1. There are tools. There are people who use the tools. And then there are people who are tools. Know the difference.
2. Ass-kissing will get you anywhere, but where is that, exactly? Where do you actually want to go from there? Think long-term.
3. Speaking of long-term, “asshole” is not a long-term strategy. Neither is “edgy” or “off-putting.” What do you really want to achieve? And for how long? Build a strategy on that.
4. The vast majority of what happens in social media happens where you can’t see it. Don’t be fooled by what you think you see — it’s only a shadow of what’s really there. Pay attention to what, and who, is missing from the conversations.
5. Also, remember that what you think is private isn’t guaranteed to be. As Hugh Prather once said, “Live as if everything you do will eventually be known.” (Because it likely will be, and soon.)
6. For all the stories and panels and lovefests about how social media is, well, a lovefest, I suspect that just as many relationships (personal and professional) have been broken by social media as made. Would you be comfortable with that DM being public? If not, don’t write it. There are other forms of communication, you know (but only marginally more secure). And if you’re not comfortable with what you’re doing being made public? Yeah, don’t do it.
7. Everyone is in this for themselves at some level. Some people do that by taking others down. Some people do it by building people up. Some people act like they’re building people up, when really, they’re just assigning you a debt you’re not aware of, and expect you to repay. Understand intent – yours and theirs.
8. A lot of this is just a game. The rules aren’t very hard to learn. But there is more than one set of rules. Do you know which set you follow? Do you know which set they do?
9. Your rules aren’t my rules. They’re different. That doesn’t mean they’re wrong. Back off. There are multiple lanes on this road.
10. Saying one thing and doing another? Also not a long-term strategy. Much better to walk your talk. Easier, too.
11. To quote a very good friend, “The Internet will not fix whatever happened in high school.” So move on. If there’s something about you, or about the way people interact with you, that you don’t like, change it. Complaint is tantamount to complacency. DO something.
12. All those people who say it’s quick and fast? They’ve got a short-term focus. If that’s yours, too — great. If not, run the other way. If you want long-term results, pay attention to those who speak in the long-term. Being human takes time.
13. And? Time reveals all, to those paying attention. So: pay attention.
14. Expertise is self-evident, not self-appointed. Beware of hyperbolic descriptors – yours or otherwise. You don’t get to say, really, what you are. We do. Are you listening?
15. Entitlement has no place here. The time people spend reading what you put out there? It’s a gift they’re giving you. What are you giving in return? Have you made it worth their while? The minute you start to feel you owe them more than they owe you? That’s probably when you’ve got the balance right.
16. Call it what you will — reposting, featuring, scraping — plagiarizing is a dick move. Do you your own damn work. Write your own damn stuff. You’ll be more passionate about it anyway. (And won’t be exposing yourself as a charlatan.)
17. Bandwagons get full quickly. Start your own.
18. To quote another very good friend, “The plural of anecdote is not data.” Which is why case studies are pretty much useless. As are generalized prescriptions of what works. Following others’ maps guarantees you’ll be part of the herd. Stop taking direction. Set yours. Draw your own map, monsters be damned
19. You can’t fake human. Nor can you humanize fake. Trust that what you are, and what you do, has value somewhere, to someone. Your job is to articulate that value, and find your audience. Yes, it’s hard. Get over it.
20. If you haven’t done it? Please stop talking about it. You’re annoying those of us who have. Talk about what you know, not what you think you know.
21. Happy feelings are not ROI. ROI means RETURN ON INVESTMENT. That’s it. Stop mucking it up to cover your unwillingness to actually measure things. Yes the types of return that are valuable change depending on what results you’re looking for. But if you’re not willing to be accountable, in this space or any other, get out of the game.
22. Social media is not a new way to sell. There’s only the old way. You just have new tools. (And, um, please refer back to #1:) Use them wisely.
23. Being human, and interacting like one, is hard. Automation makes some parts easier, but you still have to do the hard work. Accept it, plan for it, hire for it.
24. Personal and professional cross here. As Amber says, if you can’t handle that, get offline. If you don’t have a choice, then find a way to make it work for you and whoever’s writing your checks (which, if you’re lucky [i.e., you do the hard work], is also you).
25. Yes, there is a culture of complaint. But squeaky wheels squeak for a reason. Figure out why. They may not speak for everyone, but they speak for some, and potentially enough to bring you, or your brand, down. Find the cause, and fix it.
26. The rules are not different for you. If you don’t like to be spoken to, sold to, marketed to, or interacted with in a certain way DON’T DO IT TO OTHER PEOPLE. I mean, seriously. Your doing it doesn’t make it better. Or acceptable. Don’t be a user. Be of use.
27. Oh, and if you want success in this space? Accept what comes with it. Yes that means a loss of privacy. And yes that means people will ask ridiculous things of you. Yes that means people will try to use you. Why is that a surprise? People are people. Social media just added microphones. And cameras. And speakers. Human behavior remains unchanged.
28. You choose what you put out there. Don’t be surprised that people know it.
29. Cliques exist. You’re in one (or many) whether you admit it or not. See them. Move between them. Use them for good. But please don’t pretend they’re not there. Disingenuous isn’t sexy. Also: not a long-term strategy, either.
30. And what’s with all the judging? Are you truly so free of fault? I know I’m not. Remind me to list sometime all the reasons I’m a bitch / hypoctrical /a lame-ass, whatever. My list of why I suck will always be longer than yours. I’ll worry the day it isn’t.
31. Authenticity is a state. Integrity is a mindset. Please learn the difference. You can only be what you are — even assholes are authentically so. You can only have integrity if you own whatever you are… and own up to it.
32. Takedowns for takedowns’ sake aren’t helpful. Neither is blind worship. You have a brain, use it. If you disagree, say so, and back it up. Question everything, but move the conversation forward.

