I’m finding it’s both a blessing and a curse to be surrounded with brilliant, motivated, creative, entrepreneurial people.
Obviously, it’s fantastic to have a network of people to constantly learn from, have meaningful discussions with and get inspired by. It’s natural to seek out relationships with people that make life better. But I’m wondering if it becomes a problem at some point to get used to these type of influences. I fear it’s creating unrealistically high expectations for how most people of the world communicate, think and do business.
Silos
It’s a growing concern that the “social media community” largely exists in a silo. The group is talking about how social and digital communication tools apply to life and business, but we’re mostly having those conversations with each other. We share a passion and an interest in how it all works, but often forget what small percentages of the total population uses technology the way we do.
Can’t an intellectual silo develop the same way? And won’t it lead to frustration and disappointment when trying to work with those that don’t quite fit into the over-achiever mold?
Most of the people considered leaders in this space are exceptionally smart, talented and innovative. They’re driving conversations, they’re producing the most new ideas and work for us to reference and they’re setting an example of what success looks like.
The problem is, most people aren’t like them. If it was easy to be that great, then everyone would be. So when working with people and businesses that just don’t function on that level, it’s a lot easier to get frustrated and disappointed with things like average customer service or average communication practices.
By no means do I think we need to dumb things down for a general population. But, next time we’re tempted to complain about “brands that don’t get it” or “bad PR” or “crappy customer service”, let’s challenge ourselves to think about whether those things are actually real problems on a marketplace level or if those feelings are a result of incredibly high expectations. Maybe it’ll save a few angry tweets.
What do you think? Just like the social media silo has become a bit of a problem, do you think an intellectual silo might be a problem too?
Photo: Taken with Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi. Exposure 1/2000. Aperture f/4.0. Focal length 80mm. ISO 200.
Since I have never really met anybody I follow on Twitter in real life, I’m forced to “know” them through their tweets and blog posts. And, consequently, I admit it can be intimidating to follow people who are really smart and really “get it.” Unfortunately, it can make me feel less secure about my day-to-day work, even though I know it’s perfectly acceptable.
But you’re absolutely right that they are the exception, not the norm. Because they are so prolific and have such huge followings, we tend to compare ourselves to them, and I’m not sure that we can be on that same level.
This was a very insightful post. Thanks.
Brad, one of the great things about connections made via social media is the opportunity for a larger, more widespread, more diverse network. It’s awesome. But because a lot of the business that’s done in the space happens in an economy with influence as currency, the leaders have a big say in how we all think about issues. It’s fantastic to have people out there, with an opinion, showing examples of what works and what is great. But their opinions carry so much weight, it can be hard to process how we really feel sometimes.
And I know what you mean about comparing yourself to their high standards. I’ve caught myself many times feeling like my accomplishments don’t matter much when compared to those of influencers. I just try to remind myself it’s equivalent of average, healthy girls feeling “fat” compared to models in magazines. It’s just not the same game.
Thanks for reading.
Thank you for this post.
“…leaders in this space are exceptionally smart, talented and innovative.”
“The problem is, most people aren’t like them.”
Those lines really affected me.
I consider myself average, and I often question whether I have anything worth sharing. I needed the reminder that I’m average among a group that’s skewed heavily toward one tail of the bell curve.
You are absolutely right that things some thought leaders perceive as problems are not even noticed by the majority of the population.
Glad you enjoyed it, Todd. The point wasn’t to make you, or anyone else feel “just average” as if it’s a bad thing. I’ve had the same thoughts too in a negative way and have had to remind myself to judge my work/accomplishments/opinions based on my life and not that of someone else’s. I think point of view and frame of reference have a huge impact in how we perceive the world and we’ve got to remember to look through our own eyes. Know what I mean?
I am a PR professional. I also happen to be a blogger. Yesterday, I received a really lame pitch from a PR organization to cover something on my blog. Now, because I do PR for a living, I was extremely disappointed and turned off by the pitch, but I asked a non-PR friend about it and they didn’t think it was that bad. It surprised me and made me think hard about the silo of professional communicators I exist within. When I travel and have to wait in a long line in security and the TSA agents don’t seem to be doing much to help the process along, it doesn’t bother me that much because I don’t travel that much. But usually at least once a week my friend Peter tweets about what a horrible job TSA is doing at whatever airport he’s at. He travels 300,000 miles a year, so he has a totally different idea about what to expect from TSA. Stuff like that reminds me about how much the opinion of an influential person can have on others that wouldn’t normally identify service problems.
