Let me start off by saying, this post is hard for me to write. I know some people wont be too happy about what I have to say and others might write me off as an idiot. However, I was raised to speak my mind (thanks Dad) and I am going to try and write this as eloquently as possible. We’ve got to stop fighting about terms and titles and get to work.
It seems like over the past 3 years every 3 months I read an article or posting about why you should watch out for social media experts. There was this one from Bloomberg, a few from the Olivier Blanchard ( of the brand builder), and most recently this one from Peter Shankman. I get it, there are a lot of idiots out there working under the guise of of social media expert (or ninja, savant, master, ringleader, el toro, or etc etc) that have no marketing experience. Worse yet, companies ( especially small businesses) fall for these people’s ploys repeatedly. It sucks. Guess what’s not going to fix it? Blogging about how much it sucks… again .. and again… and again.
I don’t blame the first few who wrote about it ( or even those who have written more recently). It’s super frustrating when you work yourself to the bone to deliver great work and some idiot is selling shit in a bag for the same price. It’s also annoying to know that the perception of your work gets devalued every time that idiot opens his mouth. I have had the same angry, yell bad words, bury face in pillow, look at guns online, reconsider life path, and sob moments I assume many of these writers have had. However, I’ve come to the conclusion that false marketing prophets exist in every channel- not just social media.
There are people who claim to experts at webdesign and make websites with interfaces that are counter intuitive and ugly. There are print advertisers that make inserts that are flat, stale and bland. It’s not a social media problem, it’s a general work problem. We all can remember the free loader in high school or college who got an excellent grade by using, mooching and conniving ( hopefully you weren’t one of them). At a more macro level, entire political strategies are built around trying to outwit the lackey, but none of it has effectively eliminated the problem. It’s a life problem that’s not going to go away; granted, it might be reduced as general practitioner knowledge grows.
If we really want prevent people from being bamboozled by idiots hidden in the sparkly shroud of social media know-it-all camouflage, we’ve got to start make spotting good work obvious. It stinks that true practitioners and marketers at heart have to drive the change in perception, but that’s how it always has been. It’s not blogs or writing alone that will drive change, it’s elbow grease and hard work. It’s more than just creating great work, it’s sharing knowledge, ideas and driving intelligent dialogue. Eventually the wheat gets separated from the chaff (for the most part), it just takes time and patience.
When I was a kid my father always told me that working hard was more important than talking hard. So I say this will all my heart to all of you who I love and deeply respect for the intelligent marketers you are, shut up and get back to work- we’ve got a whole lot of idiots to disprove. 
