Be wary of the social media expert

As I've incorporated myself into the world of social media marketing, I've done a whole lot of reading on the How To's, the What To's and the What Not To's of how to build a personal brand using social media. Through my learning of more and more about social media, I've found myself having to make a lot of changes to my existing social media profiles to better serve the strategy I have created for myself. One of the things I did today was rebrand myself on my Twitter profile. I changed my profile description to be a little more, well, descriptive of who I am and what I'm about. Here's what I changed it to:

"Graduate student focused on new media and social media marketing, hardcore Buffalo Bills fan and an all-around pretty sweet dude."

My previous description just included my interest in social media and social media marketing, but I'm so much more than that. So I included the fact that I have an undying, pitiful passion for one of the most lackluster franchises in the NFL, and I showed decided to show my sense of humor by including the pretty sweet dude part. But if you notice, nowhere did I include the words "expert" or "guru" or "rockstar" in my description. Why? Because I'm not any of those things when it comes to social media. Now, let me clarify. I'm no stranger to social media sites. In fact, I've got a good seven or eight years of experience using social media sites on a daily basis. I've pretty much been obsessed with them since I discovered Friendster and MySpace so many years ago. I'd be willing to bet that I've logged just as much time on social media sites as the experts out there.

But that doesn't make me an expert. I'm not sure what would, really. What does make for a social media expert? What are the qualifications? Do you have to use social media as a business tool before you can be considered an expert? Mashable's Pete Cashmore, one of the very few people I would consider to be a true social media expert if there was a way to truly measure such a thing, wrote a blog post almost three weeks ago saying that there are more than 15,000 people on Twitter who call themselves social media experts in some form or fashion. Then, I saw a tweet from one of my favorite tweeters, Douglas Idugboe (@douglasi), that completely captured my thoughts on this subject:

"douglasi: To call yourself a social media expert is like saying, "I don't know what da heck I'm talking about!" We are all students just now."

Couldn't agree more. Let me take that thought a bit further. I've found in my personal experience with experts in any field that they tend to be closed off to new ideas and new ways to do things because of the status they have achieved. I feel, whether it's a conscious decision or not, that the day you consider yourself an expert is the day you stop learning little by little. That's a dangerous prospect in social media when things are changing so rapidly; day-to-day in some cases. Now, is there anything wrong with being considered an expert by your peers? Absolutely not. In fact, I applaud anyone who has achieved that status through years and years of hard work and dedication, and to have other people consider you an expert is the ultimate form of flattery. I just wonder what the value is in referring to yourself as a social media expert when there is absolutely no way to measure such a thing. Cashmore wonders in his post about the 15,000-plus social media experts how us folks who make social media such a big part of our lives go about creating a reputation for ourselves when there's no certification process for what is still a new, growing industry. I wonder the same thing.

So what is the standard you have to reach to consider yourself a social media expert? Is it, as I mentioned before, achieving success by marketing a business or product through social media means? If that's the case, you're leaving out a lot of people who could seriously be considered social media experts. Off the top of my head, I can think of Justin Halpern, who found fame with his Twitter account @shitmydadsays. Justin started the Twitter account to keep a record of all the funny, sarcastic things his father says. He turned it into an Internet sensation and currently has more than a million followers. He has parlaying that success into a book deal and a CBS deal that could bring a character based on his father to TV. Now, is he a social media expert? Sure, in some roundabout way, the content he provides ends up being some form of marketing. It's just another case of good content ruling all. But he's not a social media marketer in the same way a lot of other people on Twitter are. But I'd consider him to be a really good source of information on how to turn an idea into a burgeoning brand, even though he basically stumbled into his current success. Do we leave him out of the conversation simply because he doesn't blog about SEO, ROI or The Top 10 Twitter Tips You've Already Likely Read in 50 Other Blogs? What about Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco — who is a great marketer largely because of his phenomenal personality? Do we leave him out, too, because he doesn't share the latest social media trends?

This is precisely why the term "social media expert" is so murky. What does it encompass? How can we tell who really is an expert and who's just trying to give themselves a boost? If we look at what social media's purpose is, we can have a better idea of how to separate the real experts from the impostors. Social media is about engaging in conversation — whether it be by sparking the conversation or joining in on it. It's about making digital connections that add value to the space as a whole. With that said, can we really consider someone an expert simply because of their follower count? Or because of the amount of links they tweet at a feverish pace?

I guess, in the end, it all comes down to who you trust, whose input you value and who makes your social media experience better. Until there is a way to gauge who is truly a social media expert, it's up to you to create your own criteria for such a title. The problem, then, becomes the criteria people set for themselves to place such a title in their own Twitter description. Oh, well. For now, trust your instincts and be skeptical of anyone claiming to be an expert until they meet YOUR criteria of such a title. Don't just take their word for it.

With that said, what would your criteria be to consider someone an expert in any field? What standards would you set for those kinds of people? And how long would it take you before determining that someone is not only trustworthy but deserving of the title of "expert?"

As always, you can follow me on Twitter @JayAdams70.