What determines the size of my name on the list of women breaking barriers?

I have been asked that question numerous times. And I suspect many of you who have already seen my Women's Day blog have been quietly wondering the same thing, so I have found myself having to explain the criteria.

But before I dive into the explanation about the size of the names, I usually ask a simple question to those who call me probing about that same issue:

"How big would you like your name to be?"

And guess what? Most of them have no idea. Not even a rough estimate. No centimeters, no font size, nothing. Just crickets. So here is how the whole thing unfolded.

First, I started with our beloved government officials. After all, they are our leaders, and as you already know, good manners require that we follow protocol.

Next, I moved on to the most established, popular, and prominent people in the real estate industry, those who have been consistently recommended over time by other industry players. In this case, your visibility in the industry is directly proportional to the size of your name. The more visible you are, the less likely your name will need a magnifying glass.

Then come the current board members of AREA. This adds another layer of protocol. They are only five in number: Lillian (times two), Phiona, Diana, and Cissy. A very distinguished small group of women.

After that come the people I know personally, and also those who call me C-zar. That category also includes all female members of the RED. So yes, me knowing you personally is a very big plus, and naturally, it reflects quite nicely in the size of your name.

But the story does not end there.

I kept updating and reorganizing the Word Cloud list to accommodate everyone who called me while banging the table and protesting that their names were too small or microscopic, despite the tremendous contributions they have made to the industry. In other words, giving yourself a pass or blowing your own trumpet is also a valid factor in determining the size of your name.

And finally, we arrive at all the respected female agents, brokers, and realtors who continue to shape the industry through their daily work.

So now you know the criteria.

And if you feel that your name is currently microscopic and does not match the true size of your clout, please feel free to bang the table immediately, as I am still updating the Word Cloud list, but for next year's Women's Day. 

As for the color of the names, it is completely random; however, the shape of the word cloud depends entirely on my mood or creative inspiration at the time of creating the related content.

The distinguished lady you see in the red circle within the attached Word Cloud picture has banged the table quite hard, insisting that her name, as you see it in the circle, is sooooo tiny and should at least be doubled in size to properly match her status.

Well, that is quite a good joke, considering the very prestigious neighborhood where she has "currently" been placed. Right there she is, comfortably positioned next to Judith and Persis, and also close to Rachael. If you look just around the corner, you will even spot Irene on the next street, along with several other big shots.

In fact, where she is located in that Word Cloud is practically like the center of Kololo, thats prime real estate right there within the name-size universe. So really, the location alone should already count as an upgrade for her, do you agree?

Point to note though: The names are actually stored in a database, so the display query also orders them by the length of the name for everyone within the same category. In other words, shorter names appear first within the same group.

This arrangement works particularly well when generating a standard Word Cloud. So if your name happens to be a bit long ... well ... apologies in advance, you will simply appear last in your group. Nothing personal, just database logic at work.

Click here for a large-size printable image version of the Word Cloud list for women breaking barriers.