Comments on: Social media experts – it's all relative.

By: Daryl Tay

Daryl Tay — Wed, 21 May 2008 17:23:21 +0000

Hi Colin, I'm not sure there are really “experts” but there are definitely people who know more than others. But it's hard to say they're experts in the way they could be a computer fixing expert because things are changing so quickly and across so many platforms that it's truly hard to keep up sometimes!

By: WinExtra » From the Pipeline - 5.20.08

WinExtra » From the Pipeline - 5.20.08 — Wed, 21 May 2008 06:41:04 +0000

[...] Social media experts – it’s all relative. :: Colin Walker – Colin takes some well place shots at so-called social media experts. [...]

By: KimberlyBock

KimberlyBock — Wed, 21 May 2008 00:44:23 +0000

teamwork.

By: tinpig

tinpig — Wed, 21 May 2008 00:35:20 +0000

I tend to agree that “Social Media Expert” is too broad of a label. That is, some people my be adept at building new communities while others are skilled in marketing to them and others still in interfacing with social media sites from a technology perspective.

By: Britney Mason

Britney Mason — Tue, 20 May 2008 23:28:27 +0000

I hate the term expert. I dont think anyone can be a social networking, new media, social media whatever you want to call it expert. Everyday I learn something new about it. The term social media expert makes my hair stand up

By: Shey

Shey — Tue, 20 May 2008 21:51:51 +0000

To me, an “expert” in Social Media would best be identified by having a long track record of effectively and efficiently helping acheive organizational / individual goals using a combined knowledge of the social web and it's enabling technologies.

The expert has to be able to understand not only how the supporting technology works, but how to interact with the community in order to maximize participation and immersion.

By: KimberlyBock

KimberlyBock — Tue, 20 May 2008 21:51:31 +0000

if a mountain can be made of a mole hill, i'd say that's a good first step towards being an 'expert' in SM.

By: JayMoney

JayMoney — Tue, 20 May 2008 21:30:45 +0000

This was a great read Expert makes me feel warm and toasty inside. To me it's the top of the mountain but as with anything some people are just as good if not better than David Copperfield at making that mole hill look like a Mountain. Me and my 2 cents.

By: KimberlyBock

KimberlyBock — Tue, 20 May 2008 21:27:45 +0000

bingo

By: KimberlyBock

KimberlyBock — Tue, 20 May 2008 21:25:44 +0000

extremely terrific post colin. well said.

i think the results of our efforts in social media are best noted and understood when we consider the target audiences that are finding appeal in what we offer.

we spend a lot of time worshiping a listers and crawling after link love with them, which is important..dont get me wrong..but they are not where our conversions will ultimately be found in the future. it is with those not of the marketing world that we seek for conversion.

social media is evolving and those who best see where it's heading, are the ones that will be called the 'expert' in the future. because they will evolve with it..not against it..

of course that is speculative on my part, yet..i have had the privilege of heavy participation in the field and have found that wherever i go, there are more and more people daily that agree with this. one of the main reasons that there's not more public 'bucking' of todays system, is due to fear of losing a lister links and promos..because they have a tendency to gang up on opposers of their viewpoints. (not all of them..but enough. they think its their forever paycheck) behind closed doors, theirs plenty of discussion going on believe me..this is where things are evolving the strongest, because until certainty in SM tactics is achieved, many feel inhibited and even intimidated in voicing their revelations. wobbly kneed.

the usual marketing strategies of today, will be seen differently in the future. if they refuse to grow and expand, as opposed to holding on to the old concepts, it's unlikely that they will continue to flourish in the fashion they are accustomed to.

experts in SM? nah..

experts of observation? for sure.

By: Mark Dykeman

Mark Dykeman — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:46:42 +0000

Many fields change rapidly. You always have experts, even though they don't have complete knowledge. Put simply, they have the best knowledge and information sources available at any given point in time.

By: colinwalker

colinwalker — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:27:19 +0000

All very good points and go back to what I was saying about an expert being 'best placed to educate and inform'. It's not about the technology on it's own but what we can do with it that matters.

By: Mi_Integrity

Mi_Integrity — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:14:23 +0000

I think what we are dealing with really is not expertise so much but the ability to provide “navigation”. Since there is so much change happening with regard to social media, the person looking for help will be best served by someone who understands the landscape at that moment in time and can help navigate a strategy for using the tools available to map out the best implementation of media to accomplish the individual or organizational goals.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Tue, 20 May 2008 19:44:37 +0000

To me, expert status would guide me more toward a person who understand the impact and how to maximize reach. It would not necessarily have to do with a particular service or application. Simply have technical knowledge is not sufficient. For someone to be expert they need to be able to provide some impact.
I think an expert needs to have a broad enough view of what is available to know the best options for different contexts. But for that person to be bogged down in the innerworkings of that technology might be a waste of time.

By: Pat O'Bryan

Pat O'Bryan — Tue, 20 May 2008 19:30:15 +0000

The expert value that would cause me to hire an expert in this field would be that they were aware of all the options available, and could save me the time and trouble of climbing multiple learning curves for no reason by identifying what tools, out of an ever-changing and seemingly infinite universe of tools, would accomplish MY goals.

that's expert enuf fer me.

By: What Is a Social Media ‘Expert’?

What Is a Social Media ‘Expert’? — Tue, 20 May 2008 15:47:58 +0000

[...] Read more Colin Walker » Social media experts – it’s all relative. [...]