Just when I thought 'social media expert' was really just a nice way of saying “I’m a Twitterholic, a Facebook junkie, blogging nut—and hey I can say ‘meme’, too”– an encounter with a PR pro on Twitter changed all that.rachelakay @AxiomPR I haven't cmted yet - but doesn't mean I won't. I like to take time to craft comments but have to prioritize against my task list.
It never crossed my mind to think that those who comment on blogs take time to craft their thoughts -- a process that may or may not take all day -- making sure their work/client priorities come first. I assumed frankly that online users were just standing by waiting to call someone out on something when a blog post link came across the Twitter feed, or just simply commenting for the sheer effect of gaining more people to their own blog by retweeting something as their own. Beth Harte calls those types of people “social media leeches”. Danny Brown can’t stand them, as he’s all about keeping the tweet associated with the originator.
I’m humbled knowing there are people out there who don’t have a get-rich-quick scheme driven by their quest for more connections on all social networks; that they’re really trying to provide value to the space. If I were running a consumer business, I’d look for the social media experts who actually take time to do things, like commenting on blogs. That alone surely guarantees quality work.
Here is a list of some people that I’ve connected with—and that doesn’t mean on LinkedIn or they’re following me on Twitter. These are the social media types that actually offer quality conversations and take the time to comment:
Rachel Kay (rachelakay)
Amber Naslund (Ambercadabra)
Amanda Vega (AmandaVega)
Jason Baer (jaybaer)
Arik Hanson (arikhanson)
Beth Harte (BethHarte)
Danny Brown (dannybrown)
Peter Shankman (skydiver)
David Meerman Scott (dmscott)
Sarah Evans (prsarahevans)
David Armano (armano)
Graeme Thickins (GraemeThickins)
David Spinks (DavidSpinks)
Sure, this list is small what should that tell us about the social media majority? Who are people you think add quality and new depth to blog conversations?