The Bad, the Good, and the Beautiful - January 15th, 2010

The Bad, the Good, and the Beautiful

Beware the Lords of the Clouds! 

Never a fan of the concept of “the wisdom of the crowd” (otherwise known as “mob rule”) I was drawn to a piece in the NYTimes this week that touched on some of the concerns that arise when pack behavior is used to enforce conformity of thought and action. One of the most pervasive cries from the self-appointed digerati leadership is that anyone can take anything they find anywhere for free and use it anytime for for any purpose. Quoting the someone frightening-in-appearance but quick-witted Jason Lanier, the article notes that individual creativity suffers from a form of “digital Maoism” when all information is free and is managed collectively. Kind of reminds me of the massive famine that occurred in China after the collectivization of agriculture - Mao and his cohorts refused to hear that the system wasn’t working, so his officials walked away with every last grain of rice while the peasants starved.

In Praise of LinkedIn

The stodgy older sibling of social networks, LinkedIn can sometimes feel about as stale as conference room coffee and as relevant as last week’s meeting agenda. But it remains a place where at least some intelligent conversation can take place. This week when one member posted perhaps the one-millionth one-liner update warning to us read-my-blog-on-social-media-or-perish-in-your-old-fashioned-dinosaur-ways, another member stepped up to the plate and begged to disagree. My new hero, Mike Spear (Director of Corporate Communications at Genome Alberta) replied “Social media is far too often becoming a link hunt where I am given just enough info to perhaps whet my appetitite then have to click through to get the meat.” So folks, rather than just posting a link to your blog about social media, why not actually ENGAGE in social media? LinkedIn allows us to do this — it’s called the “Discussion” feature for a reason.

What’s Real is Real

As both a marketer and a public speaker, I’m well aware that creating a viable public brand means delivering an edited version of yourself, or your product, or your company that still rings true with your audience. One way of being authentic is to take the Guy Kawasaki/Chris Brogan self-assured “I’m speaking so you’d better pay attention” approach. Another way to accomplish this is to combine brilliant writing with personal passion and a strong dose of humility. My new favorite person in that regard is  Naomi Dunford of IttyBiz. Proving, perhaps, the value of going beyond 140 characters, Naomi is not only very ‘real’ but she clearly knows what the hell she’s talking about. For example, check out “How to Make Unstupid Goals.”

Brazen Hussy

Speaking of real people, ever since “meeting” her on a webinar a month back, I’ve been fascinated by Penelope Trunk of Brazen Careerist. Frank, funny, forthright and occasionally foul-mouthed, Penelope is another genius-muse to watch for. Often wickedly amusing, Penelope offers matter-of-fact advice to Gen Y professionals, and through her company has created a social network that allows younger adults to control their professional identity from college and on into their careers. Whether she’s talking about leadership, ROI, blogging, or her life with Asperger’s, Penelope walks-the-walk of her firm, by creating her own seamless online identity. Which seems pretty authentic to me.