Apparently Sex Does Sell

I've had one of the biggest traffic days in months, post the whole Playboy mention. Of course, anyone coming here looking for sexy photos was probably disappointed to read about nothing but my book tour!

I'm a little surprised people have balked so much at the Playboy thing. Clearly, I would never consider actually posing nude and assume most of the girls on the list wouldn't either. (No, TechCrunch commenters, not even for a lot of money. Seriously, what is wrong with men? Just because they'll get naked at the drop of a hat they think it's somehow irresistible?) But that's not all Playboy is about either. Loads of politicians, celebrities, business people have been interviewed and featured in Playboy before, even if no one really reads it for the articles.

And look at what Playboy actually said about me:

"Sarah cut her teeth as a Silicon Valley reporter for publications such as Business Week (where she continues to write their online tech column Valley Girl), as well as the new book Once You're Lucky, Twice You're Good (Gotham) that chronicles the rise of Web 2.0. But hiding behind all that smart writing is a curvy brunette that Silicon blog Valleywag.com declared "the hottest reporter in the tech world." Luckily, Sarah's new vlogging gig at Yahoo! Finance's Tech Ticker lets us enjoy her journalistic talents from a more visual perspective."

That is far less objectifying than what people write in the comments on my Yahoo show DAILY! Even some of the blogs that derisively wrote about Playboy's move were far more objectifying in their commentary. Maybe a few years ago I would have been scandalized, but I guess I've just been so desensitized by everything that's been written about me, the above mini-profile just sounds like a compliment. (Hello, Fake Steve Jobs, I'm talking to you!) Playboy doesn't insinuate any of us only have jobs for our looks and had a generally respectful tone in all of the pieces. Aren't we taking ourselves a little too seriously if we get upset about it? Also, it's Playboy! That's what they do! It's not like Newsweek wrote the piece.

I guess my main reaction was just laughter. It never ceases to amaze me that anyone could describe someone holding one of the least sexy jobs in the world-- a business reporter-- as somehow professionally sexy. And I guess others agree since my vote tally is so low! I'm guessing it's definitely a BusinessWeek first. I just hope they're not embarrassed, because I'm certainly not.