February 23, 2011
Just Because You Can, Doesn't Mean You Should
I know this is going to really chafe a lot of my peers but it needs to be said...
Most people 'in the business' agree that social media, blogs, and any other self-publishing platforms are awesome tools that allow organizations to connect with consumers unlike any other medium before.
These tools also allow for the creation of some of the most mindless garbage out there. Much of it is pointless blather. And, the stuff that's not pointless blather, a lot of that is a re-tweet or re-post of information readily available in other mediums.
Just follow anyone in PR, marketing, branding, web... it's one big, giant 6pm local business networking mixer where everyone there isn't interested in you, but instead wants to tell you how much they know. Yes, we get it... you're watching the news feeds like a hawk so you can be one of the first to tweet about something. Along with hordes of other 'look at me' people.
And, it gets a lot worse. I follow some people who have thousands of followers. People who are regarded as being 'social media experts'. Here's a recent tweet from someone who has over 11,000 twitter followers:
"Wow. Must be Hot Guy hour at the grocery store. ... Yup, it is."
or how about:
"Beyblades? WTH are Beyblades?? Two weeks in school and my son is caught up in a toy trend. *sigh*"
and better, yet:
"This weekend is going to be perfect beach weather in San Diego. Need to go get a new bathing suit!!"
Just three of 43 tweets from this person on the day I wrote this article (it's 4pm... my guess is they'll make it to 75).
Can somebody please tell me, what value someone provides to the world when it appears their job is to tweet mindless garbage all day long? And, mind you, this is coming from a 'social media expert' that consults with businesses on how to use social media. (This 'social media expert' is not alone so I am not picking on this one in particular - I can find hundreds of other 'experts' who post similar garbage or 're-posts' in similar volume.)
Our peers are constantly touting articles about social media's effectiveness in an effort to convince business executives why they should not ignore the medium, but what the hell do you think these executives are going to say when someone who is considered a 'social media expert' uses the medium in this way?
I'll tell you what they will say. I know because I hear it from CEO's all the time. "What the hell is this crap?"
And, you know what? It's hard to defend my peers when so many of us are posting uninspiring blather or re-tweets of what everyone else is posting. Gang, let's minimize the posts and only post when you have something really solid to talk about. Key part of that last sentence: "... when YOU have something really solid to talk about."
And, that's the problem with social media and self-publishing platforms - now anybody and everybody can have a 'voice'. Sounds great, right? Wrong. News flash: Not everyone has 'it'. Not everyone is going to be a leader. Not everyone is capable of captivating an audience.
Instead, we're telling everyone that they need to 'get social' instead of stepping back and evaluating whether or not this person or company even has the capability of saying anything worthwhile. We're telling manufacturers of cardboard boxes that they need a facebook page and a twitter account. Really?
There. It had to be said. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.
