For all the wonders the Internet brings us, social media has created some serious monsters. Fame m-m-m-monsters.
This is how it works: give a monkey a WordPress and Twitter account, and suddenly they’re a Social Media Marketing Guru Expert Millenial Coach who will Change Your Life!! with their affiliate program that will gain you ten thousand followers in nanoseconds and lead you on the path to the becoming a millionaire, all while working from home.
It’s laughable, yes, but the immediacy and accessibility of the web has given us self-proclaimed gurus whose Twitter profiles explain that they:
They might also ”Maximise breakthrough by leveraging influencers!” or ”Harness social currency to drive buzz!”
Thank you, What the Fuck is my Social Media ‘Strategy’ dot com.
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What in the world does any of that even mean? “Sounds complex!” You think. “They must really know how to utilize social networks to maximize profits!”
It means nothing. It’s all fluff, but the low barriers to social media networks mean that people can claim to be anything they want to be. No legitimate non-Hollywood celebrity millionaire is spending EVERY WAKING MOMENT Tweeting this link and that link. STFU. There’s no such thing as a social media marketer, dude.
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Last Wednesday I attended @foiledcupcakes’ (a popular gourmet cupcake delivery company that grew exponentially via Twitter!) one-year anniversary celebration at theWit hotel downtown on State Street. Other than hearing of the name in passing, I didn’t know anything about the company prior to registering for the party. My primary reason for going was to meet a fellow blogger, Raven Moore of The Writerbabe Series, and perhaps do some networking.
I say perhaps because social gatherings that aren’t specifically networking events can be hit or miss in my experience. With a recent Brazen Careerist blog post about how to network when you don’t really feel like networking fresh in my mind, I decided to just show up without expectations and see how the night went.
All of @foiledcupcakes' Twitter followers!
My initial encounter at theWit irritated me, and not only because of the way its name is spelled. I had to stand in a line of about seven people for five minutes behind a black velvet rope manned by a bouncer TO ENTER A HOTEL. The place wasn’t at capacity (the event only had 45 official minutes remaining), and it wasn’t like he was letting five people in for every five that left the building. He was just making us wait. It reeked of elitism and pretentiousness and was an instant turnoff.
Inside the hotel was nice, of course, and the event was held in the Phoenix Lounge on the second floor. The cupcakes were delicious, and Foiled had a table dedicated to encourage people to make their own costumes out of, well, foil. People were having fun and chatting. I ran into my longtime, long-lost friend Jenny J, whom I hadn’t seen in years!
Free @foiledcupcakes for everyone!
reunited and it feels so good.
Also, I was glad to finally meet Raven; we hit it off instantly. Her website, The Writerbabe Series: Transitions in Modern Life is focused on writing, work, and design, as well as personal anecdotes and funny stories. She and I have quite the similar sense of snarkiness– stating the obvious in a “duh” way, if that makes sense.
In addition to talking about blogging, our significant others, and natural hair, Raven and I also have shared similar observations about so-called social media gurus and experts and the bigheads the industry has created.
I noticed a few said notorious bigheads in the crowds, and seeing them in the flesh, it was like, “THAT’S so-and-so? Wow, talk about disconnected from reality.” Sure, I was judging based on appearances and demeanors, but some people are just not that all that.
So much of what is out there is utter crap.
Just because you have a blogspot account doesn’t mean you’re a writer. High follower counts on Twitter aren’t impressive (nor are they hard to obtain), especially if you’re following about the same number of people that follow you. It’s even worse when you follow three times as many accounts as are following you, you spammer. Talk to me when you have 50,000 followers while you follow 30 people, give or take. Then you might be a big deal, or you might be Tila Tequila, whose vapidity cancels out her notoriety in my book. I use Twitter to interact with my peers and share informative or funny links.
Fierce! Chicago bloggers mizChartreuse and Writerbabe
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Humans thrive off validation and being liked. Blogging is a great: you can rant and rave diary-style, build a brand in your niche, tell stories, share useful information, start conversations, and blah blah taking down the journalism industry blah blah opinions are good, objectivity doesn’t exist, blah.
Too many bloggers have been bitten by the megalomania virus, becoming self-important because 1000 people are “fans” of their blog’s Facebook page. And how narcissistic is that? Fan pages are totally unnecessary.
