Just like when we ran the "100 hottest Milwaukeeans (that you've heard of), part two" list a few weeks ago, we knew we'd get a slew of angry Talkbacks for the 100 coolest Milwaukeeans piece that ran Tuesday. We expected people to complain that it was just a list of our friends, and that the readers didn't know who enough of these people were.
I'm not sure, however, that I expected so many people personally e-mailing complaining that they weren't on the list.
First, like the hottest lists, these aren't lists of our friends. Most of these people are way too cool to hang out with us. And if you don't know who all these people are, well, that says something. Part of being cool isn't broadcasting it, and I'm sure many of these folks are more than a little embarrassed that we called them out.
But complaining that you're not on the list? That's definitely not cool.
As we compiled the list, we put a shout out on Twitter asking for nominations. Several tweeted, "Put me on! Put me on!' If they were on, I took them off.
After the fact, I got several e-mails from acquaintances, some tongue-in-cheek, some not, about how offended they were to be overlooked. While I reminded them that is just volume one -- volume two is coming -- I am almost a little saddened that people are taking this list as a personal insult.
Remember, this isn't Andy Tarnoff's personal list of who's cool (my colleague Bobby blogged about his yesterday). This is a collective effort of the editorial staff of OnMilwaukee.com. This list won't solve world peace; it'll just make for a little light reading. And if you hate it, and everything it stands for, please skip it and read another one of the 100 articles and blogs you'll see on OnMilwaukee.com this week.
Finally, I'm still giggling about the Talkback that said the list is "probably completely subjective." Yes, yes it is. Unless we literally measured the body temperatures of every Milwaukeean, we could not make this completely objective.
"High schoolish?" Maybe. Good for readership? Definitely. Fun? We think so, and about 22,000 of you took a look at it yesterday -- which is actually quite a bit fewer than the number of people who read the "hottest" list.
But scheming, conniving, backslapping and deliberately exclusionary, this list is not. Trust me on that.
And thank you. Your comments, positive or negative, are what keep us going, and please keep them coming. As always, we appreciate your continued readership and support.
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
