So, I’m chipping away at a Master’s in Media Psych, and I was recently debating with a classmate about the definition of a “social media expert”.  I’m going to give my 2 cents on this not because you necessarily care, but I’m feeling prolific as I sip away at a glass of sub-$5 Petite Shiraz (Crane Lake – great stuff). It’s said that one needs to have at least 10,000 hours of practice to become a legitimate expert at anything.  Now to put that in perspective, based on a 40-hour workweek, that’s about 4.5 years of solid, non-stop work in the field of social media.  No vacation, no lunch hours, no pee breaks.  Or, we could spread the timing out to include early adopters who were talking geek-trash on some web-dork forum back in 1998 when the rest of us were still watching Friends. Of the many people that are now gainfully employed in some context of social media, its highly likely to assume that a mere 5% have accomplished those 10,000 hours of practice in the field, and probably a mere .2% were practicing in a context related to business.  The rest were probably trading Java code tips and free porn site links. So to gauge the value of a person working in social media, perhaps its better to look at the history of the person, their world experience, and how it relates to the work they are doing now.  That may mean that “social media mom experts” have been experts at being moms for some time, and have learned to translate their skills and talents to others using social media.   Or if you’re like me, you’ve been marketing for well over 10 years and now you’ve adopted social media as just another tool to effectively promote the “word” (whatever that word may be).  Or you may be one of those genuinely committed folks that have sat at their desk for 4.5 years wearing a catheter and stocking a life-supply of Cheetos in a desperate quest to complete those10,000 hours. In any case, wherever you take your social media advice from, the most important thing is that the information resonates with you.  If you make mistakes, press incorrect buttons or upload the wrong logo, I assure you the world will not come to an end and your brand will survive the impact.  Most likely you are not famous enough for anyone to even notice your spelling errors or broken links. The key to successfully promoting your business online, especially via social media is to A) be social B) be authentic C) have some sort of planned outcome or goal, however vague or lofty it might be.  Other than that, it’s about exploring new worlds and learning about your market.  None of it is rocket science, and it doesn’t take “expert status” to figure any of it out.  My best advice is to try not to take it too seriously, and find inspiration from those who’s writing or guidance you appreciate.

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