Irony, A Dish Best Served Cold
July 17, 2005
We've all heard of bloggers spinning their blogs into other writing projects. Now (via Amber Taylor) comes the story of a non-blogger using her nanny's blog as a way into the New York Times.
Helaine Olen's nanny gave her the link to "Instructions to the Double" - the nanny's weblog. Ms. Olen read it. She did not like what she saw and decided to fire her nanny. No big injustice there, right?
But instead of discreetly firing her nanny, she decided to step on her back - right into the Times, a place Ms. Olen hadn't been in since 1996. As best as any of us can tell, Ms. Olen fired her nanny because Ms. Olen lived
a miserable life, and indeed, was jealous of the fun-loving nanny.
Some have suggested that the nanny sue, since the column is somewhat misleading, if not libellous. I say that the nanny has
already had her revenge: before, only a few unlucky souls knew what a cur Ms. Olen is. Now, her pathetic and unaccomplished life is a matter of public ridicule. And, of course, the nanny can enjoy a nice dish of irony.
In the article, Ms. Olen wrote that when her husband fired the nanny, he "didn't bring up the blog with her and instead cited other factors for her dismissal. He did not, he told me, care to find himself a character online." If the husband wanted to avoid publicity, he should have fired his wife.
Welcome to the limelight, Ms. Olen. I hope a byline in the Times Style section was worth it.