It's easy to point at Chris Brogan, Seth Godin and a handful of others and get the idea of "thought leadership on social media." And in this tender young enterprise the definition would be spot on. Both Chris and Seth WORK it and then they THINK about and LEAD conversations for the rest of us. But what about "the rest of us" hoping to add value and make some insightful observations about social media? What does "thought leadership" mean exactly?
By exploring and actively participating in social media, the practitioners begin to get some ideas of how things could be done better, ideas about what would make the social media for business proposition more fruitful. Does that make us social media thought leaders? Simply by writing about social media I would guess we are trying to "become" thought leaders, but what if the observations are proven false? Is it better to put it out there and get it wrong, to engage in the discussion about social media and then watch as the crowd goes another direction?
Brogan is great because in addition to evangelizing social media he practices what he preaches. He has WORKED in the business of social media for years. Perhaps now he is speaking more than participating. Perhaps he's even "thought leadering" more than he is helping companies execute on refined social media strategies. But a certain amount of time in the trenches trying to figure it out, trying many different things, learning from failures, does, in my mind, qualify Chris Brogan as a thought leader on social media.
So what about the rest of us? I certainly have spent 4 – 5 years working to build "communities" and add "web 2.0 features" to corporate websites. Heck I even got to work within the famed Dell Global Online team and work with the Communities and Conversations group to define, build and launch Telligent's Community Server platform. And boy did we learn a lot in that process.
So maybe I AM a social media thought leader. Or maybe I'm just a social media thinker. And perhaps the "leadership" part of my thoughts comes from insights that are echoed, challenged or refined by others. It's in the doing and the participating in social media that I have learned my greatest lessons. And I continue to attempt to lead by putting these ideas out there, on uber.la and several other blogs where I contribute.
What I do know is that I am a social media participant. An excitable learner, early adopter, a vocal advocate and critic. I am attempting to put it out there by being real and being involved. If this is leadership then that's great. but that's not my goal. My goal is to continue growing and learning. And my business is to help companies and colleagues try and get the communities and conversations part better.
I am excited announce that I will be joining Bob Pearson on his social media team, as part of WeissComm Global. For as Bob lead the majority of Dell's social media programs, and guided me on several projects, he is a voice for rational business objectives and how we can better accomplish them using leading edge technologies and innovative community ideas.
@jmacofearth
permalink: http://bit.ly/weisscomm