Anyway, thanks for reading. See you in Detroit soon, I’m sure.
Bulls-eye again, Becky.
I read regularly about strategic communications, influencers, personal branding and buzz|buzz|buzz . . . so it’s a refreshing jolt when an insider pops her head above the scrum, gives a friendly hand and dares to say “Time out – we may be missing some signals.”
There’s surely a risk in closed-room “conversations with each other,” even if the door isn’t locked to outsiders. In addition to self-inflicted frustrations and disappointments when expectations trot ahead of our clients’ or prospects’ pace, as you suggest, we also can slip into an echo chamber of arrogance and elitism.
That’s an inevitable pitfall of *any* closed loop . . .
. . . whether it’s an executive team that makes production/operations decisions without consulting those doing the work
. . . a media leadership group that shapes content directions without considering the audience (been there!)
. . . or SM and marketing 3.0 innovators who assume targets keep up with TechCrunch, slashdot and Seth Godin.
Your fashion models vs. real girls analogy is apt, as even Anna Wintour realizes belatedly.
Back when I was cruder, we used a more colorful phrase than intellectual silo. We called it a circle jerk.
This ‘time out’ discussion is a smart idea.
Really good examples, Alan. You definitely get what I’m saying.
Maybe I’ve jut noticed it more in the social media world because a lot of the same issues come up often. There is value in pointing out problems and offering better solutions to fix them, and the smart companies will pay attention to it. But, even then, “social media elite” do not necessarily represent a “normal” marketplace population. I think it’s just important to remember that.
Becky, I really like this entry. I love surrounding myself with “influencers” so to speak. The creative energy is contagious and I am inspired to do great things just by bouncing ideas off those I run in the same circle with. (Even though I work in the social work arena, I think this basic idea applies regardless!)
However, because of this I find myself getting increasingly frustrated with others who are not on this level. I think it is important to recognize why we get frustrated and call ourselves out a bit- so thank you for this! It is so important to be inclusive when generating ideas and working for social change!
Thanks, Shannon. Glad you enjoyed it.
Becky, this is a great post.
I guess chalk it up to the way society is. I mean, we do tend to thrive on critiquing what others “should or should not” do, especially when we are “experts” at the topic.
But like anything, those “should and should not” ‘s change as time moves on (and in different situations), and it’s always great to read something like this and reflect on what we are doing as an individuals/professionals.
I have always had a pet-peeve with social media professionals vehemently hating on Auto Direct Messages on Twitter.
I used to be the same way, but then I thought of myself as a normal Twitter-user. Did it really matter to me if a company I followed sent me an Auto-DM? Not at all. And I actually liked getting the message some of times.
I stepped out of my Silo and saw something different.
Awesome, Matt. I think auto-DMs are a good example. For most of us, and auto-DM is just a lame thing that happens occasionally and we just let it go right through our brain without a second thought. I don’t think it annoys most people. It’s certainly not usually a great practice, but usually it’s at least neutral. But when highly connected and influential people have huge twitter networks and get more bombarded with them, I can see how it would be annoying. But, it’s annoying because of the scale, something MOST people won’t ever experience a problem with. I wonder how many of the consistent problems pointed out are because of the issue of scale. And also, because they’ve just got so many more people to talk to.
So, I’m glad you stepped out of the silo. See you soon, bud
Becky,
An insightful and “spot on” post. As more and more “Twitturkers” come on board (Twitter lurkers, those that read but never post) they see many in the silo pointing out issues and problems and, complimenting themselves. It must seem (if you are new or have never Tweeted) to be an exclusive club.
Many critical posts offer no solution…though I’m sure most of us enjoy a good rant, especially when it’s tempered or adjoined with a potential solution. The positive vibe many of us feel when we are a part of the conversation, often involving an “influencer” is a worthy and valid reason to participate. But it is when we use our collective knowledge to address concerns, whether it is “crummy customer service” or the format of the Ignite series, that it spills out of the silo and help everyone.
I don’t know…in or out of the Twittersphere…I’m just a fan of finding the solutions. Thanks again, your blog is a bright spot.
You’re right on, Steve. Getting into the “influencer” inner circle, particularly on twitter, at this point is tough. Though, to their credit, they are always looking for new ideas, fresh talent and inspiring stories of smart business to highlight. They are working toward a greater good. I’m lucky enough to have real friendships with some of them and they’re incredible people online and off. But the double edged sword of those friendships is just what I pointed out in my post, influencer or not, having friends that bright affects the way I think and the same issue happens offline, too.
Thanks for reading.