Unless you’re a heavy hitter with a legitimate brand, like Heather B. Armstrong of Dooce or my girl Chris-Tia Donaldson of Thank God I’m Natural, you probably shouldn’t comfortable soliciting your Facebook friends to like your fanpage. I’m not that out of touch yet.
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As I said above there are many people who have the obvious delusion that they’re an “expert” at something (marketing, design, and social media [of course],are crowd favorites!), then build their own pedestals so high that they refuse to interact with the people back on earth. They’ll say they welcome new readers and friends, but then blow people off or act like they’ve got Oprah or Steve Jobs’ workload.
There’s an air of conceit when really, they just purchased a pretty $67 Thesis theme for WordPress via their friend’s affiliate link, designed a custom header, and post every day about marketing, being a member of Gen Y or how to enter the workforce after graduation.
Writes Alison Gianotto of snipe.net, in her blog entitled “Why I Hate Bloggers That Give Blogging Advice“:
“People have made a career out of telling people what they already know because those people need and desire to be told what they already know … Jackholes who overstate the obvious become known for their wisdom by the dipshits who only think they’re wise because it wasn’t obvious to them … If you need someone to tell you that social media only works when you are *social*, you’re a moron. If you believe that anyone who is telling you that you need to create fresh ideas with original thought is actually original or fresh, you’re a moron.”
Cue the Haaallelujah! chorus.
To each their own, yes, but I would never self-label as a guru or expert of some sort. I’m a good writer, yes, but at the end of the day I blog because I enjoy telling stories and sharing my viewpoints to start a discussion, however instigative I can be at time. Few people in their 20s have it “all figured out” (whatever that means); many people rarely do and just enjoy the rollercoaster.
“They” do say that the Millenials/Generation Y members are the most self-absorbed to date, so it makes sense that people are becoming self-appointed celebrities. I can only imagine how nutso my 13-year-old brother’s generation will be.
If you’ve read all this and are still impressed/duped by Social Media Douchebags (click that link; it’s worth it!), I have only this to say to you:
p.s. You can Nuke Douchebags here at http://www.douchenuker.com!
5 responses so far ↓
1 Mari // Aug 5, 2010 at 8:32 am
Thanks for being at our event! I’m sorry I missed meeting you; it looks like you were able to meet up with some great people (@jennyeclec @writerbabe @keith_shay), so hopefully (despite the douchebaggery that might have been there), you had a good time.
About your post, I agree with pretty much everything you’ve written. It’s probably not a gross exaggeration to say that there’s probably a SME/SMG : SMNewbie ratio of 2:1 right now. Which means there’s a lot of snake oil out there. (Our company gets hit up all the time by people who want to give us advice on how to get 50K followers in 10 days on Twitter, or increase our fan base, or write our blog content. Blech.)
(Before I go on, I should say that I can’t really speak about the blogging community since I’m not really a blogger, and the stuff I *do* know about the bloggers, I don’t really get. But that’s just because I’m freaking old.)
But I guess the way I see it is, these are real people who are making an effort to do something *they* perceive as valuable. And to me, that’s more than can be said for those who are stuck in jobs they hate, doing things they don’t like, and cursing the world for it.
So in the meantime, while there’s a lot of smokes-and-mirrorsing in the social media sphere these days (and yes, too many morons who believe that crap), it’ll be interesting to see who really ends up sticking around. Not to sound cliche, but it’s probably gonna be those who are actually dishing out useful content, connecting with their communities, and are humble enough to know they don’t know it all. Just my $0.02.
Anyhow, thanks again for coming to the event. You looked fabulous, and I kind of want your handbag.
