DL Byron

Principal, Blogger, Author
Seattle, Washington

Articles » Marketing & Sales »

Generally helpful

6.9

out of 10

11 votes

OMG WTF LOL

An intro to my Keynote at Social Media Essentials for Small Business during BizJam Seattle.

Written Jun 02, 2008, read 2817 times since then.

It’s ironic that Social Media is so anti-social. It rewards persistence, self-aggrandizement, and talking about yourself all the time. At a party, you’d probably walk away from the most prolific bloggers if all they did was push up on you, interrupt, and say, “me, me, me.” I was watching Californication and when asked about blogging the lead character Hank said

"You know, I mean we have all this amazing technology and yet computers have turned into basically four figure wank machines. The internet was supposed to set us free, democratize us, but all it’s really given us is Howard Dean’s aborted candidacy and 24 hour a day access to kiddie porn. People…they don’t write anymore - they blog. Instead of talking, they text, no punctuation, no grammar: LOL this and LMFAO that. You know, it just seems to me it’s just a bunch of stupid people pseudo-communicating with a bunch of other stupid people at a proto-language that resembles more what cavemen used to speak than the King’s English."

Not only did I LOL and LMFAO at that line, but it really resonated with me. As businesses tried to figure out blogging 2-yrs ago and now Social Media, they can’t just try to blog like an A-lister cause who’d listen? Or care? What they need to do is add to the conversation instead of expecting to dominate it or even start their own. There's a trail of blog tears from business wondering where they audience is and how come they don't get no comments. What people accept online and most likely not in person, they’re def not going to accept from a business. Businesses also need to realize that sometimes in the blogopshere it is a lot of stupid people talking to other stupid people.

We say ignore that -- all the OMG, WTF, LOLs -- and get some work done. Blog your own way, do what works for you. If you've got an sales event coming up, use Facebook or Upcoming to promote it. But do not expect to market on Facebook or expect any sales from it.

At our Mobile Socials (a rolling bike party) we told the sponsors, “just bring the good beer to the party. Listen, hang out, and get to know these people.” The benefits are they're much more likely to like you than say hanging a banner up on the wall.

I consult with business about the practical uses of Social Media and really emphasize that there are no shortcuts and less than zero ROI (if that). Business should get into Social Media if they want to engage a community and customers and having something to say other than, "WTF buy our stuff!"

In July, at BizJam Seattle, I'll talk at length about the essentials of Social Media. What small business need to know. Here's my keynote abstract:

"2 years after the blogging revolution, a new set of Internet tools has arrived in the form of Social Media. Byron's keynote will explain what those tools are and how to use them for your small business. With numerous examples, strategies, and best practices, Byron will demystify Social Media from analysts buzzwords and blue-sky punditry into practical applications that you can use today."

See you at BizJam.

Learn more about the author, DL Byron.

Posted by Barry Hurd, Everett, Washington | Jun 02, 2008

"It’s ironic that Social Media is so anti-social."

How do you view social media as being anti-social? If you are not being social, it really isn't social media. I.E. A blog without commentary really isn't a blog. A conversation doesn't exist with an audience of one. If you are being anti-social, you are simply doing the same old marketing that business have utilized for the past century.

If social media has less than zero ROI, why in the world does any business want to be on the bandwagon that manages to get personalities like yourself a place to speak from?

I think this is keynote opener is too negative. Exposure to an audience is fundamental for any business- especially independent business owners who need all the exposure they can get.

+I think everyone has something important to say and there really isn't any stupid people (bad marketers and business decision makers yes, stupid people no.)
Posted by DL Byron, Seattle, Washington | Jun 03, 2008

What I'm saying is that if you behaved at a party like a typical blogger would do, no one would want to party with you and that's one of the lessons for business. You're not going to get a strike up the social media band and rah rah let's all get on Facebook from me, no.

That's not negative at all; instead I'm offering a straight-up practical discussion of how best to use all these new tools for your business, just like we've done ourselves and for our clients. And there are lots of good reasons to do so and actually a rather positive outlook because the tools have matured so much. The article isn't my Keynote. The keynote abstract is included at the bottom.

Regarding ancient marketing and communication, see my related post on the secret to social media. We’re always amazed by ourselves and the novel ways we develop to communicate, when really only the methods change.

I'm doing this gig in part to debunk the hype -- Social Media isn't gonna help you lose ten pounds, cure baldness, or walk the dog, or package up your widgets for you. Instead it's offering even more tools to help small business grow and communicate with their customers.

Who says a blog without commentary isn't one? A business can reap big benefits from blog technologies without ever using one themselves.

Getting on the bandwagon and ROI are not the same. As I've said many times, the Cluetrain (or bandwagon) left the station, in fact ten years ago, and it's time to get down to business.

