corporate road kill

I wish I could say my new job was going well. Alas, it is not.

If marketing writing were a profession like, say, acting, than corporate Web work would be in the vein of television work. The money's good, the work is steady, and you work with a team that all aspired to be somewhere else and aren't. Journalism, or freelancing, is closer to film acting: you go from project to project, so the financial risks are higher, but so are the potential rewards. You could write an exceptional article, or land a lucrative contract, and reap the benefits of self-determination and creative license. Writers with literary ambition are like Broadway actors -- the odds of success are long and the pay is terrible, but there's the potential for recognition of your innate brilliance, social prestige, and the chance to work with truly gifted people.

In this scheme of things, to stretch a simile to the breaking point, my current gig is something like a sit com with bad ratings and a cash-strapped network. The gist is that the person who created our little Web editorial team was fired, and now management seems confused about why we exist. We occupy territory uncomfortably -- several on our immediate team also wish we were not around. And now we hear that the viewers are not excited about our show, either. It's hard to see a happy ending for this story. For now, I'm taking the money and running.

Quite literally. In two days I am off to New York, where I will work remotely and call into meetings. I am hoping this time will give me some distance from the brutal political warfare that I have blundered into. Needless to say, as a new employee with a couple powerful enemies, I am not guessing I will be on the winning side of this equation.

Which is too bad because, to paraphrase a colleague, I like my job. The location is great. The people, except for those offended by my ongoing presence, are friendly, smart, and competent. And the company's makes interesting products for a wide range of users. It's cool.

What's happened? Today I found out that my entire team of 3 has been branded as "difficult to work with." There has been an attack, and it has stuck with our management. Which makes ya wonder if it was unanimous. Ideas like these make it hard to go into work without a lot of paranoid thoughts. We'll see how I do tomorrow!

I hope you're life is going better than mine. At least the weather is gorgeous!