Dave fleet wrote a blog post recently about how he doesn’t care how long you have been on Twitter. In the post he talks about how people who have been on Twitter a long time don’t appreciate those who are new to Twitter and that these newbs are soiling the sanctity of Twitter (paraphrasing). A comment on his post rationalized the situation to when people love a new band so much they tell all there friends but when the band gets big they call them “sellouts”.
For the record I agree with Dave’s ideals about how Twitter should be used: to start conversations and post relevant content. However I will never get into how Twitter should or shouldn’t be used in this blog. I will though attempt to tackle the cultural aspects of Twitter.
So this commentary from the earlier Twits is a direct testament to the competitive nature of Twitter. There is a large portion of Twitterati that enjoy stroking their ego with the fact that they have more followers then you and have joined before Oprah or whoever. Many of these people consider themselves heavy weights in the social media sphere. Social Media “experts” if you will. Most of these experts have blogs and many are over 25. These people have been on Twitter since 2007, so they obviously aren’t riding the wave they know a great new social media platform when they see it right? S o they are experts right?
The problem is that anyone over 25 has the distinct social media disadvantage of going though college in the pre-Facebook days. That’s right your average 22/23 year-old has been on Facebook the largest and most influential social network for FIVE years. During those five years they sat shotgun while Facebook grew up. This is Gen Y’s claim to fame and why they are so important.
So let me play Devils advocate for a second. You're a small business looking to hire a social media consultant, associate or expert. Who do you hire?
A: The “seasoned” social media consultant who has been on Facebook for 3 years Twitter for one and had a blog for 3 years. Who can write well, talk business, has a lot of connections and requires a hefty hourly rate.
Or
B: The recent college graduate who has been on Facebook for 5 years had a blog for one and been on Twitter for 8 months. Who may be a little rough around the edges, not very business savvy but brings original creative ideas to the table.
??????
There is probably no right answer. But what is a great bet is whichever one claims to be a social media expert, has already lied to you 5 or 6 times since meeting you. I know who the social media experts are: they have names like Mark, Biz, Kevin, Tom and Guy. Everyone else is just trying to figure it out.
If you’re a small business go with the personal that you trust. Experience is absolutely irrelevant when it comes to hiring a social media person.
-MA
Can you disagree? Can a 33 year old be more experienced in social media than a 23 year old?
Thanks Jgarber for the pic
And Whiteafrican