Hypocrisy Thy Name is Social Media, Fast Company – and oh yeah, incentive sales people…

I’m reading my tweet stream and my heart starts beating a bit faster.  

Not because someone I respect and follow has posted a new idea.  

Not because someone I respect and follow has issued a pithy sound-bite that really got me thinking. 

Not because @BARACKOBAMA just DM’d me and asked for my advice on how to influence the Senate/House or even influence Ms. POTUS (which I could do BTW.)

My heart beats a bit faster because someone I have followed and respected as a sane voice of social media lied to me and deceived me.  

And it’s happening to many of you as well.  

Some of you know it but don’t care.  

Many of you however are blind to it, and in fact have been pulled into its undertow and now follow blindly along with the hypocrisy.  

It’s those that know it but don’t care that have me roiling.

It’s About Conversation not Followers

To those of you who I thought “got it” – you definitely got it and are all full of it.  Crap that is.  Not smarts.

All you social media “gurus”, who  signed up for the influence project and bill yourself as a voice of expertise in the social media sphere are as bad as the snake oil salesmen of the early 1900’s.

How can someone preach conversation, community, connections and then fall for what is a scam at best and downright duplicitous behavior at worst.  (If you get a link to someone in the project the site immediate get’s you to register – or tries to intimate that is how you can “see” who’s influential)?  

How could you?

And you  get others to pimp you out in twitter?  Have you no shame?

To what end would you, Mr./Ms. social media guru use this new-found “influence?”  To pump up yourself, your blog, your practice?  I’m betting yes.  

So this isn't really about conversation, community or connections is it?  

It’s really about commerce.  

It’s about making a buck and getting your name on some list that hopefully drives some revenue – (probably in the 30 silver shekel range I’m guessing.)

So – you tell your clients – “it’s not about followers – it’s about conversation” – yet you can’t wait to follow Fast Company into the eight or ninth circle of hell and get your name listed as an influencer?  

You’re kidding me right?

Full Disclosure

I’m registered on the site.  I did it “by accident.”  Truly I did.  A friend on twitter shot out a link and I followed it.  I thought I had to register to see what the site was about and viola – I’m now a member of the great unwashed.  Sorry – but I’m not putting my link the post.  Check out the intro page (no mention of how to review the project without registering is there?)

I wish I could take it back.

Unfollow Follow Up

So here’s what I’m doing with it.  I’m going to go Full-Metal Fast Company Unfollow  (maybe using #FMFCU as the hashtag as I go through it.)

One the list is out – I’m going to find it, compare it to the list of folks I follow and if someone is on the list and they are a “guru/expert/agency - shoot, bang they are unfollowed immediately.  

My logic is this… I wouldn’t associate with a known hypocrite in my real world life so I’m not doing it in my virtual one.

I do feel sorry for some of my friends out there that got sucked into it by accident.  For you – I may make allowances – either directly letting you know or bending my rules.  Heck – everyone needs a second chance.  That’s what relationships are about – both real and virtual.

Bringing It Back Home

So… how does this relate to incentives and rewards?  

Simple – any sales person who talks about driving behaviors, increasing engagement and helping drive business results – but will only help you if you include merchandise, travel or gift cards reside in the same hell as the SM experts on the Fast Company Project.

Don’t be fooled by sales people who talk about engaging your participants and then recommend a merchandise laden program.  Don’t fall for the hypocrisy of selling “engagement” and “behavior change” – they are selling awards.  

At least buy from someone who tells you the truth.  If a sales person comes in and says “I help you fulfill awards in a well-designed incentive program quickly, cost-effectively and ethically” – buy from them.  They are the real deal and someone you should hang with.

If they tell you it’s about community, conversation and connection – and they sign up for the Fast Company Influence Project – they’re hypocrites – oh wait – that’s all you social media folks.  

Sorry – got ya mixed up there.  Oh well – 6 of one – half dozen of the other.

Comments

[Bret Simmons]

Remind me never to piss you off, Paul :)

[Paul Hebert]

I think that would be impossible. You have ethics and values. Social media is "supposed" to be about transparency and conversation. I get that we all need to make a living - but puleeezzz....

(Opps... you're not on the influencer list are you? You'd have to be one I'd make an allowance for...)

[Steve Boese]

Paul - I too have been a somewhat dismayed seeing folks I admire and respect as intelligent and capable people getting caught up in this project. Is it simply a vanity thing? Is it something that folks think they can leverage to drum up higher rates or more business in the future? It can get a little strange in a world where almost everyone is selling something, but most don't want to admit that is what they are doing.

[Paul Hebert]

I think I'm like you. I would have thought that any self-respecting SM expert would have run screaming from this yet they seem to be drawn to it like flies to ... well, you know. It makes me wonder what their advice would look like if they can't even follow their own.

