A Theory About Social Media Experts

If you've read this blog before, you've probably noticed that I have a bit of a problem with the over-use (and sloppy usage) of the term "social media".

In a nutshell, the Internet is inherently "social" (weren't e-mail, chatrooms, and discussion boards the first widespread uses of the Net?) and good marketing is also inherently "social" (great marketing is shared, sharable, parodied, copied, etc. and always has been). The idea behind social media is nothing new and often merely refers to the growing ease with which new tools let us work.

I have a new theory:

This term is being used as a synonym for Digital Marketing as a whole, and I think it's largely due to people who previously missed the boat finally jumping on board.

If you're a marketing professional, you can't simply admit that you've been ignoring or under-valuing the Internet for the past decade. And you'd look like a fool if you were to now brag about how you're embracing online channels. But if you position yourself as a "social media expert", well... that's a whole different story! You're on the cutting edge. You're pushing the envelope and embracing new stuff left and right.

Don't get me wrong -- there are plenty of true social media experts out there. These are people who understand the tools and have been actively evolving their skills and experience to the industry's current state.

As usual, though, the real experts are drowned out by countless others whose expertise is largely self-professed and often merely academic.

Next time you talk to a "Social Media Expert", ask them how they were using Digital Marketing in 1999, or 2003, or 2008.