I read an article in a recent edition of .Net Magazine from the UK, and came across something I had joked about between people in our office. In the last couple of years we have seen a record number of layoffs and downsizing. Many people losing their jobs suddenly have this bright idea:
“I just lost my job as a (insert title here) – guess I’ll become a web designer or social media consultant!”
::thud:: – that was the sound of my head falling onto my desk.
What is it with web development and social media that leads people to believe that “anybody” can do it? If I suddenly lost my job, I wouldn’t think to myself “guess I’ll just go get a job as a surgeon at the local hospital.” So why do people a) think anybody can do it and b) think they can do it WELL?
Quite simple – we are in the “reset” generation.
This is what I call the 19-30 year olds currently in the workplace who think they have a magic reset button, like on a video game, where they can just push it and get anything they want. They have been told since they were little that “everybody is special” and “it’s that you tried that counts.”
Baloney.
Here is the cold hard facts why everybody wants to be a social media consultant: lack of accountability.
Yes, I know there are legitimate social media agencies who use split testing, metrics, and other ways of quantifying results, but the majority of would-be social media consultants think all they have to do is set up twitter and a WordPress blog for a client and their job is done. It is up to the client to actually use the tools.
Sure, any kid can do a web page with an editor, but if you want something done professionally and done right, with standards,then you hire someone with that knowledge. It’s the whole “knowing which screw to turn” philosophy. And it works.
What are you thoughts? Why is there an overwhelming surge of people who want to be web site programmers and social media experts after losing their jobs? Why does everybody with a Twitter account think they have the prerequisites to even BE a social media consultant? How do you tell the difference between someone who knows their stuff and someone who is taking you for a ride?
And finally, is a social media consultant that unskilled that anybody can do it?
