I am fairly socially inept. No, no…it’s true. I am.

I know that people who know me will say that I do just fine. But it’s not true. I stick my foot in my mouth far more often than I should — simply because I don’t stop, think, and then speak.

So, I’m on a chat channel talking to people from zooomr. Thomas Hawk, CEO of zooomr, and all-around well-known photographer, is in there. I’ve spoken with Thomas a few times and he has highlighted my photographs on the zooomr blog a few times. He’s a nice guy.

I realize, as we’re all talking, that I’m the only woman in the room. Or, at least, the only woman who is speaking. That’s ok. I can hold my own with the men. I don’t feel inferior on an intellectual basis nor on a technological basis. I can keep up with the conversations.

I’m doing fine. I’m only speaking when I actually feel like I have something to say. But, really, I don’t know any of these people. Thomas is the only one I’ve ever spoken to and I doubt he even remembers who I am.

Anyway…

His friend, Robert Scoble comes in. And then my demise begins.

Not only am I the only female speaking but all of the guys seem to know one another. All of them.

And then Scoble says something about Microsoft Vista and I make a wisecrack — something that my co-workers would laugh at and something that my friends and family would totally understand was a joke. But Scoble — ok, you do know him, right? He’s a Microsoft graduate who is a bigtime blogger and now has his own company and video shows. Scoble doesn’t get my warped sense of humor and comes back at me with some monetary facts.

Oops.

I say a mea culpa and try to make amends but it’s all over. He doesn’t acknowledge me again.

I screwed up. Of course he wouldn’t get my sense of humor. He doesn’t know me. He doesn’t know that I joke around far more than I’m serious and he doesn’t understand that teasing is a way for me to feel comfortable around people I don’t know.

Ahem.

So, here I am talking to people who I find interesting and insightful and I make a mistake.

Ouch.

I need to learn to just…shut…up.