I’ve been pretty hard on social media consultants on this blog. So, after reading an interesting article this week in the Iowa Business Record, I decided to put away all those hard feelings, and do a blog post that is supportive of the social media scene in Des Moines.
The article I am referring to is this one, announcing the arrival of a new social media firm: One Social Media. With this addition, Des Moines has almost as many social media firms/consultants as the birthplace of social media: Boston.
Whereas Boston has CC Chapman, Chris Brogan, Chris Penn and others, Des Moines now has Lava Row, One Social Media and Catchfire Media – and others. A lot of others.
What is it about Des Moines that is a breeding ground for so-called Social Media Experts? Is it the corn? Can the city support three social media firms, and countless wannabes who think they have all the answers?
I don’t think so. Something has to give.
But more importantly, I want you to look closely at the comparison above. Notice the names from Boston, then notice the names from Des Moines. See anything… different?
I do.
CC Chapman, Chris Brogan, Chris Penn. Bam Bam Bam. Three powerful names. If you had those names on a conference (which I was lucky enough to meet all three at Podcamp Boston 2) you would have a great event. Period. CC Chapman is presenting at Blogworld this year, I wouldn’t doubt Chris Brogan makes an appearance as well. Chris Penn is one of the co-founders of Podcamp (along with Chris Brogan.) There must be something in the water, besides tea, that makes Boston the hub of social media.
Then there’s Des Moines. With one social media expert per 1,000 population, it remains… stagnant. Full of inbreeding, and mutual pats on the back, its social media leaders stay close to home, giving lectures to college business classes, attending or throwing tweetups (drink-ups) / and meetups on a local scale.
Boston – takes their leadership in social media to a global scale with big conferences, keynotes around the world, writing books and being leaders in the industry.
Des Moines… you get the drill.
But why is this? Why can’t Des Moines with its 3 (at least) social media firms, step up into world-wide recognition and first-class status? The answer is hidden above, but I’ll recap it below in a nice form that can be quoted.
Answer:
The Des Moines social media scene is concerned more with being local leaders than global. They fight with/over each other to be the definitive “expert” while simultaneously patting each other on the back to make themselves feel good. They throw tweetups for the sole purpose of getting wasted (no real networking happens there anymore) and care little about what is really going on in the world around them.
The Boston social media scene thinks globally. They write books. They give keynotes around the world. They go to conferences like SXSW to actually network and not to party. They aren’t trying to one-up each other, they are just trying to move themselves and their businesses forward. If anything else, they are collaborative and supportive of each other. Plus they extend that collaboration to others through their blogs, talks, and books.
Maybe that’s the biggest difference. The Bostonians give back to the social media community, not really looking for their own accolades. While Des Moines experts seem bent on making a name for themselves any way they can.
And they are. I just don’t think it’s the names they want.
What do you think? How can Des Moines hold so many social media “experts” like Boston, but not be known as a hub for social media like Boston is? Is there a Chris Brogan type “expert” in Des Moines ready to break out and actually be a leader? Thoughts?
Troy,
First off, I applaud you for taking the effort to highlight how a town like Des Moines has somehow been the social media boom-town over the last year or so.
As someone who doesn’t take part in strategy but more so on the technology & innovation side, to begin the conversation wisely there needs to be some lead in on what a “expert” is. I believe that there are no “experts” in this space. Simply individuals or organizations that introduce specific technologies available for what a social media response or strategy should be. This is no different than your modern day “PR” firm with a twist.
On a different note; there is truly a problem with firms that continue to press the issue of “tweeting” or blogging for their clients. OneSocial was quoted in that article about how they do some of that for their clients, and I think that strategy will ultimately go away. The companies located here in Des Moines specifically, have realized that it is more beneficial to have a team under their roof and on their payroll who will fulfill these duties. In turn, they don’t need the likes of Catchfire and OneSocial. Larger companies, like a Sears for example, have ramped up their hiring to do social media themselves. More recently a division we work with hired 2 new social media project coordinators; they don’t need a firm to help them like they did maybe a year ago when Twitter was a buzz word.
I will respectfully disagree with your comment about Tweetup’s as a way “to get wasted”. I think that might be a little over the top, of an otherwise interesting blog post.
Cheers,
James Eliason
I think as long as the traditional tweetup, in the Des Moines area, is at a bar after work – then the act of drinking will be center stage. Maybe “wasted” is a bit much, highly inebriated, maybe?
Unlike what others are saying, Im not PICKING on social media experts or companies in this post… really. Im asking a) can Des Moines support… REALLY SUPPORT this many SM companies, and the main question:
If DM is such a hotbed for SM and web now, why isn’t anybody bubbling up as a leader to bring the community together? Now, Andy responded by saying that he feels the community is collaborative and friendly. Thats great. But we are all concentrated on our own thing.
If Des Moines is to truly move forward and be a leader in web, DM and technology, then there needs to be a unified effort to bring the city up. And I dont SEE a leader being formed. Just a lot of owners of SM and web companies doing their own thing.
For Des Moines to fully realize its potential, it is my belief we need a leader to do so who can pull in the companies into a truly collaborative effort, foster web entrepreneurs, and kick some major butt.
Startup weekend shouldnt be one weekend a year. Highlight midwest shouldnt be one weekend a year. We should have that same spirit driving us each day. We should have podcamps, barcamps, whatever scheduled throughout the year. We should have “build an app day” .. etc.
If people want to believe I am anti-Des Moines, then that’s their prerogative. Im not saying my ideas are the only ones, or the right ones, but they are my observations.
1. If there are “too many” of something in this wonderful capitalist economy we live in – the market will naturally weed out the less experienced and less talented. It’s basic supply and demand. If supply outpaces demand the market will correct itself.
2. “If Des Moines is to truly move forward and be a leader in web, DM and technology, then there needs to be a unified effort to bring the city up. And I dont SEE a leader being formed. Just a lot of owners of SM and web companies doing their own thing.”
If you came to any of these events you would realize the vast amount of collaboration going on in order to COLLECTIVELY bootstrap our city.
3. As I mentioned in my tweets – leadership is organic and not self-proclaimed. It is earned and granted by your community. If I stood up tomorrow and said “I’m leading you” that wouldn’t work. It’s not a football team.
4. “Startup weekend shouldnt be one weekend a year. Highlight midwest shouldnt be one weekend a year. We should have that same spirit driving us each day. We should have podcamps, barcamps, whatever scheduled throughout the year. We should have “build an app day” .. etc.”
SO ORGANIZE ONE! The beauty of these events is they are organic and decentralized. If you want more Barcamps, by all means take charge!
Very interesting post and at times I have felt the same frustrations. After sorting out my feelings however I found it was more of a grass is greener scenario.
I can’t speak specifically to Boston but I’m sure if you spend some time there it wouldn’t take long to find some bitterness to the stars you listed above and in any city I’m sure there is someone who feels the same frustration as you with their local SMEs.
Creating a community takes time and a lot of hard work. Luckily there are people here who are interested and willing to help. Wordcamp is in the works. The social media club is kicking and hosting many great events. And the overall tech scene is coming together nicely through events like Startup Weekend, Startup Drinks and Tech Brews.
Through this I’m sure the scene will continue to evolve and maybe one day someone will stand out as a thought leader in the areas you care about but let it be known it will be driven by that persons own hardwork and dedication.
Lastly, right now is not the time to say there is too much. Right now all I see is growing interest and opportunity…
Troy, thanks for the putting your thoughts out there and hopefully others will take this post as a call to action.