It seems to work for some gurus out there (largely those who don't really consult much) to establish reputation on the backs of a hypothetical / imagined populace of morons. I guess it's up to those of us who are committed to resolving real and specific issues to provide some sort of standard of reality as best we can, probably sans the applause and kudos in most cases. I just keep seeing all these rules about social media from people who really don't do more than blog now and then and it makes me chuckle all by itself that some really big egos out there are able to float that and call it gold.

Ba-dum-dum.

Seriously, I think this is an awesome post. Innovators constantly exploit people who follow any kind of “rule” or “system,” so even when we do have best practices for social media, this will still be true. I saw a post today on one of the new influencer-rating systems and, as the post noted, no one has yet figured out how to incorporate human behavior into any of these.

Great as always, Mark–keep up the good fight!

That's very important… people can smell hypocrisy.

There's a way to bring up errors in a polite way. It's the best way that I've heard of to do cold calls/cold e-mails. i.e. “I noticed that your sales page is buried behind three different links. If you put it on the main page, you'll increase your sales.”

A lot of public speakers make their name on brash energy, and of course I get that is their one trick and their appeal, but they typically do not do much consulting and are typically better at gathering and processing new information than they are at experimenting first hand. I think that's ultimately where the hubris hails from: a lack of consulting experience, the need to energize an audience. I think that's ultimately the reason that Chris Brogan is so far above the crowd as a public speaker, and it's why he can charge so much for consulting fees and public speaking fees–he's not just a performer spouting commandments from the mountain, he obviously has consulting chops. He embodies the trust that he advocates. That's something.

Good will goes along way in PR and in building brand loyalty. In the end, people want to do business with those they feel are trustworthy. At some point along the way, you have to build that trust with people to get momentum. Most of us will have to continue to prove ourselves to our clients and staying within the ethical lines is a pretty easy way to do trust building with those who've come into contact with us already. So while I would impartially advise any client to avoid posting things that they can't prove, I also would be quick to show them the ease in which it could go wrong to do so. I really also think that there is something just anchoring about intending to do the right thing that becomes obvious to people and that they are drawn to, don't you? Some of my own company's longest-running clients have been those who knew that we/I could be trusted with sensitive materials and information, or to get a job done right on principle of the matter. As a web services company consultant, I'm sure you can appreciate the need for trust, as well.

What it does is create this kind of loop

Potential client feels bad, starts attacking themselves (why am I so dumb, why am I doing it wrong?)
Consultant poses as the solution. “I have better self-esteem than you. You're doomed without me.”
Potential client gloms onto the consultant.

I guess this works for a certain segment of the market (Zeus forbid that I say that they're “doing it wrong!”), but it doesn't work for the clients that are most worth chasing.