I also find it interesting there aren't any SM experts raining brimstone down on this post - maybe 'cuz it's the truth?

[akaBruno]

I appreciate your passion and the stance you have been taking regarding social media the past couple weeks, Paul!

[Paul Hebert]

I feel a but at the end of that statement ....






(that's what she said...)

[Drew Hawkins]

There seems to be a growing movement on this subject. Even a few other bloggers have been posting on the lack of authenticity that seems to be growing in the social space. We may be in for a tiny revolution...

[Frank Zupan]

This is why I dig you, brotha. You could also mention the people skeezing their LinkedIn networks for support in this trashy "project". This crap is nothing more than high school class elections, revisited. Props to you for using your space (along with your time and considerable talents) to drop a dime on this nonsense.

[Paul Hebert]

I agree but what bothers me is so many "gurus" and experts that are pushing this thing. I see it as nothing more than mirror compliments - "I'm good enough and darn it people like me." Who does that benefit?

[Paul Hebert]

Thanks Frank - btw - I voted for you on the influence project :-)

[Lance Haun]

Let me play a little Devil's advocate because I've gone back and forth on this too:

So yes, social media is about relationships, not numbers. But do you have relationships to just have relationships or is there another purpose? For example, in our relationship, we work within the same general area of business, we associate with some of the same people and we've helped each other out over a period of time.

When I've asked you to do something for me, you've been kind enough to do it because we have an ongoing relationship. If we didn't, I would expect my chances to be greatly reduced because the incentive is much lower for you.

So if I asked you to do something that would take five seconds, would you do it if it were important to me? I'm guessing so. Maybe because you think I deserve recognition or it will help me make another sale but I would do the same for you if you asked too. Is that wrong? Is that sinister? I don't think so.

Now with regards to this contest, I think there are some legitimate issues. For one, is this really designed to measure influence? No, that's clear. Two, what does getting on this list mean in the end? I don't think much. Three, do those two things really kill the greater point of the project? Oh yeah.

So while I think the contest itself is bunked, I don't think the concept is that far off. Influence in the end is about inspiring action. What your post argues is that the action matters, not that the influence is tainted.

And just for full disclosure, I didn't sign up for it and I only clicked on the first link I saw about it. After that, it was easy enough to ignore it.

[Paul Hebert]

I think you have relationships for the sake of relationship - AND - for driving other stuff - camaraderie, knowledge, and yes... even business. That is all good. And those relationships are earned through continued contact and interaction.

I am all for leveraging relationships. This post wasn't about that.

What this was about is the pure ego-centric pursuit of "FC Influencer Badge" that most (I know a generalization) SM gurus would tell (sell) you is irrelevant if you offer true value to your audience and interact as "people" not companies. What bothered me is that this type of promotion should never have seen the light of day - and it should never have been glombed onto by SM experts - some of which I know you and I both know - who are unabashedly asking for "votes."

If I wanted to vote for you I would have. This isn't politics - it's business (I know - very little difference most of the time) but SM was supposed to be a little more pure... pull the scales from eyes... I'll never look at a digg with the same awe again :-)

Thanks Lance for stopping by and weighing in.

[Trish McFarlane]

Like you, I accidently clicked on a link from someone and inadvertently signed up. But, I was told that the incentive for people to do the project is that the top 25 will be interviewed for the magazine. Now, I don't read that magazine, so it wouldn't appeal to me. However, for a couple people who I know read it and it matters, I clicked on the link for them. So, like Lance said, I did it because it was important to them and not me. For me, that's a relationship. And, even though I'm not into it, if you asked me to do it for you, I would have clicked and clicked. Just sayin'...

[Michael VanDervort]

Well, i just wrote a long response and promptly lost it because I didn't log in first. here is the short version:

I joined this on day 1 because I was curious about what it was and how it would work.
I wasn't highly impressed and bascially ignored it for the most part for a few weeks.
I found out about 10 days ago that I was ranked 217 out of 25,000+ people and was astounded by this.
I decided to play with a little to see what would happen. I am now ranked 235 out of 28,051. Great.
I gain nothing. I don't really care, except as an exercise of curiosity. I am buying, selling or winning anything, and I am surprised at how serious we take some of this stuff.

One regret if that, is that Paul tried to help and got dragged into something which he didn't like. Sorry for that, again - but otherwise, it will all be over soon.

[Michael Long]

I apparently looked at this a bit differently...

I saw it as an experiment and I thought it would be fun to see all the faces scrolling on that big board - like a big community. Why not share it and have other people get involved? Wasn't the point to show (in a different method) how what you share spreads and impacts others?

Just seemed like fun and nothing to take too seriously.

