Everybody is A Social Media Expert
By Troy on Sep 11, 2009 in Featured, Social Media
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?
My thinking on why there seems to be a lot of social media consultants: The teeming masses don’t “get it” when looking at social media so there is a huge pressure in our personal networks for information on the topic. Those folks seeking the information reach out to the people in their personal networks they see using social media (who are probably early adopters and tech savvy) and ask these pseudo exports for help. Get asked enough times how to use it, and eventually you decide to start charging for it, especially if you’ve just lost your job.
I think your post seems to make it out like social media advice should be elevated up with marketing or legal advice and that rubs me a little bit wrong. The core of social media is authenticity and community and if we elevate social media consultants to expert status we stratify something that maybe shouldn’t be stratified. Just my take on it.
I do some consulting on the side in social media with people from my personal and business network. I tell them flat out that I am not going to just build and run and that the real challenges in this isn’t tech, it’s relationships that matter. I also make them understand that it is ultimately up to them to drive the process with my initial, but fading, hand holding and training. Do I deserve a spot on your approved consultant list (tongue slightly in cheek)?
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