.

In the end, I’d like to apologize. I’m sorry for calling out Jeremiah, Tim, and others for failing to respond. That’s their prerogative to do, not mine to ask.

I was reminded of this earlier today by Julie Roads during a Skype conversation we had about a different subject matter. Suffice to say, I apologized to her and said she was right and I was wrong.

I learn something new every day. I usually learn something about the world. Sometimes, like today and my chat with Julie, I learn something about myself. I learned today that it’s not about me but about us. The ebb and flow of our relationship is what makes the world go around and what provides all of us with the impetus to make tomorrow a brand new day.

I have no defense other than that middle school phrase that pobody is nerfect–because to err is human. I’m sorry if my erring frustrates you. I can only try to be better. Thank you for understanding.

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