Doing More Good Than Harm
The Social Media experts are at it again. They’re teaming up with businesses so that they can promote the newest widget/frankenfood/get rich quick scheme.
The Social Media Experts have a lot of press. More than you could ever imagine, they’ve been on the morning talk shows, they’re regularly quoted in the newspapers (both local and national), and they speak at conferences all over the world. Oh they speak, and we listen.
The Experts have webinars for their communities, and they may or may not disclose the relationships behind the edumacation. We might get a trinket, a toy or a gift card for attending their webinar. We might get link love, and really who doesn’t want to grow their site?
At the end of the day ask yourself why you are blogging. If you’re blogging for free stuff, make sure your hourly rate is above the minimum wage. I suspect it isn’t.
If you are blogging to build community, and I hope you are, who is your community? What are you going to ask them to do? Are you going to sell things to your community or sell them ideas?
I’m hoping to sell you on an idea today. Today the idea I’d like you to buy is the idea that we all strive to do more good than harm.
It’s simple to organize a boycott, supporting a non-profit is difficult.
Showing you what bloggers are doing wrong is like shooting fish in a barrel, but pointing out blogs that inspire, entertain, and educate takes more work.
I’d like you all to ask yourselves why you do what you do, and how you can retool it so that we are using social media to do more good than harm.