I am a Social Media Expert…
… and so are you!
There is a meme developing in my online tribe where people engaged in selling social media services are calling out other practitioners of social media who are making claims to be social media “experts”. The caution seems to be against some un-named other social media helper-person out there preying on businesses by claiming unearned expertise.
Let’s get this straight – if you made it to this post and you are reading these words, pat yourself on the back and give yourself a fancy gold star because you are now a social media expert. Anyone with the ability to get to this paragraph has all the qualifications to claim expertise in social media: You can read, you have some interface to read these words, and I assume you can type with your interface to leave a comment below (very subtle hint, huh). The entire premise behind social media is that the threshold for entry has been driven so low that everyone can play. It is exactly because everyone can Tweet, blog, comment, text, and in general get connected that this whole thing works. I’ve been throwing crap against the Internet wall to see what sticks for over 12 years. My mom just got her Facebook account about 3 months ago as an initial foray into social media. We are both experts at what we are doing online because we all create our own social media universe. No one can be me within my world better than me.
I think that the real issue that these non-expert experts have is the manner in which scammers are trying to do business (read: make $$) by using exaggerated claims of skill to dupe folks into buying snake oil solutions. I completely agree that a harsh light needs to be shone on the folks selling this bogus crap but let’s consider a few things about to best way to shine that light. By making the “no one can be an expert” argument the common reader from outside the echo chamber will have some predictable takeaways:
1 – Social Media really is hard because even the people who I thought were experts are claiming to not know enough to be an expert.
2 – There’s some serious in-crowd/out-crowd stuff going on in here that confuses me. Maybe I’ll go somewhere else more inviting.
3 – I’ll need some help if I’m going to play here – I’ll go chat with one of these almost-but-not-quite experts to see if they can show me the way.
Another consideration for the “no one can be an expert” argument is to consider who the audience is for those non-expert experts. I would venture to guess that anyone gullible enough to buy into some fake-expert’s shady deal is not the same person reading the blog of the non-expert expert. To put another way: People who get sucked in by infomercials aren’t the same people who read Consumer Reports.
Why does this matter? The technology we use to connect to other people should be celebrated as easy, effective, and knowable for the common person. Making the “no one can be an expert” argument undermines the do-it-yourself ethos that started this whole thing in the first place. I think we need to keep on calling out the scammers and the frauds, but don’t do it in a way that makes social media feel less approachable and more mysterious to the people investigating this new place.
Take it from an expert
Category: BIG Idea, Business Acumen, Personal, Social Media 6 comments »
October 4th, 2009 at 11:13 am
My hope for the “don’t be an expert” or “don’t be duped by an ‘expert’” is that too many folks (in any field) can fall into the trap of a false sense of proficiency’ And proficiency (aka an expert’s mindset) leads to less chance of learning something new (aka a learner’s mindset). Give me the latter, and please grant me the humility of the same.
I do believe there are some who think they are experts in every sense (which is different than having “some expertise”).
I would suspect that even Tiger Woods doesn’t consider himself an “expert” on golf. Good extension of the conversation – it’s by such that we learn from each other.
October 4th, 2009 at 11:29 am
Thanks for the input Mike – You and I are probably closer than we think on this topic.
One angle I didn’t cover in my post was the difference between individuals and organizations who might be listening to the Meta Social Media conversation. I think the caution against Social Media Charlatans makes more sense to an organization but that conversation is happening in the social media world. This world is hodge podge of companies, individuals, Cliques, Cabals, and Insurgencies. When the non-expert experts warn against falling for snake oil, the folks trying to come to the table with a beginners mind get the message that this stuff is so hard I might not even want to try.
In the end I really want to save and foster the DIY ethos that is at the base of this community.
October 4th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Great point – and you’re right…the DIY is imperative, and the reason I ONLY coach towards independence.
I will almost always recommend someone get started and engaged in the conversation before seeking a “coach” — they may be a natch at recongizing how similar the online and offline spaces are, and they may (and if done right, will) find plenty of “mentors” in the conversation space that already exists.
October 6th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
Good topic.
Can’t the same be said for PR experts? Anyone with a phone can call and pitch a reporter a story. Can’t the same be said for advertising experts? Anyone with a pen and a pencil can create an ad. How about being an author? Anyone with a typewriter can write a book.
The list can go on and on. The question is: can you do it well? Have you done it before and does your work get results?
October 6th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
Thanks for the input George (just happened to be in my blog when it came through).
I would agree that anyone with a phone can call a reporter – I think the biggest difference between those scenarios and social media is that people don’t call reporters for fun and entertainment (at least not very many!). The vast majority of folks using social media are people first looking to connect to other people. It just so happens that they are using the same channels that organizations are starting to use to drive the business engines. I just don’t want the business interests to kill the DIY ethos that makes this new place so much fun. By arguing about social media expertise, the common person is exposed to an “inside baseball” argument that may dissuade them from engaging. That would be sad. That discussion about social media expertise may need to happen, I’m just not sure how and where it should happen.
Side note – I checked out your post on Google Sidewiki (http://hightalk.net/2009/09/30/8-reasons-google-sidewiki-will-keep-marketers-up-at-night/) and I am also a little surprised at the lack of non-blogosphere press. I do think that some of the concerns about negative sidewiki comments will be a mitigated to some degree because all of a person’s sidewiki comments will be aggregated on their Google profile for all to see. Some judicious sidewiki replies with links back to said profile will expose obvious trolls. That’s my game plan anyway.
Thanks again – Ben
December 4th, 2009 at 8:43 pm
Great post my friend!