You? What do you see? And how do we fix it?

A post from Brass Tack Thinking
Calling Bullshit on Social Media

Influence is simple…
which makes it complicated.

At its most simple, influence is the ability to make things happen. But which things? For whom? Over what span of time? Some people influence ideas, some actions. Some influence big actions, some small. Some influence lasts a moment, some lasts a lifetime.

When we talk about influence, and particularly when we talk about measuring it, we have to define our terms…and know the limits.

Influence is contextual.

Someone writes a post. Someone else retweets it. Another person sees the retweet, reads the post, and writes a comment. Still another person finds the post on his own and then follows the commenter’s advice, to the benefit of hundreds of others.

Each person took an action. Each action had an effect. But which action is the most important? Who had the most influence?

(Not so easy, is it?)

Influence depends on the situation and what you care about. The cause (the idea)? The effect (the actions, the results)? Or the connection between the two? Whether building or measuring influence, we need to understand which type of influence is important, and why.

Influence is the product of reach and authority.

To influence the actions of others, you have to have access to them—and they have to perceive you to have some level of authority, either over them or in an area of expertise they value. Popularity helps with access: the more popular you are, the more reach you have, and thus the greater possibility of influence. But popularity doesn’t guarantee influence, it only opens more doors. And it’s ephemeral: tastes change, needs change.

Authority doesn’t guarantee influence either, though you could argue its tie is stronger. Whether granted or earned over time, authority has the potential to intensify influence: authority grants power.

But it’s ephemeral, too. Earned authority—gained over repeated interactions—lasts as long as its integrity and its relevance do. Granted authority (as in the case of a leader or manager), often lasts only as long as the appointment (or the appointee…) does.

Influence requires both reach and authority, to varying degrees. Focusing on only one or the other will leave you seeing half the picture. Or less. Both need attention. And constant maintenance.

(Most) Influence is invisible.

You see a cause. You see an effect. What you can’t see, and never will, is where influence actually happens: in the “and” between the two. You can’t see inside every individual head to know or understand if and how the two relate, because it happens in the back channel. In instant messages, in DMs, in phone calls, emails, and Waves (sniff…). In person, in meetings. At lunches and dinners and breakfasts. Out of town. Out of sight.

That’s why what we can see gets so much attention, and measuring it the cause of such debate. But understand this: for every person consciously exhibiting their influence (and influences), there are just as many (or more) consciously shielding it.

Every King has his Merlin. Every Influencer has her own.

And you’ll likely never really know who they—the real influencers—are.

•
At heart, influence is something we can only guess at based on what we see. We can throw metrics at it, but that’s like throwing dust at light, trying to see the beam.

Like throwing a sheet at the Invisible Man, trying to see what can’t be seen.

Is that what you see, too? Tell me.

image credit: ~Twon~

A post from Brass Tack Thinking
4 Things You Need to Know About Influence

But I really think they missed the mark with The Influence Project, in a big way, and confused the idea of “influence” with ego.

To me, influence isn’t about popularity. Or even reach. It’s about the trust, authority, and presence to drive relevant actions within your community that create something of substance. That last bit is key.

I clicked this morning on a tweet from Tac Anderson, someone I like and respect a great deal. I even uploaded my picture, all that stuff that I was supposed to do, hoping that there was something really interesting that would happen at the end, something I was supposed to do. Spread the word about a charity? Encourage people to contribute thoughtful content around an idea? Something I could sink my teeth into to show how great ideas can spread?

Nope. This is in the confirmation email I got:

1) You can use any means to spread your unique link to your online network. We shortened it for you so you can share on Twitter and Facebook.

2) Your goal is to influence as many people to click on it as possible.

3) You want those people to sign up as well, since they will be spreading your influence along with their own.

4) You can track how your influence has grown, where it’s lead, and where you stand at any time on the site.

5) Your picture is going to be in the November issue of Fast Companymagazine, where we’ll reveal the most influential person online!

Seriously, Fast Company? The goal is to influence clicks to my stupid profile? And I want people to sign up to be my minions so they can “spread my influence along with their own?”

This isn’t influence. This is an ego trap and a popularity contest, pure and simple. There’s no goal other than click pandering. Already, Twitter is full of people shouting “click on my junk!” and flooding my stream and countless others with nothing more than clamoring for…well…validation.

Influence can be quiet, understated, and wielded with grace. Influence is NOT jumping up and down, begging for people to click on stuff so that they, too, can find the gatekey for their own path to feeling important in the online fishbowl.

I’m sad that there wasn’t more to this. I was expecting something different, something meaningful, something that shows that influence isn’t about numbers and eyeballs and fleeting stabs of attention in the maelstrom of 140-character snippets.

I’m disappointed. I’m sorry I clicked, and hoped for something different. And I’m frustrated that, once again, we’re going to have to discuss influence in its proper context, the work that it takes to create a truly influential platform that people can trust,  delineate the difference between people who can inspire meaningful action, and those that seek the panflash of popularity in an attention-starved space.

Sigh.

UPDATE: Thanks to Molly Block for pointing out this PDF that was a creative brief/pitch from Mekanism (the agency behind the experiment) to Fast Company. The third concept appears to be what they were attempting with this stunt, and while I agree that it will most certainly attention and eyeballs if that was their aim, I still have a fundamental problem with the way they’re treating the concept of “influence”. There were probably better ways to achieve the same aim without implying that influence was part of the equation. Just call a spade a viral contest stunt spade and be done with it.

A post from Brass Tack Thinking
How Fast Company Confused Ego with Influence