Over the past couple of years, Richard has been integrating personality research (such as that done by Jason Renfrow) into his work on location, growth, and quality of place.
Last week, while playing on Twitter I came across a website that analyzes the personality of blogs.
Typealyzer.com is a bare bones site/application that claims to “find out what type” a blog is. It offers a simple box to enter the URL of the blog to be typealized.
Being a mere mortal, I couldn’t resist Typealyzer and entered my primary blog – Campus Entrepreneurship.
The output, which came up quickly, said my blog was an INTJ or “Scientist.” INTJ is a personality type based on the Myers-Briggs test. The good news for Typealyzer is that I took a standard (seemingly unending) Myers-Briggs test during business school and came out an INTJ. Here is the description from Typealyzer’s output:
The long-range thinking and individualistic type. They are especially good at looking at almost anything and figuring out a way of improving it – often with a highly creative and imaginative touch. They are intellectually curious and daring, but might be physically hesitant to try new things.
The Scientists enjoy theoretical work that allows them to use their strong minds and bold creativity. Since they tend to be so abstract and theoretical in their communication they often have a problem communicating their visions to other people and need to learn patience and use concrete examples. Since they are extremely good at concentrating they often have no trouble working alone.
I then ran my posts on CreativeClass.com. Same output.
Next I “typealyzed” Richard’s postings. They came came out an INTJ or “Scientist.”
I then ran the Ask Rana column. The output from Typealyzer said Ask Rana is an ENTJ or one of “The Executives.” The description states:
The direct and assertive type. They are especially attuned to the big picture and how to get things done.They are talented strategic planners, but might come off as insensitive to others needs and appear arrogant. They like to be where the action is and like making bold and sweeping changes in complex situations.
The Executives are happy when their work let them learn and improve themselves and how things work around them. Not being very shy about expressing their ideas and often very outgoing they often make excellent public speakers.
I then ran Mark Cuban’s blog – BlogMaverick.com. The output for the blog was ISTJ: The Duty Fulfillers:
The responsible and hardworking type. They are especially attuned to the details of life and are careful about getting the facts right. Conservative by nature they are often reluctant to take any risks whatsoever.
The Duty Fulfillers are happy to be let alone and to be able to work in their own pace. They know what they have to do and how to do it.
I don’t know Cuban, and he may be conservative by nature, but not sure how good this one is? Though I am sure he works hard and gets things done at their own pace (likely a very fast one).
Typealyzer.com is a fun tool, but it is not a real Myers-Briggs test and therefore must be taken with a grain of salt. The real tests asks the subject questions directly, this analyzes blog entries. That said, have fun with it!
January 14th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
It’s a fun tool. It comes back with a wild analysis if you put in a website rather than a blog. I think that the description of my site reflects the personality of the webmaster !
January 14th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
Wow, surprisingly accurate assessment of me! And agree with yours completely.
January 14th, 2009 at 9:01 pm
Surprisingly fast results. I put in my daughter’s personal blog and came back with ESFP. Very different from the folks on this blog, but so is she. Pretty good description of her though.
I’ve done a couple of full scale Myers-Briggs over the years and they both come up with INFP. First two like David & Richard, last two like my daughter. Probably why I like both.
The consistency of various versions of tests over time (what researchers call reliability) is what makes me believe they measure something, even if it’s not what they claim to measure. An example is standard IQ, where I’ve always come within 5 points in various tests over the decades. I’m not convinced they have much to do with intelligence as much as the ability to take multiple choice tests, but they are at least consistent.
January 14th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
What happened to the used car salesman?
January 15th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
Blogs may show different aspects of our personalities. When I entered my posts to the website it gave ENTJ, only one letter in common with my personal results. And while I have done the executive thing, it’s not my preferred mode any more. But enough about me….
January 16th, 2009 at 1:04 am
Very fascinating! I’m an ENTP, generally connoting entrepreneurship as I understand it (I haven’t looked at it in years). Are you aware of any sites that came back ENTP?
January 19th, 2009 at 11:14 am
One major assumption is that what we choose to write about on our blogs is an accurate reflection of who we are as people, which is not always the case. I share some aspects of my like publicly, but keep others (and much of my opinions) to myself.
January 19th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
Good point Jana. There is a lot of ’self-editing’/’self-creation’ on blogs and other social media. btw, did you run Jananas?
January 19th, 2009 at 5:30 pm
Great find. Thanks for sharing.
January 20th, 2009 at 2:07 am
Cool stuff, I have been curious as to what my personality type is.
January 20th, 2009 at 9:07 am
-Wil, did you put in the code from the web site? Shouldn’t code and math be a prerequisite for returning the ‘Scientist’ clasification?
I tried my old blog from Myspace and got this back:
“ESTP – The Doers
The active and playful type. They are especially attuned to people and things around them and often full of energy, talking, joking and engaging in physical out-door activities.
The Doers are happiest with action-filled work which craves their full attention and focus. They might be very impulsive and more keen on starting something new than following it through. They might have a problem with sitting still or remaining inactive for any period of time.”
It’s probably about half right. I’m still not sold on M-B analysis though.
January 20th, 2009 at 9:32 pm
David,
I do indeed run Jananas, although I did hesitate when using the word ‘run’. It isn’t focused or updated enough to be a true blog.
Sadly, some of my outside of work interests aren’t typically considered to be corporate office-friendly. Rather than be judged by potential (or current) employers, I’ve become very selective in what is publicly linked to my name.