Steve Sonn
Chicago area
- 6 comments
- 1 likes given
- 7 likes received
Marketing and public relations professional. Writer. Runner. Social media fan. Trying not to care if the Bears lose.
I agree, Gini. There's so much change going on in social right now, some good and some not as good. It kind of forces consumers to make decisions about where they spend their social time. I do also think that Communities was a great move by Google+.
I totally agree, Allen. The best things about the social web are the ability to share your knowledge and at the same time learn from others. Not everyone is at the same point on the social web continuum, and new people are coming on board every day. The more people that do get involved will only make it a richer experience for everyone, whether you're a social web newbie or a veteran.
Excellent advice! One of the great things about social media is that it gives people a voice. Yet, one of the bad things about social media is that it opens the door to unfair smear campaigns that can garner significant negative attention. Brands can't afford to sit on the sides but need to be actively engaged in managing their reputations online, or someone else will do that for them.
Sound strategy and great execution are the keys to winning marketing and public relations programs. Sometimes I think marketers can feel rushed to show activity and perhaps miss out on the best for a campaign. If I'm not comfortable before the execution phase I feel the need to slow down and regroup at the strategy. More often than not, doing so is well worth the delay. Thanks for the great reminder of that!
Love your blog, but not sure I agree with the thoughts in this post. It's difficult for most people, even journalists, not to create something without their opinion coming through somewhere, no matter how objective they try to be. Even a how to post/article contains opinion. Let's face it, there's not a whole lot out there that hasn't been talked about somewhere at some point. Frankly, that's one of the great things about social media, that more people can share their opinions. If we're going to reserve opinions for only "thought-leaders" we might as well simply go back to the days of media controlled content. I'm not sure even how a thought-leader is defined. Your opinion there may be different than mine.
I'm also a little unclear as to the difference between a rant and an opinion post. It seems as if a person is not pre-identified as a thought-leader, they are under immediate suspicion for posting a rant. In reality that person could have a perfectly legitimate and valuable opinion.
I think the key really is too evaluate it on a case-by-case basis. I would not say that we should dismiss 98% of opinion posts. I've come across great opinions from people online that I'm sure were not considered thought leaders. Just today, I wrote a post that would be considered an opinion post that offered a very different opinion of what a very influencial marketing and PR blogger recently wrote. I didn't mention him by name or misrepresent his argument, but simply put his opinion out there and explain how and why I disagreed. If that would make someone a "thought follower" so be it, but I still feel the thought leader was wrong in what he wrote.
I do totally agree with you on the point that we need to be very careful and clearly make our arguments. Some people are better at that than others. It is our job, as digital consumers, to sort out the good from the bad and the truth from the fiction.
Thanks for writing this post nonetheless. It's a good reminder that we need discernment when surfing the web. Hopefully, we can do it with an open mind to others opinions.
Full disclaimer, I contribute some posts from time to time but the American Marketing Association in Chicago launched a blog this fall at www.chicagoama.wordpress.com. The posts are usually very practical and include many links to other useful information.