July 18th, 2012 → 12:55 pm @ Mark Story // No Comments
Liz Strauss guested posted on Ragan.com on July 17th with her piece, “27 things to know before you work in social media,” one in which she describes her life working in social media:
I use social media tools to work on SOBCon with @Starbucker, to build communities and brand visibility for clients, to write blog posts, and to curate content for people with similar interests. Social tools are business development, customer service, marketing, PR, community building, change management, and leadership—all at the speed of the Internet.”
There are some things on this list to like, and other things that I think overstate the bad.
Liz offers a good – and extensive – list, but it reads like someone who has some social media burnout. Most of the 27 reasons are negative or things that could cause one frustration. it’s a real tip-off as to the tone of the piece when she kicks off the list by writing:
The problem with working in social media is that:”
“Problem in working in social media is that…? You know a vent is coming after a statement like that.
Of the 27 items on the list, among those that I agree with include:
My issue with the rest of the post is that I think it’s pretty negative: working in social media can be hard, but it doesn’t always suck. It can be fulfilling and exciting, too. Many of the 27 items that are listed (that I am sure were designed to give an unvarnished view of a social media job) talk about the difficulities you may encounter. But you will find positive aspects out of a career in social media as well. I’ve listed a few of Liz’s items with a few comments of my own:
Liz said:
Social media work isn’t glamorous.”
I would describe very few jobs as “glamorous,” but if you are intellectually curious, want to stay on top of things and work in a profession in which the only constant is change, social media may be for you.
When you do social business well, it looks easy. But it’s not, and no one will care how hard it was.”
No one? This is an over reach. “No one” caring means your supervisors, co-workers and audience. I think that if you are good at social media, someone will care. Maybe not every time you tweet, but when you do something special, someone who matters will notice.
If you build a strong public presence, your mistakes will be public, too.”
What Liz says is true, but it’s the same thing if you issue a press release with a typo or a misquote. Or if you say something stupid to a reporter. Any public-facing job can have public mistakes.
Finally,
You’ll find most folks have a different sense of urgency, which will change as they experience the speed of the Internet.”
Not so much. My experience has taught me that the speed at which other people want to happen is a function of their jobs. Oftentimes, you’ll find someone jumping up and down to push you to get something out on Facebook or Twitter and either a) be held up by your communications or legal staff, or b) the message itself will be important really only to the sender and not to your followers in social media.
I could go on, but read the post It’s not bad, but reads like someone who had a bad day and came up with 27 reasons to vent.
Image source: Lifehacker.
