To whom it may concern:

Please stop using your blog to prove how smart you are.

I know that you are brilliant. I see the PhD behind your name. I understand your work is serious and the world needs to know just how complex the problem is and what you are doing to fix it.

The thing is, your blog is not the place to tell me about it. I read your blog over my lunch hour, or with my morning coffee, or when I need a break from a difficult problem at work. When you write giant swaths of text with acronyms I don’t know and complex sentence structure, my eyes slide off your words and I am forced to go look at pictures of sleeping kittens.

It’s not that I don’t care, or even that there isn’t a place for the detailed analysis. I’m just asking that you give me a chance to get to know you before we get into the deep stuff.

Let’s start with a nice success story that includes pictures of happy kids you helped this month. What about a behind-the-scenes piece about what really goes on in the rehearsal hall? Even a list of all the great things you could do if I send money is better than what I can only imagine is recycled bits of your dissertation.

It turns out (on your blog at least) the super dense, scholarly articles don’t make me trust you more, or remind me of how dire the problem is– they make me feel like there is no room for me in your organization. They don’t make me want to learn more, they make me leave.

I believe in you and I believe in your cause. I want to support you and yes, I want to read your blog. Just give me an opening*.

Love,

A Potential Donor

*and an occasional picture of a kitten would be nice.