socialmedian: Kill The Conformity: Social Media Panelists Should Give More

User-submitted headlines for this story

Clip

Kill The Conformity: Social Media Panelists Should Give More

Submitted by Louisgray from Google Reader

Nov 03, 2009

Summary

I’ve participated in quite a few social media panels in the last month or so and have enjoyed the process a great deal. But what has been most enjoyable for me is expressing different opinions than the other panelists.

I think that people are showing up at these events anticipating a cohesive message from the speakers about how they can ‘win’ at social media and that may be what they’ve been sold in some cases. But here’s the thing: Social media is not a race, and success is highly subjective. And without clear goals, which most attendees do not yet have, success in unattainable.

I am never going to pretend as though I have a magic formula that can be applied across the board. If I did it would cost more than the admission to these events and I certainly wouldn’t be sharing the proceeds with co-panelists. The attendees at these events deserve more. They don’t need a group of four or five people admiring one another, pouring on the loving looks and focusing more on how they can partner up rather than how they can collectively provide value to an audience.