[Paul Hebert]

I get the curiosity thing... but I'm not harping anyone doing it - except those that profess that social media isn't about followers or "inauthentic" influence. Those are the only ones that bugged me on this thing. I saw people who publicly have gone on record saying SM is about building good, solid, conversation-based connections pee themselves to get anyone to click on their link.

I'm not against it in general - hey whatever floats your boat... but to me it's like a 12-step leader professing abstinence and then getting bombed at the first opportunity for a drink. Either you buy the "SM is about relationships" or you don't.

No worries Micheal - like all things caveat emptor!

[Paul Hebert]

Trish - thanks for commenting. I'm not pointing any fingers at those that were curious or wanted to "help out a friend." That I get.

What I didn't get is the rush of the so-called "social media" gurus to get THEIR name in lights - they are the ones professing relationships and then pee themselves at the first opportunity to get a Fast Company badge for influence. That's the hypocrisy.

If someone is a social media expert - they would never have asked anyone for help - they would have hid from this and posted as I did... at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

My ONLY point is that social media experts involved in this are hypocrites -the rest of us are cool as cucumbers.

[Paul Hebert]

Michael - thanks for stopping in. Your approach is definitely more pleasant. And I think that if it was a simple matter of signing up and letting the cards fall where they may I'd love it. That would be very cool. But the politicking and ongoing requests to "vote for me" just drove me nuts.

To me it was the same as sending everyone on my list a couple of tweets a day that say nothing but.. "please follow me so I can have more followers." Especially coming from those that supposedly detest that kind of baiting.

Your view - I like. That is a cool concept - the montage of people on twitter - organic and authentic. That I like.

The inauthentic one - not so much.

I'm sure it's not a big deal but there were a couple of well-know names that I saw begging for votes and I snapped.

I am out of the bell tower and back on the ground. Hope all is well with your new gig. Gonna get a tat of the new employer anytime soon?

[Sarah White]

Paul,

Like a lot of people - I signed up Day 1 - the initial tweet went out and I never thought much more of it. I am NOT a social media "expert" or "guru". In fact - I preach to run if you start hearing someone spouting this off.

But, I got sucked in after I got a note from someone telling me I was ranked #74. I was more than a little shocked and I admit - my competitive spirit kicked in. I sent a note to my international contacts just telling them about the project as well as my local network. All of the feedback was really positive and people were really excited to see "just how far" we could go. And WE is the proper terminology.

When I was told by someone I had made the top 40 - my competitive nature kicked in and I started tweeted it out a couple more times and sent it to a few more of my linkedin contacts across the US - my local network here in Milwaukee was excited to potentially have someone make the list and have supported each and every person in the process in return.

I know for a fact I am not anywhere near the top 50 most influential people online. I'm not even among the top 50 people that I know. This isn't a vanity contest, an entitlement issue or anything else of the sort for me. In fact, if you knew me - you would know that is as far from "me" as possible.

In my case I find it to be an interesting experiment to see the power of a network of a normal person.

You see, I'm no one. I'm not a guru, an expert or anyone that claims to be. I'm a loyal friend, a single mom, a blogger on a blog that isn't even trafficked enough to make one of our industries "top 25" blog lists, a hard working employee of a HR Tech firm, a sudoku geek and somehow in that mix fall upon press & attention that surprises no one more than myself. I love social media and love helping companies see what they can do with it. I've helped a ton of people from companies ranging in size from start up to Fortune 5 know how to use it. Not because they paid me (they didn't), but because they asked if I could help them. My network knows they can call me at any time night or day and I'll help. I don't network for business and hoping to get something out of someone.

Would a feature in Fast Company Magazine be amazing to have? Absolutely. Does the thought that this could somehow benefit me & my family while at the same time helping out the business I work for, my community, any new projects I launch in the future and the women/youth groups I help fund raise for by sharing my story (my life story not this fast company story) make me excited? Yes.

So will I sell my soul for a chance to be featured and know it will help people? Apparently, Yes.

[Paul Hebert]

Thanks for stopping by and putting your thoughts in the mix.

Believe me, I get the competitive thing. I get that getting your name in something liket his is cool. I even get that this is somewhat of an experiment that is fun to watch develop.

What I wasn't getting is that given what I thought were tenants of Social Media it wouldn't have happened at all. To say this isn't an ego thing isn't true. It's all an ego thing and I'm cool with that if we'd all just say that. I think there is a lot of "ego" in every post, tweet and "like" on facebook. It was the hypocrisy that got me - not that fact that people wanted to get on the list. We all work hard to get on lists, be noticed, get quoted in mainstream papers - I often mention my interview with the BBC for the same reasons others were jumping on this effort - to say I was there and to "borrow" credibility from that event.

The difference in my mind is in that case - they sought me out based on what I was doing every day. This event wasn't that - it was politicking and that isn't organic, genuine or transparent - it's everything we don't want social media to be.

That's what got me going. It was a disconnect.