1. Everyone thinks they are a social media expert.
2. Everyone is not a social media expert.
3. Not every company should have social media initiatives.
4. We’re all still figuring this out.
5. Conversations are important, but not as important as some people will have you believe.
6. Traditional advertising isn’t dead and won’t be for a while, if ever.
7. Blogging is hard work.
8. Twitter will not make or break you.
9. Don’t always cave to the mob.
10. The barriers to action are now so low that it’s incredible easy to act without thinking it through.
11. If you speak your mind, you are going to piss someone off eventually.
12. There’s no excuse to not be listening to the conversations online.
13. If the words “unless we get caught” are part of your plan, quit now.
14. Purists, Pessimists, and Doomsayers are almost always wrong.
15. The wrong way to do things is always the easiest.
16. There is still a ton of potential in this space.
Simple Social Media Truths
December 18th, 2008 | social media | Matt | 16 CommentsLeave a Reply
16 Responses and Counting...
I'm laughing my ass off at this Matt. Awesome
The first two are ridiculously spot on. Great List 
Thanks Matt! You cut through the fat and brought out the simple facts about what's going on these days. I'll be sure to pass this along!
Let me play devil's advocate and disagree about social media initiatives, unless you want to argue the definition of said 'initiatives'. Every company should be concerned about the buzz about their company. They can monitor keywords and keep an eye on things, especially if they have upset a customer via the majority of social media APIs. This may be a passive social media initiative, but an initiative nevertheless.
I whole heartedly agree with just about the rest of your points, great post! Wait, except number 6, traditional adverts are incredibly inefficient from my experiences. Traditional advertising may not be dead, but it has a terminal disease. Once again, great post.
I agree with everything, especially # 11, but the first. I've spoken with a few clients or potential clients over the past 4 months & have been surprised with how forthcoming they've been with their lack of knowledge of the social space.
@Stuart
Thanks! Glad you liked them.
@Tim
I appreciate it. There's a lot of fluff in this space sometimes and it's tough to ignore.
@Steve
Thanks. I agree with your first point, which is why I included number 12 on the list, and I guess you're right that it comes down to the definition of initiatives
@Brain
With the first one I guess I was writing from more of a “pundit” standpoint. It seems like anyone who starts a blog things that they're a social media guru all of a sudden, which is far from the truth. You know the type….
I love it. Perfect.
NICE! Very well said, and with a nice mix of good humor.
Love #13.
Thank you sir! Glad you liked them. 13 is one of my favorites too.
These are some serious truths my friend! I LOVE #15. That's why there are so many marketing hacks in this industry. (Sorry that's been my soap box today). Marketing is hard work. Social media is even harder and more time consuming.
[...] media consultant Matt J McDonald tells us that “Blogging is hard work” plus 15 other Simple Social Media Truths. By [...]
This is one of the truest posts I've read in a while. You got me on your subscribers…:)
-Clinton
Great list. #10 rings especially true, especially on Twitter.
Great points! Although I don't get #5
Conversations are the lifeblood of human interaction. What could be more important? The question is what kinds of conversations are you having, with whom, and do they really matter or are they just chatter?
#7 is soooo true
I think the problem is, there should be a body that certifies who is who especially on #1.
Don't forget #17. Opinions are like armpits. Everyone has them and most of them stink.
So the moral is: listen but don't listen too closely.