You might’ve seen the above video from Jeff Jarvis recently (click here if you can’t see it.)
I like this video because it echoes what I said about Social Media events recently, and extends it: most Social Media isn’t Social.
Jeff‘s main point is that we should cease being an audience, and start being, in my words, participants. When we bemoan keynote speakers who just broadcast content at us as the audience, we need to actually look at ourselves and realise that in our hunger for new content (new being the main driver on Twitter these days), we have created a content-centered world where everyone wants to push their content because content is what gets praised.
Best quote: “The great stuff is already out there. Why remake it, except for ego.”
Bang. Jeff just shot most of the Twitter and blogging community dead. Far too many egos, not enough originality.
The community’s continual made-for-Mashable ’10 top tips for Social Media success’, which comprise of 10 shallow, simple, non-frameworked points regurgitated from an array of previous mediocre blog posts, perpetuate the making of dumb audiences across the board.
Well-meaning people relentlessly pursue this mantra driven, depthless content, swallowing any expert’s buzz word hook line and sinker, and it makes for dumb audiences. The dripping of thimble-full approaches is like water torture that is keeping these audiences in check, and RSS subscriber counts high.
Doubtless someone will say I’m in the same bracket. I create mantra, sure. I create buzz ideas, sure. I even write the odd ’10 reasons’ post, sure. But this blog is full of collaboration in the comments, connections who are driving the content forward like curators, and plenty of carefully constructed frameworks and models that are available for free. It all empowers the reader to no longer be a reader but a participant in what is our blog.
Content is King. Someone Kill The King.
How many more blog posts do we need? I love how Jeff says we need to stop competing and start collaborating. We need to stop creating new content, and instead curate the best that’s out there already. Why reinvent the wheel? Seriously — I want many of those A-list bloggers to stop reinventing the wheel and instead impart some originality.
Curation means we save time by linking to what is already good out there, and instead, we can expand and improve where we can add value, instead of trying to making it all about our empire.
I had a big chance in February to build my own empire, by keynoting at Like Minds. I could’ve put myself on the stage and got the glory. Instead, a work behind the stage, to encourage everyone to participate.
Twitter is at the point now where most Tweets contain links. Information overload is about to become a big issue, and the smart people are already working out ways to curate rather than create. As Solomon mused, there is nothing new under the sun — my point is that it’s now about who can describe it the best, and present the best curated approaches to understand what there already is.
Probably one of the best people doing this right now is Jeremiah Owyang. His recent set of Matrix’s were excellent, original, deeep thinking content that can actually be used for real business strategy. It takes guts to not write the mindless pap that gets retweeted, and instead write the steak on the plate that feeds and helps people. Jeremiah is one of these.
Make a stand today. Encourage participation. Stop writing crap. Collaborate and share. Extend the world for our mutual benefit. Check the ego, and don’t pick it up again.
Archived Comments
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http://twitter.com/alexthegreen Alex Green
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sytaylor
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http://twitter.com/ColinWinstanley Colin Winstanley
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/ Scott Gould
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/ Scott Gould
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/ Scott Gould
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sytaylor
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http://www.conferencesthatwork.com/ Adrian Segar
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http://twitter.com/alexthegreen Alex Green
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/ Scott Gould
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http://twitter.com/scottstafstrom Scott Stafström
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http://twitter.com/ColinWinstanley Colin Winstanley
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/ Scott Gould
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http://twitter.com/banksy6 Alastair Banks
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/ Scott Gould
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http://www.severninternet.co.uk/blog Paul McSweeney
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/ Scott Gould
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http://www.severninternet.co.uk/blog Paul McSweeney
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http://twitter.com/hannibal666 Tim