There Are No Experts Here

By Alex Hillman on Saturday, January 17th, 2009 in business, Community with 8 Comments

This is the internet. Welcome.

Shit moves way too fast for anyone to be an authority on anything long enough to be “expert”.

By the time you’re “expert”, the thing you’re expert in is no longer relevant. Deal with it.

We’re all students. Every single one of us. We’re students of each other, and students of the collective. That’s what’s magical and different about the internet; it’s not hierarchical.

Instead of a classroom where the teacher hands lessons down to the students, everyone is encouraged to be a teacher, sharing knowledge and experiences.

And everyone is encouraged to be a student, gaining knowledge and experiences.

Admittedly, in the “classroom” scene we’ve painted, I’m that pain in the ass kid in the back always questioning the teacher. But somebody needs to keep the teachers on their toes, and I hope that people are out there trying to keep me in check as well.

So, “social media experts”, I call your bluff.

There aren’t any social media experts, at least not yet.

And you (yes, you) certainly won’t be the first one.

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  • http://davidmartorana.com David Martorana

    I would venture to say that there are SOME experts whose expert field is making people believe they’re experts.

    Actually, I think there are lots of those people.

  • http://davidmartorana.com David Martorana

    I would venture to say that there are SOME experts whose expert field is making people believe they’re experts.

    Actually, I think there are lots of those people.

  • http://www.thinkseer.com Wil Reynolds

    PREACH! I hate self proclaimed gurus/experts. Just do a search for social media guru / expert and look at the long line of douche-bags referring to themselves as such. The important thing is to follow this post up with an education on how to find someone with passion and expertise in social media – so you don’t get ripped off by self-proclaimed experts with a bunch of followers.

  • http://www.thinkseer.com Wil Reynolds

    PREACH! I hate self proclaimed gurus/experts. Just do a search for social media guru / expert and look at the long line of douche-bags referring to themselves as such. The important thing is to follow this post up with an education on how to find someone with passion and expertise in social media – so you don’t get ripped off by self-proclaimed experts with a bunch of followers.

  • http://funanymore.com Evo Terra

    Bravo, Alex. I’ve always shied away from the “expert” term, going so far as to rant and rave on occasion when those of us looked upon as though-leaders in the space get placed on some sort of pedestal. The reality is that we’re making it up as we go along. We’ll be wrong sometimes.

    And to Wil’s comment about douchebaggery, I go so far as to use this term as I describe myself in profiles. I WANT everyone to fully understand that these things I do are thoughts and opinions, and that their mileage may vary.

    But that doesn’t stop me from shouting those thoughts and opinions, mind you. :)

  • http://funanymore.com Evo Terra

    Bravo, Alex. I’ve always shied away from the “expert” term, going so far as to rant and rave on occasion when those of us looked upon as though-leaders in the space get placed on some sort of pedestal. The reality is that we’re making it up as we go along. We’ll be wrong sometimes.

    And to Wil’s comment about douchebaggery, I go so far as to use this term as I describe myself in profiles. I WANT everyone to fully understand that these things I do are thoughts and opinions, and that their mileage may vary.

    But that doesn’t stop me from shouting those thoughts and opinions, mind you. :)

  • http://incontextmultimedia.com hdbbstephen on Twitter

    Word. I consider myself Social Media literate, but you hit the nail on the head: we are always learning – in fact I am discovering that the distance from those on the bleeding edge of SM are getting further and further from the beginners (and people like me in the middle). There is a very long tail to social media literacy, which means the the learning curve is getting steeper – and a good chance for honest teachers to make a good living…

  • http://incontextmultimedia.com hdbbstephen on Twitter

    Word. I consider myself Social Media literate, but you hit the nail on the head: we are always learning – in fact I am discovering that the distance from those on the bleeding edge of SM are getting further and further from the beginners (and people like me in the middle). There is a very long tail to social media literacy, which means the the learning curve is getting steeper – and a good chance for honest teachers to make a good living…