I hope you attend. There's always room for healthy debate.
Posted by Brandi L Pierce, Lynnwood, Washington | Jun 03, 2008

Spell check? You should consider using Firefox, as it has that feature built in. I do so love it! =)

Otherwise, I am not exactly sure you are speaking for the interesting blogging network. Intellectuals that use proper grammar, spelling, punctuation and have loyal readership because of those aspects and good, continuous content.

TUAW, HubSpot, PSDTuts, etc. All business run and community driven. Whether they promote themselves or community, they are pretty damn interesting and sell their products (if any) to their market.

I would "def" talk to them at a party! =p

Oh, and a blog without commentary is more like a Press Release than an interactive vehicle for sharing growth and bettering a company's understanding of its audience.

Unlike a one-sided self-a-thon (comments disabled / PR), an interactive blog allows for the target market to build a stronger bond with the companies they like.

Just some added thoughts for everyone who reads this.
Posted by DL Byron, Seattle, Washington | Jun 03, 2008

Blog readers are the best spell checkers out there! You may even catch a typo in my slides (free book to the person who does!). The first blogs we built for clients had no comments cause the businesses weren't ready for that and that was OK. Point is for business to blog or use Social Media their own way with no manifestos or rules. Same thing with using RSS or other web blog technologies. Do what works for you and your business.

I think my points about self-centered blogging was missed or I wasn't clear. Much of blogging and social media is self-promotion and that doesn't work the same way for business. We've built blogs that failed for that very reason.

To your point "def" isn't a typo, that's an abbreviation for definitely.

And this is already proving itself as a lively keynote topic!

Good stuff.
Posted by Barry Hurd, Everett, Washington | Jun 03, 2008

Unfortunately I'm not attending the event. I'm just attending the party. :)

1- I put myself in the "typical blogger" category. Out of the bloggers I have met and shaken hands with (and that is a lot after doing the conference circuit) I have rarely come across a blogger that is difficult to be around. One of the nifty things about most popular bloggers is that they are sharing insight and talent. I tend to find they are extremely educated and well-versed on issues (this job includes A LOT of reading)

2- I would love to debate what a blog is and isn't. I'm sure we've both heard that one go around the table about a hundred times.

For me:

blog=conversation ability no conversation ability=brochure website

3- The article on the secret to social media is accurate. The term "blog" is nearly meaningless to me and many long term telecommunication users. If I dummy-down the term, I've been "blogging" since 1985 or so (but then it was called BBS'ing and it was on dial-up with a 600 baud modem- Of course now ANSI is almost gone and we have 15 different HTML languages and ten different RSS protocol.)

I think a lot of people try to redefine the wheel so they can claim some spectacular position or creative change.
Posted by DL Byron, Seattle, Washington | Jun 03, 2008

"I think a lot of people try to redefine the wheel so they can claim some spectacular position or creative change."

Boom.

And note, I'm not calling out any bloggers as "a-holes." Not my point, but if you looked at what makes them successful in the practice of blogging that doesn't necessarily translate to a business.

What I'm saying is that in practice blogging for a person is different than a business and that proved very difficult for business to understand and we're at another juncture with Social Media. Business has done well on YouTube, that's a more easily understood medium v. other networks.

Back to your ROI points, I've been arguing against that since '94 and been in meetings with Fortune 100s trying to find some business return on Social Media in real dollars. That's not so tangible, but that's not saying it's not money well spent.

A good example came from ROFLCON where it was observed that it used to be "Fifteen minutes of fame on the Internet and now it's about being famous to fifteen people." Imagine telling a marketing org to concern themselves with 15 influentials on Flickr.

Watch the Twitter flow and tell me how a business can fit in there? Very carefully or do it like Zappos where it's a personality v. a business entity.

BTW, I'll talk about the Twitter experiment we did at Webvisions, as an example.

And will see you at the party.
Posted by Amy Woidtke (woid-key), Seattle, Washington | Jun 03, 2008

Hmm...interesting debate.

Well, I blog regularly though I do wish more commentary would be left!

Some of what I blog about is updates on projects...I just shared what a client felt like after only 2 nights in his newly unfolding space and that led into talking about the process of doing things in stages. Maybe that one was a one-sided brochure.

Other times I talk about resources or someone else who is doing hot work as a way of establishing my knowledge in the field - key for indies in startup aka why the heck should I hire you over any other stylist?

In my column, I ask questions but no one is answering so far. I WANT to have a conversation with people online so I am getting it out there!

Open to suggestions. I'm learning the balance of all of this as I come upon EcoKind's one year anniversary!! WOOHOO!

Thanks for the great dialogue. Looking forward to more.
Posted by Brian Crouch, Seattle, Washington | Jun 03, 2008

For clarification on this concept:

"It’s ironic that Social Media is so anti-social. It rewards persistence, self-aggrandizement, and talking about yourself all the time."

