We all know I cannot stand self proclaimed Social Media Experts. God only knows how many rants I have gone on in other blogs. Now another thing is really starting to chap my ass.
To many people are trying to cash in by offering Social Media training. You know I have no problem with certain people doing it, depends on who you are. However, if you are a consumer and want training, there are a few things you need to watch out for.
First off, who the hell are the people offering the training? Can you see their results? Are they transparent enough? By this I mean are they truly active?
Just because you know how to set up a Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Stumble, Mixx, Google, or Youtube account, doesn’t make you trainer material. To set up said accounts don’t be lazy, read the FAQ’s at each location.
I am coming across more and more advertisements for Social Media training, and a shit ton of these people I have never heard of, nor have my contacts in Social Media. A lot of these people are marketing execs, who seem to think they know, but have no clue.
Well here is the down right truth to the matter, a quote, if you will from someone a lot of us know, but wishes his name to be anonymous: ” If you’re stupid enough to believe everything you read on Google, perhaps you should be stuck with one of these so called ‘experts’. Proclaiming oneself an expert does not make them so.”
So let’s get some feelings from people who are actually known in the Social Media Sphere:
BuzzEdition works with a well known band on their Social Media Campaign, Collective Soul, and is well known on Twitter. Her thoughts on the matter: ” Be afraid, be very afraid. These “unknowns” are almost as scary as the “experts”. When a person claims they can teach you social media and is clearly not prominent on social media sites, there is nothing they can teach you. And the only expert status they can claim, is how to scam you.”
Here is a quote from another well known in the Social Media Sphere, Brian Wallace founder of NowSourcing has been around in Social Media for a long time. You can find Brian at many interactive events year round. Here are his thoughts on the issue:
“Not so sure about having an unknown give me training. I don’t go to the dentist and go into the office of some guy that woke up last week and thought he’d be a dentist. 
When looking for help in social media training or a full-fledged social media consultant, seek social proof. That doesn’t mean they need to hand over their whole portfolio to you – just Google them, see if they have been speaking in other venues, and check them out on the social networks they say they know so well.”
Another person I highly respect is Jason Falls from SocialMediaExplorer.com . Jason is everywhere all the time. If there is an event you will likely see him there being Social. Here’s what Jason has to say:
“That’s the beauty of the information source that is the web. Google them. If they dont show up in Social Media places as active influences in Social Media, they’re full of shit!”
So, where should one go to receive this coveted training? It’s easy. There are multiple Social Media Clubs in major cities. Also attend a Blog World Expo or SXSW (South by Southwest). It doesn’t hurt to get into Social Media and learn from your mistakes. Also keep in mind that no matter how much someone claims to be an expert, no one is. Social Media changes daily, new tools and applications launch everyday. Improvise, adapt, and overcome.
Tamar Weinberg , creator of Techipedia, pictured above with Jason Falls, had this to say: “Do research on the person teaching the course before you sign up.”
Tech TV Alumni, and Tech Expert for CNN, Chris Pirillo also decided to chime in on this post by simply saying: “It’s bullshit Carpetbagging!”
Please keep the first rule of Social Media in mind: BE SOCIAL. Remember it’s not just about you, but the community, your interaction is what is going to make you or break you.
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Comments ( 3 )
Some of this ongoing debate reminds me of the attorneys who run the state legislative bodies in most states and in our Congress. Or maybe the mother church. God bless us, but we just can’t stop ourselves from establishing some rules about who can make the rules or interpret them or whatever. “Training” in this context can range from teaching people how to turn on a computer to joining together in worshipful admiration of some well-documented, well-quoted guru. I’m not convinced that the loudest and most ubiquitous among us qualify as “experts,” just as I am uncertain as to whether the quieter among us just might have it right. Imparting knowledge is possible at all levels. I understand the objection to “expert,” but why not go all the way in this fast-changing landscape and say that the term should not be applied to anyone? As Jason Falls implies, things are moving, and it’s possible that most of the experts are likely to be pushing old dogma at one stage or another. Would falling behind in one trending area be enough to rip the expert chevrons from such shoulders? Let the market decide what it wants to buy and let the true defenders in this arena provide Consumer Reports-style critique of bad training. There are a lot of social experts, I suspect, who can’t train, just as there are a lot of wannabe experts who don’t have the juice.
MWhit added these pithy words on
Aug 18 09 at
12:54 pm
Great comment and insight! I agree we should let the market decided what they want to buy, but, would you buy a Pinto when you have the money for a Tesla? I think some people should be alerted to the fact they should investigate before you buy. Same applies to every purchase in life.
SilentJay74 added these pithy words on
Aug 18 09 at
1:12 pm
Well I think the term “expert” has completely lost its meaning. And that goes for anywhere now. Hell I hear it on MSM all the time; economics expert, political experts, security expert, international relations expert….blah blah blah.
More often than not those “experts” are just some shill who’ll say what they need/want them to say. Or its just some douche who spouts his opinion and has NO problems either defending it or lying about what they said even if its on tape. I put many self-proclaimed Social Media “experts” in this same boat. If out of the gate you have to attach “expert” to your name/title, you probably don’t have to credentials to work at Spuds carwash.
Bdog2g2 added these pithy words on
Aug 18 09 at
1:36 pm
