Authenticity, and other excuses

One of the more gratifying (and, as often, humbling) aspects of publishing a book in the era of blogs and twitter is getting something close to real time feedback. It has already affected the way I talk about the book in interviews -- I find myself responding to criticism and helping myself to useful extensions or variations on my arguments. Here are a couple of good examples I thought you might like:

1. "Authenticity as an excuse" by Colleen, a management prof at Western. From her blog:

Our authentic selves are a collection of our personal experiences and what others tell us about ourselves.  Sometimes our understanding of ourselves is accurate, sometimes it is not. We all know what we are good at and what we aren’t good at. But sometimes we use this perception of ourselves as an excuse to resist change.

See also her excellent "Hitler was authentic", on the same blog. Wish I'd thought to write that.

2. Meanwhile, from her perch on the Mayan riviera, foodgirl asks:

Sure single-culture or single-place authenticity may be a hoax, but I think I’m staring in the face of a new authenticity. Why can’t tourists drink their faces off, belt out karaoke tunes in an “all-American sports bar” environment at a multinational hotel chain on the Mayan Riveria in celebration of Cinco de Mayo? Why not, indeed.

3. Finally, this isn't directly connected to my book but the themes are resonant: A Foucaultian take on Mad Men, which is very insightful.