Of course, you're aware that blogging is one component of the broad universe of Social Media, but since this specific portion of the larger category is the primary example in your piece, I will focus on that as well, for this reply.

Given that the most successful bloggers (in terms of consistent audience) are neither solipsistic nor generally narcissistic, what evidence do you have that social media rewards self-aggrandizement and egocentrism? (No argument that it rewards persistence-- as is true of anything.) Delusions of grandeur by a blogger usually lead to alienation of any appreciative audience, along with, paradoxically enough, increased scrutiny by detractors, and self-destruction. Bloggers with large audiences are engaged in conversation on areas of interest to others. They create a space for an open give and take. In general, don't the majority of bloggers simply comment on things they are interested in, hoping their thoughts are read and discussed? And how is that anti-social?

Your analogy of an interrupting and egocentric partygoer depicts a boor, but even that behavior isn't necessarily "antisocial" in the psychological sense.

Further, the prevalence of the quest to be heard is not an innovation of interconnected computers. It is a cultural facet of a free society:
"Thought is not, like physical strength, dependent upon the number of its agents; nor can authors be counted like the troops that compose an army. On the contrary, the authority of a principle is often increased by the small number of men by whom it is expressed. The words of one strong-minded man addressed to the passions of a listening assembly have more power than the vociferations of a thousand orators...." Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America (ch. 11)
I suppose one could say that a blogger who attacks a famous celebrity is audacious, but that would be true of any writer at a magazine or newspaper in the egalitarian press. It is not self-aggrandizing to hold forth against the powers that be: it is distinctly democratic. And certainly not anti-social.
Posted by DL Byron, Seattle, Washington | Jun 03, 2008

Brian,

That's a lot to parse in your comment and are you attending my keynote? I think it'll make more sense it context and both you and your partner are reading way more into the irony that what I wrote and explained now a few times. Attend the Keynote and let's talk.
Posted by Molly Gordon, Suquamish, Washington | Jun 03, 2008

I suspect that DL was trying to express the fears and concerns of the small business owner when it comes to social media, not to put a negative spin on it, per se. After all, he is in the social media biz.

I've made the mistake of being too negative when I intended to be provocative and entertaining. Live and learn!

And I look forward to the Keynote.
Posted by Carol Skolnick, Santa Cruz, California | Jun 03, 2008

Good points, DL. Wish I could be in Seattle to hear more.

I think social media can be utlized effectively and responsibly. Unfortunately, the "Me Me Me" fest of social networking must be working for someone, because the worst offenders are seen as "experts" and make big bucks teaching others how to use Facebook et. al. to glorify themselves. (I won't mention any names but I'm sure tempted to.)

Most of the friends and connections requests I get are from people who want to push their seminars and services. Some of these folks also use a lot of silly Facebook apps in an effort to look human.

I use the social media to get in touch, or back in touch, with people I already know. Sometimes this results in meeting people I ought to know. Wonder of wonders, Facebook has increased traffic to my blog more than anything else, and I haven't shoved my Face down anyone's throat in order to make that happen.
Posted by DL Byron, Seattle, Washington | Jun 03, 2008

@Molly,

Right on Molly. It's a confusing world for business to visit a blog or a social network and read it and think, "how could we do that?"

@Amy,

I get asked this a lot and there are things you can do just in the writing to encourage comments, like asking questions at the end of your post, or just "what do you think."

But traffic doesn't always equate to comments. You can have a well-trafficked blog with lots of lurkers and a handful of commenters.

Main thing is content.
Posted by DL Byron, Seattle, Washington | Jun 03, 2008

@Carol,

Right on! You said that better than I did.
Posted by Jason Swihart, Boulder, Colorado | Jun 03, 2008

I think Byron assumes that most of us have encountered personalities on the social media scene who specialize in being self-serving boors. I certainly made that assumption and congratulate anyone who has only encountered helpful, astute digerati. But I've met plenty of toads--haters, critics, pundits, and know-it-alls striving desperately never to be told anything they didn't already know.

Some of them garner large audiences and impressive metrics--someday I'd like to do a study on what qualities enable them to achieve popularity.

The thing is, we've noticed that sometimes when businesses start making forays into social media, they end up behaving boorishly, which probably stems from learned marketing behavior. What we try to tell our clients is: be real; forget the rules and formulae and talk in a way that suits you; be a guest before you try to be a host; make mistakes.

We talk to a lot of people who wonder why no one comments on their blogs, or follows them on Twitter, etc., and Byron's theme is one of the chief problems we find. So while the advice isn't revelatory, it bears repeating, and part of our job is also making it practical.

(Disclosure: I'm Byron's business partner, if you hadn't guessed)
Posted by Brian Crouch, Seattle, Washington | Jun 03, 2008

Thanks for that, Jason. I think your points are well made.