2 Jenny // Aug 5, 2010 at 9:44 am
Thanks for mentioning me in this post =) I’m in the same boat as you- I’m so sick of hearing people call themselves “social media experts/gurus”. I’ve come to find that I know more about social media than a lot of those people and it’s very frustrating. I’ve attempted to work/for a specific Chicago-based “expert” and was disgusted with how little he/she knew about social media. Just because someone is willing to pay for your services, doesn’t make you an expert- that makes you a jackass and the people paying you are suckers. Social media is a two-way street/conversation. It’s not about self promotion. It’s about creating a conversation and genuinely listening to what others have to say. I have friends on Twitter who rarely ever tweet about their profession but because I know what they do b/c we’ve met IRL, I know who to turn to if I need such services. Do you think I’m going to recommend the chiropractor who throws their profession in my face or the one who converses with me and has a real person tweeting for them and not some “expert”? I hope businesses realize that social media should not be outsourced to a marketing company or consultant who offers to tweet for them. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a particular consultant tweet back and forth with his/her own clients. It’s a schizophrenic marketing tactic and I’m not buying it.
On that note, I have 4 of my own Twitter accounts to compliment my websites which at times is overwhelming but I sometimes think it’s better to keep all my audiences separately (@eatdrinkblogrep focuses on food & restaurants, @sustainagalchi focuses on sustainable living, @swoonandspoon focuses on food & events and now coincides with my main blogging outlet, & @jennyeclec is where I have most of my followers and who most tweeps are familiar with). I sometimes tweet about something from 1 account or 2 or all 4 if there’s overlap in interest. Trying to figure out where to tweet from is annoying at times and I often consider just going down to one twitter name and one blog, but I own domains for 3 of the 4 so for the time being, I’m going to hold on to all twitter names.
This was a great post and I love your honesty! It was so nice to see you and I look forward to catching up again sometime soon!
3 Charlotte Mutesha // Aug 6, 2010 at 1:46 pm
Hi Mari-
I think your ratio of “experts” to newbies is probably quite accurate! The great thing about Foiled Cupcakes is the great story of how social media can *actually* work. Your followers and the amazing turnout at the one-year anniversary party is a testament to how word-of-mouth marketing and Twitter is dynamically changing entrepreneurship and growing start-up businesses! That said, I doubt you need an “expert” coming in to help you increase your fan base.
I completely agree about people making efforts to provide value. I certainly respect those who take life into their own hands instead of toiling away at dead-end jobs that might not be the best use of their talents and lives.
For me, it’s all about the connections one builds and the relationships that come from such connections. And if one provides actual value, there will be a demand for it. Great job with your company, and I know it’s all uphill from here!
I hope to meet you someday soon and perhaps write about the greatness that is Foiled Cupcakes.
(and thanks for the purse compliment! It’s a cute Betsey Johnson– and was definitely a birthday gift from my generous best friend!)
4 Charlotte Mutesha // Aug 6, 2010 at 1:51 pm
Jenny- you’re right! As I commented above in reply to Mari, it’s about connections and relationships. That’s why, as a writer, I don’t employ the whole shameless self-promotion thing 24/7, “HIRE ME! I’M GREAT! I’LL SOLVE ALL YOUR PROBLEMS!”
Over the years, I’ve realized that 95% of every job or gig I’ve gotten was the result of a friendship. Whether it was at a retail store (Sam Ash), a bar/restaurant, a modeling gig, or a freelance writing project– most of my career endeavors grew from some sort of relationship I had with a person.
I sometimes make fun of people with two or more Twitter accounts who tweet the SAME THING ALL DAY from all their accounts — why is that necessary?! But it’s a different story if you’re tweeting about relevant things that relate to the specific account/audience and if it overlaps, so be it. Besides, I always have the choice to unfollow one account if the two are pretty much the same thing.
You’re doing great for yourself, Jenny J. Thanks for the comment and your feedback/perspective of this social media-driven world we live in. So great to see you!!
5 Ryan Paugh // Aug 9, 2010 at 4:57 pm
I’m happy that our networking post helped inspire you to leap into yet another networking event. I’m pretty sure that there’s at least 10 scheduled on any given night in Chigago. At least up here in Madison it’s a little bit more manageable.
Glad to hear that you met Raven. She’s on my list of Chicago bloggers that I still have to meet while I’m living in the Midwest.
Speaking of meetups we’re getting ready to unravel something pretty fun on Brazen and it would be great to have someone like you involved w/ the project. We need more people in the world who appreciate out-of-the-box thinking when it comes to hosting events.
I’ll be sending out an email on Wednesday w/ more info or just email me tomorrow and I’ll give you a sneak peek of what we’re hoping to do w/ you guys.
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