It’s a new field where there are no experts; no real training for classification or certification, and it’s difficult for folks participating in it to explain how it works. It’s not a lawless field where anything goes, but the cowboys still roam the prairie where social media grazes. Christopher S. Penn describes the problem and the process quite well in his post How to Become a Social Media Expert, comparing social media to the nuances of martial arts training – pretty good analogy in my book.
Since there are no real experts with years of schooling and experience, how does a company find a community manager? Heck, how do they determine what they’re looking for – most companies really don’t even know exactly what they need. Several are starting to here “community manager†more in relation to social media, and I suppose it does make a bit of sense to the average hiring manager.
As I’ve been looking around in this space as a consultant myself, I’ve noticed a bit of mislabeling, and misunderstanding of what these positions do. They can range from being a glorified forum moderator, to the public figurehead of the company in social media circles. The vagueness and inconsistency is frustrating to both those looking to move into these jobs, and the companies who realize they need someone to fill this indefinable niche they have.
Normally, a company would hire a consultant to help define the needs, address the process, and sometimes assist in filling the role. The problem though is… aren’t consultants experts and there really aren’t any social media experts? Catch 22 huh?
Some firms are looking internally and finding candidates in their existing staff. This could be anyone from marketing, to information technologies, to human resources (and beyond). Sometimes it’s easy to get noticed and get in front of the right people. Other businesses are going for the big guns and hiring out consultants from the A-List to assist them in their social web endeavors.
At least, several of the A-List actually have participated in building, shaping, and forming the concepts of the social web through the work of Cluetrain and their own pieces through the years. This is a great place to start, even for organizations with small budgets – many of the thought leaders in social media give away really good information for companies to start from.
So in this nascent “industryâ€, there is confusion on both the side of organizational need and individual growth in social media. The next step for those mastering the dark arts of the social web is to be bold, go forth, do good things, and prove that you have the vision and understanding. Both to the founding concepts of Cluetrain and to the fiscal responsibilities of corporations that want to participate in, not control, the message.
What are you doing right now? Are you moving forward, stagnating or slipping backward? Why wait to launch your biz, your idea, your brand? Why wait to spend time with your family or call your parents back?
There’s no better time than the present to do something.
Right now you could be:
Building something new
Spending time with your kids
Finishing a project
Outside
Helping a friend in need
Building a website
Mowing the grass
Working on a community project
Reaching out to someone
Stimulating the economy
Supporting your local charities
Practicing your golf swing
Taking responsibility
Yielding to pedestrians
Taking your family on vacation
Applying for that position or job you want
Visiting a elderly relative
Taking the stairs
Finishing several projects
Saving money
Getting away from the computer for awhile
Fishing
Building your personal brand
Returning that phone call
Taking steps to become the person you want to be
What I really want to convey is the reality that there is no better time to do something for yourself, your family, your community, your country, or the world than right now.
Have you had the pleasure of participating in a “fire drill” project? You know the kind, the ones that are rushed into being with such a flourish as to miss many (heck, most) of the components that make a successful project. I only mention this because I’m in the middle of such a project (again), and continue to marvel at how often it happens to any size company.
That is not to say that fire drill projects are always a mess, or always a failure, or don’t meet there objectives within budget or timeframe. Often, their outcomes are successful, mostly due to the determination and diligence of the core project team – almost always because they take ownership of their tasks, and even the project itself.
It’s this concept of ownership that interests me quite often. People who could otherwise be mere desk driving time punchers, believe in the project, product, process, or other outcome that the project is driving towards. It’s these people who make or break a project or a company. It’s not that they are indispensable – everyone is – but, they bring such a combination of work ethic and pride to what they do. They bring leadership and peer or team encouragement that is worth much more than their salary alone.
These are the people that make startups work, that can drive a simple idea to success through tireless ours of focused work and attention. It’s also these people I wish had more time to work on their own ideas and agendas, but that’s another post. Folks like these are the ones you want to have on your project, especially when one of the three key factors of your project has been removed from your control (namely time, money, resources). If you’re having to deal with a project that you can’t control all three components, you need to have more of the other two – mostly the best chance for success is to have one or two of those passionate leaders that will take ownership in the outcome of the project and work as hard as you are to that end.
For those working on their personal brand, one of the best things you want as part of your word of mouth marketing about yourself is that you see things through to completion. No matter if it’s through hard work or buy-in on the project, you want to be one of those passionate advocates for the projects you work on.
As for those fire drill projects – they can be as fun as they are frustrating, just make sure to bring a fire extinguisher.
Hi all! I just wanted to let you know that I got a chance to guest blog over at the Fresh Focus blog. Kris Rowlands let me talk about Weekend Web Work today, so head on over and check it out.
@MAC_Arms Pay taxes when you make your money, pay taxes when you spend your money, pay taxes when you successfully invest your money, pay taxes when you save enough taxed money to afford a house, pay taxes to live in your house, pay taxes when you sell the house that you paid taxes on to
Yup, taxes are criminal and we need serious reforms. I've always said that if you want to see a tax revolt, make withholdings illegal and have Americans write a tax check every payday. They'll revolt for sure. You don't miss what you never had.
Sen. @berniemoreno says voter ID and proof of citizenship are simply common sense.
“We’re talking about a very low threshold — identify who you are and prove you’re a U.S. citizen when you register to vote. I think we’re getting closer to
It’s a new field where there are no experts; no real training for classification or certification, and it’s difficult for folks participating in it to explain how it works. It’s not a lawless field where anything goes, but the cowboys still roam the prairie where social media grazes. Christopher S. Penn describes the problem and the process quite well in his post How to Become a Social Media Expert, comparing social media to the nuances of martial arts training – pretty good analogy in my book.
