Comments on: What it means to be a “Social Media Expert”

By: keif

keif — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 20:15:04 +0000

That’s really the thing that worries me most – people that can sell themselves well enough that they can “talk the talk” but create the wrong image of social media to the wrong people – whereas it potentially could hurt the “expert”, it could more so hurt a business that pursues a bad path or turns themselves off from social media altogether.

Oh, and I really dig Chris Brogan (and my skull and crossbones is a piratey theme idea I had way too early in the morning :) )

By: keif

keif — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 20:11:00 +0000

Well, there’s definitely money to be had in consulting, but it’s understanding at some point you’ll be replaced by a kid in grade school unless you show your value-added approach! ;)

By: Lara Kretler

Lara Kretler — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 19:19:44 +0000

Great post – I present about social media all the time but one of my messages is that I am NOT an expert, just an enthusiast and avid user of social media. If you Google “social media expert” you get 12 million hits. It’s insane. The true gurus in this space are the ones who give the most away for free (a la Chris Brogan). Thanks for sharing this – and I love your skull background.

By: Alvin

Alvin — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 18:34:56 +0000

Damn. And I was thinking of opening up a Social Media Expert consulting business. :)

Check out my comment here (#14) http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2008/07/23/why-social-network-marketing-misses-out-playing-solitaire-at-a-party/.

Not as well said as your post, but the gist is the same.

By: keif

keif — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:15:10 +0000

Ah, the days of dial-up and trying to find a working number to dial-in.

With the invention of DSL, cable, et al. I’m glad to see how expansive it’s becoming so that people from all nations and backgrounds are able to get online and connect.

I still wonder what it’ll be like by the time my son’s old enough to be online…

By: Amy

Amy — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:01:49 +0000

Nice work. I too was a member of sixdegrees back in the day, and then Friendster, Myspace, and on and on and on. I also used Prodigy for bulletin boards and all the fun that come along with it.

Amy_at_CAPA

By: keif

keif — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 05:12:35 +0000

Well, ultimately that is what I mean – there is a relation, a cross-reference with other roles (much like we’ve seen from a marketing AND development perspective).

I suppose that “Social Media Experts” fall in line more so with a relationship of what other aspect they know strongly – PR, HR, Development, Personal Branding, etc. etc.

I really dig what…I’ve been digging up… as it’s really shedding a bit more light on people that claim a title, versus people that deserve the title (and also a nice guide to those that want to earn the title).

By: Andrea Hill

Andrea Hill — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 03:57:53 +0000

I guess I think of social media/social interaction design as an extension as to how ppl use the web. Yes, I too will say that we had it all going on back with geocities and livejournal.. but at the same time, you have to admit that how people use technology is changing.. I think that social media is about people leveraging technologies to communicate among themselves, as opposed to going to a destination website to learn about a brand. No, the basic premise is not new, but its relevance to business is.

I think that PR is related to social media, but they’re not the same thing. I place the emphasis on social media on the platform, not on the message itself…