If you have a Twitter or Friendfeed account, you’ve no doubt already heard the news that Facebook acquired Friendfeed. But what does that mean to users like you and me?
Granted, the majority of you probably didn’t have a Friendfeed account 48 hours ago. Just last week, I tried to get my Facebook friends to sign […]
Tag: facebook
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A Proverb on Self-Promotion
This is the age of self-promotion. Blogs, Twitter, LinkedIn, communities, conferences. All for the sake of promoting one’s expertise. A trend I’ve noticed is the super popular blogger / tweeter with thousands of readers and followers, yet they can’t afford a car or a home.
Their level of influence is inflated beyond their success. Some of us prefer popularity and fame that we pursue it to the detriment of other areas of our lives. Proverbs addresses this very issue.
Better to be a nobody and yet have a servant
than pretend to be somebody and have no food.I know some people who have become financially successful without much self-promotion. They’re not demanding anyone pay attention to hear them speak or read their blog. They just work hard, deliver top quality results, and let others recommend them based on the quality of their work.
In essence, we’ve squandered our time and efforts if we’ve become “somebody” in the eyes of the public and our fame is built on a flimsy foundation. Talking the talk can float some of us by for years… maybe a lifetime. But there is more to life than fame.
In all fairness, I think I should point out that some people chose self-promotion via blogs, forums, conferences, and such because they are not cold calling salespeople. Some of us feel comfortable selling our services to prospects only after they’ve decided we are authorities in our industry.
Though it’s easy to judge, I actively choose not to because I can’t discern who is involved in passive selling and who is only interested in becoming famous. The best we can do is to ask the Holy Spirit to examine ourselves and show us where He’d like to bring truth and transformation.
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ORM Approaches the Tipping Point
Give credit where credit is due. Facebook reached 250 million users. Twitter is the fastest growing social media network. Nearly a million blog posts are published each day. We’re on the cusp of it now. Communication has really transitioned to a Web / Text based enterprise.
Steve Nash to announce the signing of his new NBA contract on Twitter. Oprah, Ellen, Ashton Kutcher, and ESPN all promote Twitter to the masses. CNN teams up with Facebook to provide live chat during major events. It’s happening right now. The majority is adjusting to instant spontaneous expression. And the ORM flood tide is about to roll in.
I’ve been awaiting this season since 2005, when I bought up a handful of domains related to online reputation management with the expectation of turning my Web marketing business into an exclusive reputation monitoring, management, and consulting service.
How Will We Recognize the Tipping Point?
A few things have to happen first. As you observe each step you’ll know we’re “that much” closer.
Phase 1: When the average person feels more comfortable sharing their opinions online than offline, you know we’ve reached critical mass. It’s only a matter of time.
Phase 2: Once people feel more comfortable searching out opinions online than asking around offline, the level of influence each online opinion holds trends up drastically.
Phase 3: When people spread opinions, rumors, and gossip found online without verifying accuracy, the iron is white hot.
Phase 4: Any and every possible comment will be shared, read, and spread about brands, products and services, and each company will either be prepared to address them as they are posted across the Web or they will be caught unaware and suffer the damage caused to their reputation, which inevitably leads to an erosion of consumer/investor confidence.
Phase 5: Online reputation monitoring, building, and repair services will have to ramp up their staffing to handle the volume of clients and mentions online.
Some would argue that we’ve already reached Phase 3. I see phases 1-3 still rising. But the tipping point is near. Most companies should already be engaged with ORM services to protect and expand their influence. But even the latecomers will hop on board soon enough.