I had a few sleepless nights, some conversations over email with friends and finally

[zihadhasan012]

I can recall back to the first time I (and SEOmoz) got negative press in the community. Not just criticism of something I'd written or something I'd done, but an indictment of our motivations and of me as a person. It was the summer of 2007, and I was on vacation with Mystery Guest in Ashland, Oregon (where we had such a terrific time, we held our wedding there last fall). Vanessa Fox shot me a text with a link to a Sphinn story about.


Actually, I can't recall (and since I'm at 35K feet, there's telemarketing leads, iran telephone number data no way to jump online and jog my memory). I remember being confused, upset and scared - since it hadn't happened before, I didn't know what the consequences might be. I actually called up the author of the piece on the phone, figuring that it was just a misunderstanding, and once we got to know each other a bit more, everything would be fine - no such luck.


a few days later, after it was clear the world wasn't going to end, started to let go. It's happened a few more times over the years - almost always at Sphinn, where it seems drama, accusations and conflict are becoming a weekly tradition. Luckily, I've toughened up a considerable amount, and though the occasional remark (especially if it's from someone I've spent time with personally) will still get to me, it's reassuring to know that it doesn't seem to dramatically impact our long term goals.